The Flight of the Jade Bird

Last Thursday (17 May), I had the privilege to catch the opening show for this year’s Singapore Arts Festival, Mark Chan’s The Flight of The Jade Bird.

I have heard some of Mark Chan‘s earlier musical works before and am pretty impressed with his East-meets-West musical fusion. This was why I was really looking forward to catch his opening show.

Alas, with great expectation comes greater disappointment when the performance somehow falls short. I am not a qualified music or art critic, but seeing that around half of the audience left after intermission, I am quite sure I was not the only one who did not particularly enjoyed the show.

Here’s the trailer for The Flight of The Jade Bird:

Looks promising isn’t it?

Sadly, as much as I want to say I enjoyed the show to support local artists, I am more inclined to agree with this reviewer.

Sorry Mark, this experimentation is too chim for me; look forward to your next production.

The best is yet to be.

There are serial contest junkies out there who make a career of winning marketing contests after contests. I kid you not. I know because I have dealt with my fair share in my line of work as an online marketing person.

Nonetheless, a friend asked me to join this contest by watch brand, Maurice Lacroix and I entered for the Chinese blogger position for fun. I love water sports and I watch beautifully designed watches. This campaign seems just right:

Thanks to the support from my Facebook friends mostly, surprisingly, I managed to lead in the Chinese blogger category for the past few weeks since I joined!

I was overjoyed… that was till a few minutes ago when I realised a certain contestant had jumped by over 1000 votes overnight and overtook me in a few hours, out of the blue. I do not know how the person did it, but it was a shrewd move; jump voting at the very last minute so others won’t have the time to rally for votes in response.

The voting closes in a few more hours at 2359hrs, 20 May (TODAY).

I am not going to give up with a fight. Not when I have managed to come so far with the help of so many kind friends who voted for me.

If you like reading my blog and would like to help me win a trip to the South of France to support Seb “The Sub” in his deep-diving attempt, please vote for Alvinology HERE.

Thank you very much!

If I win, I promise you nothing but the best of my efforts in bringing both Chinese and English blog entries to everyone on the record-breaking attempt by Seb.

If I don’t win, it’s okay too. I tried what I could and I am very appreciative so many of you tried too to help me win this. I am loved.

Contest Winners, Darren and Jessie

Congratulations to @yohshijessie and @method86!

The two of you are the winners for my Singapore Arts Festival exclusive tickets giveaway.

Darren won a pair of tickets to Ciudades Paralelas [Parallel Cities] Hotel – Hotel Maids [20th May, 7.30pm] while Jessie won a pair of tickets to [兰芳记] Lan Fang Chronicles [20th May, 3.30pm]:

Hotel ibis, Warsaw (Photo Credit – Marta Pruska)

Ciudades Paralelas [Parallel Cities] Hotel – Hotel Maids [20th May, 7.30pm]

Parallel Cities (Hotel) is one of three programmes that showcase a side of Singapore not often noticed. In Hotel, you’ll be at Ibis Novena and will get to visit several installations within the rooms of the hotel, giving you some perspective on the hotel’s hidden workers – its chambermaids. This is the first time this project has been carried out in Asia and I am very much looking forward to experiencing this performance myself!

THE LAST DESCENDANT – LUO FU SHENG 最终的后裔 – 罗福生 / (CREDIT: STEFEN CHOW)

[兰芳记] Lan Fang Chronicles [20th May, 3.30pm]

Lan Fang Chronicles explores the stories behind the little known country called Lan Fang (perhaps better known now that our Minister Chan Chun Sing has made reference to it during his election rally). It will be held at Ying Foh Kuan/Shuan Long Shan, a small ancestral hall complete with graveyard located in the midst of HDB flats at Commonwealth. There will be installation exhibitions, making for pretty interesting photo opportunities and a comparison between Singapore and this eerily similar ancestor.

Video Preview:

This year’s Singapore Arts Festival is spread over 16 extraordinary days, inviting everyone to encounter a stunning array of performances that will hopefully be close to our heart.

