radiohead

its interesting how one can get from not owning any radiohead albums to owning several in a few months.

so being bored today i've decided to list some of my favourite radiohead songs.

In no particular order, except that Black Star does top the list.

Black Star
You and whose army?
Idioteque
(Nice Dream)
My Iron Lung
Just
Bones
Bulletproof... I wish I was
Wolf at the Door
Karma Police

but recently i've also been hooked on:
Nelly Furtado's Try
Jason Mraz's You and I Both (altho mostly cos that song sorta has a particular meaning for me)
Muse's Hysteria, Time Is Running Out, Falling Away With You
Wilco's When You Wake Up Feeling Old
Pearl Jam's version of The Who's Baba O'Reilly

service without a smile

in case you didnt know it already, service at Singapore's HMV is always without a smile.

Ok i have to admit only making a purchase there ONCE, when i bought a couple of VCDs that cost less than $10 each. (HMV's CDs are usually so ridiculously priced, it doesn't warrant a visit at all - i usually just go to browse the mags) it was a weekday afternoon I recall, and as a result, there weren't that many customers around.

So I placed my purchases on the counter. she scans in the prices and puts them in a bag. she doesn't tell me what the total is, doesn't utter a word and naturally doesn't give a smile (can you say "cos i work at HMV and ít's just too cool a place to smile"?)
i was tempted to just say, forget it i changed my mind about the vcd. i should've. but i wanted one of the vcds cos i hadnt seen it (Mumford - starring loren dean and jason lee! and i love jason lee!)

anyway i stalked out there determined never to buy anything from HMV anymore.

but then again, i just did.

no i have not gone back on my word. i just havent bought anything from the singapore store since. i made my purchase this time in Toronto where service was definitely with a smile.

pp will definitely expect better service in places like the US and canada at restaurants etc becos of the practice of tipping. but in a store like HMV where of course tipping doesn't happen? exactly.
i was looking for the Will & Grace box set. but could only find season 2. i wanted to get hold of season 1 as well but that was all that was on the shelf.

so i approached one of the cashiers, this asian-canadian girl, and asked about it. she was like.. oh? that's odd. and she went over with me to the shelf and had a quick look around. and then she nicely asked me to stick around while she checked the stock. and apologised when she returned to say that they didnt have it in stock. but i decided to get season 2 anyway (after all, we all know it's not going to shown on local tv) and she rang it up for me, adding that if i liked, she could place an order for me and i could prob pick it up within the next few days. i explained that i was leaving town that night so it wasnt possible. but it was great that she offered to do that. i was very pleased. :)

meanwhile, back in sg, i popped over to borders (yes another service without a smile place) a couple of days ago on my off day.

i was looking for a book for a friend's bday present. wasnt sure if borders had it, altho i know amazon.com did. so i decided to check with the info counter. the guy was quite nice, checked it up on the computer (altho he took ages to find it) and said they didnt have it in store. i cld order it tho it would take about 4-6 weeks to get in. shipping would be free.

so i thanked him and did some wandering around the cd section. smsed jem to let him know that we'd need to go to plan b, watever that was. he wanted me to ask if there were any other books on running away (which would be another story for another day...)
so i headed back towards the books area. and then decided to poke around the travel section cos i knew the bday girl liked to travel n cld prob do with a guide bk or sthg like that.

and whaddya know... i found the very book i had been searching for - there was one copy right there in the travel section (which is one of the shelves near the info counter btw) so naturally i bought it. and left borders thinking wat a clueless place it was. full of pp who absolutely have no clue wat the hell they're doing.

i was just thinking

i received some news today that made me feel a little down but let's just see how that all goes. maybe it wont be that bad. but who am i kidding...

anyway that's the thing about blogs isnt it? how much to say. how much not to say.

i know that very very few people read this blog so i shldnt really care and shld just spew whatever crap i want. (and i think i do that sometimes when i just cant be bothered) but then i think... hmmm... what if that person actually reads this bloody thing? then i wld be screwed. definitely.