There is a good mix of both free and ticketed events and programs, suitable for audiences of all demographics. Check out the official website for more details! 

Group picture with all the bloggers who attended the party

Jazzing up Domino’s best seller Hawaiian Paradise with a First Class touch, the new Ultimate Hawaiian Pizza is loaded with more than double the amount of chicken by adding premium succulent roasted sliced chicken topped with smoked chicken breast, toasted turkey ham, juicy pineapples and the freshest garden mushrooms.

Combined with a rich tomato-based sauce and sprinkled with Italian herbs, these are the new scrumptious additions to Domino’s First Class range of premium pizzas, which use only first class ingredients for a first class pizza experience!

Well, enough of all the introductions. Knowing what’s in a pizza doesn’t tell you how it tastes like right? So HOW does the new Ultimate Hawaiian Pizza fare in terms of the yum factor?

Check out the bloggers’ reviews. 

Below are some photos I took during the party:

Linda from Domino’s Pizza giving the bloggers an introduction to the brand

Take pictures

The pizza highlight

Happy bloggers

Yong Wei doing a demo on the hoola hoop

Angie on the hoola hoop

The winner of the hoola hoop contest

Craving for Domino’s Pizza now? Click here to browse their menu or place an online order.

BTW, Domino’s Pizza Singapore is now on Facebook! Go LIKE them on Facebook if you are fan and show Domino’s Pizza some love.  

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale (賽德克‧巴萊) is a 2011 Taiwanese historical drama epic film directed by Wei Te-Sheng (魏德聖) and produced by John Woo (吴宇森), based on the Wushe Incident in central Taiwan in 1930.

John Woo needs no introduction to movie buffs. Wei Te-Sheng is a rising star in the Taiwanese movie industry. His directorial debut, Cape No. 7 (海角七号) is the second top-selling film in Taiwan’s history and revived tourist interest in Taiwan’s Kenting region, which was featured in the movie.

Warriors of the Rainbow is divided into two parts; part 1 is called “太陽旗” (The Flag of Sun), and part 2 is called “彩虹橋” (The Bridge of Rainbow), both running at a total of up to four and half hours.

For international release, the film was cut to a two and a half hour single cut version.

Movie poster for Part 1 of Seediq Bale

I watched the original two parts movie while on a 17 hours flight return to and from Los Angeles – part 1 on my flight from Singapore and part 2 on my flight home from Los Angeles.

Movie poster for Part 2 of Seediq Bale

I love it!

The film depicts the Wushe Incident, which occurred near Cilai Mountain of Taiwan under Japanese rule. Mona Rudao, the movie protagonist, is the chief of Mahebu village of Seediq people.

With rage simmering over how the Japanese bullied his people over the years, Mona Rudao eventually led a group of 300 plus Seediq warriors against their Japanese oppressors.

Vastly outnumbered and with significantly poorer weapons, the Seediq warriors fought bravely to the end, facing the full might of the Japanese empire’s army.

The first part tells the story of a young Mona Rudao, respected and loved by his people for his bravery and hunting skills. It ended with the Seediq rebellion and slaughtering of over 130 Japanese folks.

The second part features the Japanese’s retribution and annihilation of Mona Rudao’s tribe.

Granted there were some pretty excessive violence and bloodshed; these were fundamental for the director to bring out the melancholic, yet gallant mood of tribal warfare.

The original music scores and soundtrack by Singaporean composer, Ricky Ho, were eerily memorable and haunting throughout the movie, adding more depth to the movie’s tribal elements.

Trailer:

The film was shown in competition at the 68th Venice International Film Festival and was selected as a contender for nomination for the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film in 2011 and was one of nine films shortlisted to advance to the next round of voting for nomination.

Warriors of the Rainbow is the most expensive production in Taiwanese cinema history and has also been compared to other tribal war movies like Braveheart (1995) and The Last of the Mohicans (1992) by the Taiwanese media.

I am not sure if this movie will be shown in Singapore or even whether if it will be shown in a single cut version or as two parts. Nonetheless, I highly recommend this movie as one of the must-watch Asian films for 2012!

In Arizona, United States, one of our own elite is alleged charged for drunk driving, driving a sports car to a night club.

The person involved is none other than Gabriel Yam, the eldest son of famous General Election 2011 Returning Officer, Yam Ah Mee (杨雅镁) - via Lianhe Wanba0 《联合晚报》:

Yam Ah Mee and his eldest son, Gabriel Yam

选举官杨雅镁 (Yam Ah Mee) 的长子，因涉嫌醉酒驾车，在美国被控上庭！

杨雅镁在去年5月大选中，以平板的声调、肃穆及没多大变化的表情，为国人一一报告各选区结果，过后被国人录成影片，上载至网络上意外爆红。

《联合晚报》接获可靠消息，指杨雅镁的长子（Gabriel）因涉嫌几周前在美国亚利桑那州醉酒驾车，已被控上当地法庭。

杨雅镁今午接受《联合晚报》电话访问时说：“对不起，信息还不明确，我还在查，对不起，我还开会”。

开跑车到夜店；杨雅镁父子 曾上空军纪念特刊。完整报道，请翻阅15.05.2012《联合晚报》。

]]> http://alvinology.com/2012/05/16/yam-ah-mees-eldest-son-gabriel-yam-allegedly-charged-for-drunk-driving-in-arizona-united-states/feed/ 0 alvinology Yam Ah Mee and his eldest son, Gabriel Yam http://alvinology.com/2012/05/15/exclusive-tickets-giveaway-singapore-arts-festival-2012-our-lost-poems-18-may-to-2-june/ http://alvinology.com/2012/05/15/exclusive-tickets-giveaway-singapore-arts-festival-2012-our-lost-poems-18-may-to-2-june/#comments Mon, 14 May 2012 16:02:55 +0000 alvinology http://alvinology.com/?p=7399 Continue reading →]]> The Singapore Arts Festival is just round the corner, with programs starting from 18 May (this Friday) and running till 2 June 2012. More details are available via the official website.

The theme for this year is “Our Lost Poems”.

This year’s theme completes the trilogy started two editions ago for the Singapore Arts Festival: Between You and Me (2010), I Want to Remember (2011), Our Lost Poems (2012).

Our Lost Poems looks at myths, legends, wandering thoughts, reflections, lost riddles and hidden stories. It is a discovery of tales and aspirations that need to be told and retold. Stories that inspire us, legends that have deep cultural roots, and riddles that reveal the secrets of the world. This coming Festival finds us at a crossroad, waiting to reaffirm our sense of place in time as we uncover refreshing facets of ourselves:

Something ancient.

Something lost.

Something hidden.

Something new.

Over 16 extraordinary days, the festival invites us to encounter a stunning array of performances that will hopefully be close to our heart.

There is a good mix of both free and ticketed events and programs, suitable for audiences of all demographics. 

Are you excited?

I am.

I will be catching three performances (Ciudades Paralelas [Parallel Cities] Hotel – Hotel Maids, [兰芳记] Lan Fang Chronicles and Wind Up Bird Chronicle); of which I have a pair of exclusive tickets to giveaway for these two performances:

Hotel ibis, Warsaw (Photo Credit – Marta Pruska)

Ciudades Paralelas [Parallel Cities] Hotel – Hotel Maids [20th May, 7.30pm]

Parallel Cities (Hotel) is one of three programmes that showcase a side of Singapore not often noticed. In Hotel, you’ll be at Ibis Novena and will get to visit several installations within the rooms of the hotel, giving you some perspective on the hotel’s hidden workers – its chambermaids. This is the first time this project has been carried out in Asia and I am very much looking forward to experiencing this performance myself!