anyway the lyrics below are from Teitur - whom i just Adore. the scandinavian singer-songwriter has such beautiful songs! (and very sappy ones i might add)

this one's called Poetry & Aeroplanes, in case you havent guessed already.

and that also happens to be the name of the album as well.

other stuff i've been listening to:
Keane's Hopes & Fears (yay!)
Teenage Fanclub's 4766 Seconds (also Yay!)
The Vines' Highly Evolved (not so much a yay)
Radiohead (YAY!)
Muse's Absolution (a definite Yay!)

oh yeah and i did just get back from canada. where apparently i missed seeing the jealous sound! and my morning jacket... sigh...
and i WANT to go to Lollapalooza.
i mean, the flaming lips, broken social scene, the von bondies, wilco, and ELBOW!!!! i love ELBOW!!! damnit i should've flown to perth to see them... damnit damnit damnit

anyone want to sponsor me???

There was a party last night, last night
Cigarettes and empty bottles, empty bottles
Better open up this window, this window
Need some air to clear my head, clear my head
Alone in these strange beds
I think that I’ve traveled enough
Poetry and Aeroplanes
I am tired of waiting for love
Tend to fall asleep in the fast lane, in the fast lane
Sometimes sinking low in the high life, in the high life
No more happy songs of heartbreak, oh’ heartbreak
Or playing white knight misunderstood, misunderstood
Alone in these strange streets
I think that I’ve walked them enough
Poetry and Aeroplanes
I am tired of waiting for love
Another night I lie awake
In woken dreams of faith and fate
Hope my love don’t come too late
Hope my love don’t come too late
Alone in these strange streets
I think that I’ve walked them enough
Poetry and Aeroplanes
I am tired of waiting for love

life after

MAY 1 | 4:45 p.m.

I want a city apartment and a country house. A lazy bull-dog and striped pajama pants that are weathered and fabulous. I don't want a cleaning lady or a gardener to plant the flowers in the front lawn. I'd like antique typewriters with silver keys for tired fingertips, and I'll blast music in the kitchen, making omelets, swinging my hips until I decide it's time to stop. I want friends over at least once a week for wine and remembering. Books by the dozen on my nightstand. An award-winning novel with my name on the spine. Maybe two. A lover curled up against my back. Passion and romance and picnics on weekends and walks around museums and adventure. I won't care how tired I get. I'll never stop running

unfortunately i didn't write this. but i do love this. and i think i want what she wants.

who is she? she's a college senior in Boston who will be graduating this year.
for more please have a look at her story on the Boston Globe.

it'll soon be two years since i've graduated from NTU.
Am I happy? I think i'm doing alright. I like my job. I like what I"m doing although i do gripe about it occasionally (who doesn't?)
I still am longing to go back to study. I think I'd like to do a degree in either film (not film production but film or cinema studies - I want to be a professional movie critic!! and i'd have to know exactly what I"m talking about wouldn't I?) or literature/writing. (I want to better my writing. I want to write fiction, I want to write poetry. I confess to be not too hardworking in this aspect. Once in a while I jot down some lines that popped into my head but i leave them alone. I don't go back to work on them. i let well, sleeping lines lie. and lie they do. dormant.)
Yet how do i give up this job I'm in and take off for somewhere else without a salary? I don't want to rely on my parents anymore. i don't want their money. i already feel like i'm in too much debt to them since they paid for my uni education.

i want for him to not go away.

epic battles and ice ages

So I watched Troy.

so i saw brad pitt looking his age. eric bana doing a nice heroic role. orlando bloom playing the wuss. the great peter o'toole proving that age is no matter when it comes to acting, that his blue eyes can still provide as steely a gaze as ever.

but i also watched Troy and asked, THIS is Helen? this is... er wat was that? ... the face that launched a thousand ships?
i mean she is beautiful but stunning? No. a good actress? Hell no. Hector's wife (apparently an aussie actress) is ten times better an actress.

and mr pitt? well... he was quite good i guess. altho his role as Achilles was pretty one-sided. and not much about the great warrior's background was explained. (and i'm not just saying this because there were major hints of his nude body several moments in the show)

was it an epic movie? well some of the battles were good. some of the acting was good. the directing was decent. there was the feeling of a lot of CG characters running around on the battlefield. and honestly the shot of a thousand ships at sail on the sea didnt do it for me. altho the aunties sitting behind (at least i think they were aunties) kept tsk tsking throughout..
so somehow or other they were impressed (if disapproving)

as for The Day After Tomorrow, it was watchable, though i wouldnt have paid to see it. (Troy i did pay, but then again transport and dinner was free so somehow it all evened out!)

i shant explain this one (as if i explained Troy in the first place!!) except to say 'did we need another disaster movie?'

it did provide some hilarious (altho unintentionally so) moments, like where starving wolves try to attack some kids on a ship stuck in ice. actually just typing this sentence makes me want to laugh at the ludicrous-ness (such a word??) of it.

The cranky movie critic wld like to rate the shows now.
Troy gets a 4 out of 5 stars
Day After Tomorrow gets 2.5

thank you and good morning

its showtime

Last night I watched a truly amazingly, unconventional and beautiful film called Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, written by the genius called Charlie Kaufman.

Unfortunately I've not had the chance to see Adaptation which I"m sure was equally brilliant but Sunshine was an exceptional movie.

It surprised, it moved and made one think.

It wasn't a straightforward movie and in fact some might call it a bit warped.

But it is a definite must-see!!

The basic premise (SPOILER ALERT!) is that Joel meets the love of his life, Clementine. But they're total opposites. She one day, on impulse, decides to erase all memories of him from her mind. He finds out and decides to take his turn. But in his case, while the memories are being erased, he tries desperately to cling onto them. He however loses the battle and can't remember her when he wakes.

It's a story about how when two people are meant to be together, they will eventually end up together, even if they erase all memory of each other.

It was a truly excellent movie and heck I would love to watch it again, just to take it all in once more!!

Tonight will be watching Troy - not a free show this time though - but hopefully it'll be good.

forgot to mention that i managed to watch some shows i'd been meaning to see on my flights to and from perth on SIA>which has the best inflight entertainment ever!! on-demand too!!

i saw the last bit of the return of the king (i've only seen it once versus 5 times for the two towers), william h macy in the casion film The Cooler (excellent movie - A-), Robert Altman's behind-the-scenes at the Joffrey Ballet, The Company (was quite good altho bits and pieces were a bit off i think: B)
saw the first 20 min of Cold Mountain, got bored....
also caught The House Of Sand And Fog, also quite heavy going but with truly breathtaking performances by all the leads including jennifer connelly and ben kingsley. i forget the iranian woman's name tho, which is unfortunate as she was the best of all of them and should've won the oscar. (she didn't, did she?? i tell you, the thing about the Academy Awards is that no one bloody remembers who won anything soon after...)

jet-setting in may

once again i am back from another junkett. this time to club med cherating. it was an enjoyable 2 nights 3 days there. there was time to chill out, to make new friends, to join in the activities and partake of good food.

i cant tell what 've done to deserve these two wonderful trips but i tried to savour every single moment, by giving the different things a try, talking to people and taking pix. so here are some of my fave pix of the club med and margaret river trips.


the view from my room at Club Med Cherating - well at least from the smaller window


Brookland Valley winery


i stayed on the second floor, left hand room. gorgeous suite!


sunset at Cape Lodge


i like this one


grapes on the vine


at Manly (sydney trip)

delighted

i'm having a good month. a really good month which involves lots of travelling.