THE LAST DESCENDANT – LUO FU SHENG 最终的后裔 – 罗福生 / (CREDIT: STEFEN CHOW)

[兰芳记] Lan Fang Chronicles [20th May, 3.30pm]

Lan Fang Chronicles explores the stories behind the little known country called Lan Fang (perhaps better known now that our Minister Chan Chun Sing has made reference to it during his election rally). It will be held at Ying Foh Kuan/Shuan Long Shan, a small ancestral hall complete with graveyard located in the midst of HDB flats at Commonwealth. There will be installation exhibitions, making for pretty interesting photo opportunities and a comparison between Singapore and this eerily similar ancestor.

Video Preview:

Are you interested in attending either of these two performances?

Here’s how you can win a pair of free tickets to either Parallel Cities Hotel or Lan Fang Chronicles:

Just tweet me on Twitter @Alvinologist or message me on Facebook @Alvinology with a short note on why you deserve to get a pair of free tickets. State which performance you would like to attend in your note. I will pick the winners by this Thurs (17 May) and announce it on this blog.

I will be watching the performances on the same day, together with the two pairs of winners. Hence we can meet up and have a quick chat on the actual day. Send in your entries now!

你准备好《灵听》了吗？

GHOST ON AIR 《灵听了》is a made-in-Singapore ghost movie, starring famous local deejay and artiste, Dennis Zhou Chongqing (周崇庆) as a spooked deejay who tells ghost stories on air. The movie is produced by Merelion Pictures and directed by Cheng Ding An.

Trailer:

Synopsis:

A Radio DJ driven to desperation, resorts to telling ghost stories on air, but what if the stories were all not fiction?

“Ping Xiao, a two time “Most Popular DJ” award winner, is suddenly robbed of his successful morning show slot. Jealous at seeing a younger DJ taking his place, he forces himself to conquer painful recurring memories of his deceased girlfriend and tells the ghost stories that was written by her on air.

With each painful memory he endures, he regains a small step to his superstardom. However, as he is about to claim his reward, he begins to realize that the stories were not works of fiction, and maybe it wasn’t him telling the stories all along…”

“两度“最受欢迎DJ”的品孝，失利被调到了午夜班。眼红年轻的新人取代自己的位子，他迫不得已回忆起与已故女友的点点滴滴，在空中述说她生前所写的灵异故事。强忍着内心一阵阵的痛，他一步步地夺回自己所失去的。然而，正当他要坐回巨星的宝座時，他赫然发现他所述说的灵异故事并不是虚构的…”

Pardon me if this review for Ghost on Air《靈聼》is a little biased. The movie director is an old friend and is it only natural I would wish a friend’s movie do well at the box office.

I watched the movie on 30 April at the Shaw Preview Theatre during a special preview for a group of omy bloggers. We were greeted by the very sincere movie director himself, who made a surprise appearance to interact with everyone before and after the screening. You can check out the bloggers’ reviews on omy Blog Club. 

Movie director, Cheng Ding An (in black suit) together with a group of bloggers

In the movie, you will see the lead actor, Dennis Zhou take on a challenging dark and serious role, very different from his usual comedic performances.

Former Nominated Member-of-Parliament, Eunice Olsen and famous Malaysian radio deejay, Gan Mei Yan, also plays supporting roles in the movie, spicing up the big screen.

Overall, I felt the production standards for GHOST ON AIR was definitely a notch above Ding An’s directorial debut, KALLANG ROAR THE MOVIE (2008).

There were some who expressed disappointment over the movie’s short 90 minutes run, for me, it was just enough. To begin with, the movie was already paced pretty slowly. If it was to run any longer, it would appear somewhat draggy for a otherwise straight-forward story line.

It’s a bad cliche to ask Singaporeans to support local movies for the sake of supporting the Singapore movie industry which is still in its infancy stage. I think we have grown beyond that. If a made-in-Singapore movie is bad, no amount of cajoling based on national pride and patriotism is going to save it at the box office.

GHOST ON AIR 《灵听》is not one of that bad movie that deserve to tank at the box office (in my opinion). Yes, there’s room for improvement for the young director and movie crew, but this movie is a pretty respectable effort.

The movie will be a treat to horror movie fans as well as fans of radio deejays, Dennis Zhou and Gan Mei Yan. For the latter group, you will get to seeing the two famous deejays test their acting skills in serious roles, beyond their usual comical appearances.

GHOST ON AIR 《灵听》will be showing in Singapore cinemas from 17 May 2012 (this Thursday). Be sure to catch it!

A little history about the restaurant chain’s heritage via their website:

It all started when Mr. Say Lip Hai arrived in Singapore from Hainan island and started as a cookboy with the British troops in Sembawang learning how to prepare the perfect roast beef and Yorkshire pudding. After learning the skills, he started his first restaurant, which was called Cola Restaurant and Bar. The restaurant served the British and Commonwealth troops and their families residing in Sembawang neighborhood.

Mr. Say Lip Hai’s break came when a British housewife tasted the steak prepared by him and suggested that he start a catering business in her husband’s pub in Killiney Road. Her husband’s name was Jack Hunt. Mr. Say agreed with the condition that he take over the whole operation leading to the birth of the famous Jack’s Place Steak House. Jack Hunt sold the business to Mr. Say in 1967.

And that’s how Jack’s Place got it’s name.

Rachel and I had lunch at Jack’s Place, Nex, a few weeks ago, with our baby Asher. The experience was still great. The staff were attentive and friendly.

We were pleased that the restaurant is baby-friendly and the prices on the menu still remain as reasonable as I recall.

Makan time!

Rachel and I ordered a sirloin steak and a ribeye steak lunch set respectively. The serving comes with a soup, garlic bread, coffee/tea and a desert item:

Garlic bread with soup

Ribeye Steak

Sirloin steak

Desert

The presentation isn’t exactly the most fancy, but at just around $30+ for a two pax lunch, I think it’s really great value for money. There’s nothing much I can complain about. Besides, the steaks are pretty good!  :)

Here’s the details for the Nex branch:

Address: 23 Serangoon Central, #04-66 NEX Mall, Singapore
Tel: +65 6634 2433
Opening Hours: Daily, 11am – 10.30pm

INMA Awards 2012

Los Angeles, California, 8 May 2012 – omy.sg, the leading bilingual news and entertainment news portal of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), was the only Singapore winner at INMA Awards 2012, the prestigious international news media marketing awards.

It won third place in the Marketing Solutions for Advertising Clients (circulation over 300,000) category for its social media initiative, omy Blog Club.

omy.sg was among the winners announced yesterday in the world’s premier competition for marketing news media brands by the International Newsmedia Marketing Association (INMA) at the INMA World Congress at the J.W. Marriott in Los Angeles.

Mr Chua Chim Kang, editor of omy.sg and Lianhe Wanbao, said: “We are extremely honoured to have won this award. It is a strong affirmation of our innovative social media initiatives which give advertisers more engagement with the users beyond typical online advertisement campaigns.”

For the Marketing Solutions for Advertising Clients category, judges looked for creative marketing campaigns that provide added value to advertisers and at the same time, generate new revenue or attract new advertisers.

The omy Blog club allowed omy.sg to leverage on its database of over 3,000 bloggers to offer advertisers a unique proposition utilising various social engagement tools such as blogs, Facebook and Twitter.

Partnering with advertisers, the omy Blog club organises events for bloggers. Events include sponsored cinema outings with United International Picture, an annual blogging contest with F&N and a cruise sponsored by Royal Caribbean.

Annual ad revenue for omy.sg grew exponentially by over 90 per cent from 2009 to 2010 with the introduction of the omy Blog club. It also attracted new advertisers, including major brands like Estee Lauder, Nestle, Panasonic and Canon.

The INMA Awards 2012 saw 89 recipients from 66 newsmedia companies in 23 countries across 10 categories and three circulation groups. The competition was judged by an international panel of 24 industry experts from media companies, advertising agencies, trade magazines, and more. Judges came from the Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Oman, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.