it all started on april 20, when i flew to sydney to do some sightseeing and drinking and of course watch Radiohead in concert. I was home on the 26th of april. and just almost a week later, on May 2, i was back at the airport, this time on a flight to the other end of Australia - Perth, more specifically, the Margaret River region. MasterCard kindly sponsored the trip there, which was for the International Wine Tourism Conference. Was back in Singapore on the 5th. And that sweet boy picked me up from the airport. :)

and tomorrow morning i will be waking up before the sun again and heading to Newton to catch a bus to Cherating. Damn i hate having to go to Malaysia by bus but no choice really!

nervous

interestingly i'm kinda nervous about this trip. i guess it's understandable?? - it is after all my first overseas work assignment. and while i wldnt say that it's a very big thing (one of my classmates works for reuters and he went to taiwan to cover their presidential election!) i am still a bit apprehensive. i dont know what to expect!

let's just hope it'll all be good. there is always hope!

out and back in again

guess where i'm headed on sunday?

margaret river!! yes... just days after arriving in singapore (well almost a week really) i'll be headed back to Australia again. this time for my very first junket. i'll be at margaret river, attending a wine tourism conference. its a 3 day trip, arriving back in Sg on wed night.

should be all good!
:)

radiohead again

It might be just a little crazy to fly eight hours to see a concert. But that's what I did a few days ago.

Probably what's crazier is that I wasn't that big a Radiohead fan. I didn't own all the albums, didn't know all their songs.

And now, after staggering out of the concert in a daze (a good daze mind you, and not one out of a haze of weed - the scent of which was floating around the Sydney Entertainment Centre) I just want to experience it all again. And this time, sing every word with Thom Yorke.

If I could use only one word to describe the Radiohead concert, it would be BRILLIANT. This can easily be replaced by EXCELLENT and AWESOME and AMAZING. but of course all this would sound tons better as such: f**king brilliant, f**king excellent... you get the picture.

On the flight back, I chilled out by listening to yeah you guessed it, Radiohead. I would've listened to Muse but I only had it on CD at that time, not on my precious, so I couldn't listen to them. They are equally brilliant btw, and I would LOVE to watch them live. Unfortunately they did play at Big Day Out this year, so have no idea when they'll be headed to this part of the world again.

Another music fest I would've loved to have gone to is last year's Summer Sonic in Japan (Tokyo/Osaka). Which had Radiohead and a whole host of others. (cant'remember them now as I am thinking of the lineup for Coachella - which includes The Cure, The Flaming Lips, Death Cab For Cutie, Radiohead, Air and plenty more)

setlist

01 2+2=5
02 myxomatosis
03 where i end and you begin
04 lucky
05 sit down. stand up
06 just
07 sail to the moon
08 i might be wrong
09 go to sleep
10 like spinning plates
11 exit music
12 talk show host
13 national anthem
14 fake plastic trees
15 paranoid android
16 idioteque
17 there there

Encore #1:
18 we suck young blood
19 nice dream
20 my iron lung
21 no surprises

Encore #2:
22 you and whose army? (actual setlist had planet telex here)
23 everything in its right place

got it from at ease

more about sydney

i have to admit that it was a fantastic trip despite having tripped, fallen and sprained my left foot (and subsequently straining my right wrist as I tried to break my fall) just after dinner (Turkish food) at Newtown.

But something good sorta came out of that actually ("Always look on the bright side of life"), I was a bit late for the check-in and as a result was allocated a seat near the back of the plane. but i did get two seats to myself! so i took the opportunity to stretch out and relax properly.

Gulf Air's really not too bad. the service from Sydney was better than to Sydney. but it was generally ok. food not too good tho!

other than that, here's a quick look at what we did in Sydney

Tuesday night - touchdown in Sydney. went to have a quick supper (for me at least) at Pancakes on the Rocks. headed to Ray's house to settle in and have some drinks.

Wednesday - after a sleepless (and cold) night, woke up late and took the train into the city for a spot of shopping. nothing much to buy though. shopping malls all about the same really. Met Ray after work and headed to Kingsford i think it's called (The UNSW area) to meet Sujin's friend Yufen (and bf) where we ate at a place called Arthur's Pizza, which we found after a lot of wrong turns....
Drinks at a nearby inn.

Thursday - woke up late (but still earlier than Wed), went to Sydney Fish Market for cheap sashimi and tiger prawns lunch, walked to Glebe. Did some treasure-hunting in some op shops. bought some second-hand books.
Sujin's chicken curry for dinner - bloody spicy but the three of us managed to polish off most of the chicken and potatoes.
headed out to town for drinks at The Establishment. nice place but very exec crowd.

Friday - did some touristy stuff today, headed to the Opera House and then had an ice-cream from Gelatissimo at Circular Quay and hopped onto the ferry to Manly. Hung out there for a couple of hours and it was then back to Chatswood. After a quick clean-up and a drink, we went to Chinatown for some Thai/Chinese food before meeting Ray's friends for drinks at Homebar (around Darling Harbour). not too happening so we also went to check out Three Wise Monkeys (where we had to first queue to get in, then queue to get to the third floor where a live band was playing - not too good though..) Arthouse, Cruise and The Establishment again.
headed back to the house for more drinks.

Saturday - after getting up late, as per usual, headed to Glebe where we met Chek for brunch at one of the cafes (i finally had my eggs, bacon, grilled tomatoes and toast) and checked out the Glebe market, where i got some tops and a book for less than $20.
Then Ray dropped us off at the Sydney Entertainment Centre where we joined the queue for the mosh pit at about 430. It started getting cold though!!
Doors opened at about 720. and we sat waiting for something to happen. And it did, all of a sudden, people were on their feet and racing towards the front. Local band THe Bumblebeez came on. They sucked, as one member of the audience kept yelling out. they were really shitty and luckily it was only about a 20min set.

cos at about 815, Radiohead came on with 2+2=5. it was excellent. truly excellent.
well i'm not too sure of the setlist but these are some of the songs they played:
Myxamatosis
My Iron Lung
There There
National Anthem
(Nice Dream)
Fake Plastic Trees
Exit Music
You And Whose Army?

er that's all i can think of at the moment. but it was truly amazing.

wat did we do after?? er... drinks at home. (i think u have begun to sense a pattern here)

Sunday - my last day!!!
went to Paddy's market, Bondi beach (and sorta checked out the market)
headed to Newtown for dinner (where we got stuck in serious traffic from Bondi becos of a footy game)
Ate at a Turkish cafe, pretty damn good.
and then i fell, i curse that uneven pavement and bad street lighting.
they dropped me off at the airport and off I was back home, back to work....

radiohead live

i just had to put these up. it was a truly excellent concert on april 24 at the Sydney Entertainment Centre. opening act Aussie band Bumblebeez pretty much sucked, as one member of the mosh pit crowd (where we were standing) kept shouting.

but the radiohead gig was awesome.






here we are with our unofficial radiohead tour t-shirts ($20 for 2!) - there weren't any official ones and the best looking ones were the Hail To The Thief ones, which werent that fantastic in the first place. Behind us is the Harbour Bridge, and actually you should be able to see the Sydney Opera House, cos Ray drove us to this really nice spot ... er dunno where it was now but somewhere north of North Sydney. might be the greenwood area? dunno.

scatterbrained

how do you know whether the right person is the right person and not just some person?

when you're single and dating, how can you tell? how can you know that he is the right one? and not just anyone who can fill the void?

i feel very superficial (altho someone has assured me that he knows many women in their 20s who do think the same way), the way i go out with people who are, well, physically attractive.
and yes, it surprised me that he's not just a... erm... body.

last night's conversation (and somewat scary incident with a quarrelling couple behind me) really hit me. about how superficial i really am.

i mean, i dunno if i can go out with a person i'm not attracted to, physically.

that really sounds terrible.

and it is.

but on another note, i'm getting very confused. i'm not sure what's going on. there's this, and then there's that. and i'm not sure which is good for me, if any is good for me at all.

this is after all, a blog, so i think that's all i'm going to reveal to the world. that i'm confused and that i seriously need to figure things out and do what's right. but what is right? and what is not?

:(

did i mention that i like teenage fanclub?

cos i do!!

and let me just give a quick ipod (re: my new best friend) update. the relationship is still going good. just bought the ipod a new jacket to protect itself. (iskin). wanted the nice black one but that one doesnt have that neat slip it out slit to place it in the dock. so i went with that white/translucent one.

39 bucks i spent on that and more than half an hour trying to find the shop at sim lim. wandered round n round then we finally go ask the security guard who says its closed on sundays (this was last sunday btw) so we go looking for a mac shop. surely there must be one mac shop in the whole of simlim. and yes, there was ONE. uno. mac shop, perched high on the sixth floor where no one can see it.

yeah and i made another expensive purchase this week - a pair of asics racers that cost me $179!!! i tried on their other shoes but the arches were too high for my somewhat flat-footed er.. feet. so i went with the racing shoes, less cushioning but definitely more comfortable.

i've never seriously thought abt running shoes so i guess i have sean to thank for that. well after spending all that money on shoes, i better run more.

i managed a quick run this morning and will try to get up early again tomorow. i didnt run on saturday and seriously felt very tired the whole day altho i got 8 hours of sleep that day!

anyway.... it's a sunday but i was at work though it was thankfully a very quiet day. one down four more to go.

have a lot of emailed interviews pending damnit. will these pp just answer my questions already!!! i have to actually write the article, dont they know that??

better get them done soon. i've already fired off a reminder to the fella in the UK. so he better get back to me quick!!!

yeah moody. so what.

wanted to add the bands i've raving abt (besides teenage fanclub whom we already know is great)
south
snow patrol
mew
lambchop
drive-by truckers
dios
ted leo/pharmacists

and of course
the decemberists
wren
The Observatory (love Hearts And Souls! go buy this album if u havent already!)
Pete Yorn
Sloan
The Smiths
Turin Brakes
MMJ
Elbow
and plenty more

whine whine

i'm feeling very whiny and needy right now. feel like calling someone to whine about god knows what.

here's my week

monday - slacked at work as usual. filed story on the ride i took at the escape theme park, which sean very graciously went with me to take pictures. (so i treated him to crystal jade lunch - dim sum and la mian! - at toa payoh central) headed to cathay at 6something to watch preview of Beat Takeshi's Zatoichi with Terence. good show. funny, violent as well but all good. 2 thumbs up! (watch out for my review in the papers soon) Had late dinner at Pasta Mania after strugglin to go down from the 6th floor. (place was packed with eager churchgoers - all clamouring to watch The Passion of The Christ)
headed home after.

Tuesday - slacked at work as usual. went for a free lunch at novotel apollo, where the md (asia-pacific) of the Accor Group (which owns the whole novotel, sofitel, mercure, ibis chain of hotels). good chocolate dessert and coffee. came back, cldnt figure out a good story angle because the MD wasnt available for a one-to-one I/v as he had to fly off after lunch). went back to office. filed story on 24 hr playwriting competition. left at 730 for the substation where i wanted to check out sujin's friend's video. managed to talk to him as well as the substation fella who organised the screening. might have a story there. will chat with him next week or something.

Today - got email saying that film distributor's trying to set up interview with takeshi kitano for me! overjoyed. filing movie review of ned kelly. heading to police media night after for more free food.

Tomorow - day off. have plans to go swimming, met jem for lunch at his workplace, buy running shoes (current pair falling apart), go see the Selena Tan show and then meet pp for something after?? i have no idea.

Friday - i want to do something on friday. something that preferably involves alcohol... damnit.

time for an update

it really is time for an update isnt it.

stuff has been happening and i wonder if i maybe shldn't have encouraged some of it

but heck let's just see how it all goes.

anyway it is april the first, april fool. and i'm not fooling but in 19days i'm off to sydney! whoo hoo!