Well, the title says it all.

I got the quote off a post off Huffington Post and the picture from this site which has a pretty cute review.

First things first, or, how you know the movie’s really good – I’m writing a sort of review on it, something I rarely do unless I am immensely moved or immensely pissed off by something.

However, I’m not providing any specific examples from the film so that I don’t spoil the film for you.

Why I like Toy Story 3 so much is because it’s packed with so much goodness in it that it has something valuable for everyone.

For example,

• Entertaining and humorous storyline for the kids: Check.
• Tearjerker/romance/comedy/action elements for the various segments of the adult population: Check.
• Concepts like existentialism for the literary geeks: Ch – WTF?

Yes, I’m serious. You can even see some Freudian psychology (yeah I know it’s passe but still) at work in terms of the life drive/Eros/self-preservation instinct that some characters portray.

Some other literary aspects of the film that appeal to me:

• The plot has been crafted very well and fits together very tightly, such that there is adequate closure to each conflict that arises, which allow the round characters to progress in a convincing fashion,
• The conflicts are both plausible and palpable – what each character goes through is at no times trite or contrived, and last but not least,
• What really had me in awe was the film’s employment of a literal deus ex machina that leverages on a series of motifs from the fim/within the Toy Story trilogy. It’s cheesy and a tad predictable if you’ve been following the clues in the film – but it’s done very well.

So please go and watch Toy Story 3 if you can. Even if you can’t appreciate the literary aspects of it, I think you’ll appreciate the truths about life that the film depicts.

P.S. No, I haven’t been paid to plug the film, but I wouldn’t mind a free t-shirt if anyone could get me one of these babies.

If you believe in regulation - not censorship – of the arts in Singapore, pen your name down in support of this change.

Be sure to read the position paper or download it so that you are aware of all the issues involved in this process.

(via)

THE National Arts Council (NAC) has cut the annual grant given to local theatre company Wild Rice. It will get $170,000 this year, down from $190,000 the year before.

It is the lowest annual grant that the company has received from the council. Artistic director Ivan Heng says the council told him funding was cut because its productions promoted alternative lifestyles, were critical of government policies and satirised political leaders.

– Adeline Chia, NAC cuts W!ld Rice funds

Food for thought, given the current context at work.

The YouTube link here in case you can’t see the embedded video.

The script we had to write:

Pooters the Happy Scooter
By Laremy Lee

The first thing I do before first-time pillion riders get on my bike is to introduce my scooter to them. “My scooter’s name is Pooters,” I will say. “Pooters?” they will ask. “But why?” My response: “Because it poots.”

Pooters is a Vespa ET8 that I’ve owned since receiving my motorcycle license back in 2004. When I bought Pooters, it was black in colour. After Pooters and I met with our first accident in 2005, however, my father nagged me into painting Pooters white. Since then, Pooters and I have been in two more accidents, so maybe it’s not really about its colour.

Pooters has a knack of endearing itself to everyone it meets. While Pooters’s fan base is innumerable, let me settle this matter once and for all: I am Pooters’s biggest fan. After me, comes my girlfriend, and after her, the cats in my neighbourhood. I just wish they’d stop leaving their paw prints on Pooters’s seat.

I like to think that the reason why Pooters is so popular is because Pooters is A Happy Scooter that smiles at everyone and everything it sees. I know it sounds like mere whimsy on my part, but rest assured that you’re not gonna get a chance to ride on Pooters if you don’t agree with us.

Though it isn’t always rainbows and unicorns with Pooters, you know. One of my biggest bugbears is Pooters’s temperament: it often breaks down at the most inconvenient of times. Compound that with Singapore’s penchant for rain, and it’s a surefire recipe for an unpleasant commute.

Does this mean I’ll be trading Pooters in for another vehicle anytime soon? Well, for all its quirks, Pooters occupies a special place in my heart. Until the day comes for us to ride under the giant ERP gantry in the sky, you’ll still find us pooting merrily down the roads of Singapore together, Pooters and I.

Finally – a slightly more personal post after so long! (Aaron Ho would be pleased.)

While I was in Bali, I worked on a short story when there wasn’t any sightseeing to be done. After finishing a draft of the story, however, I realised it read more like the Chapter One of a novella. That’s fine too, I guess, but I don’t know how long it’ll take me to finish writing that.

In any case, I’ve just finished tweaking the draft a bit and I thought I’d check if I’d used any words too many times. Apart from being a fun tool to play around with, Wordle helps quite a bit here.

The picture you see above is a word cloud of the story – the greater the number of times a word is used, the bigger the font size of the word in the cloud.

It seemed I used ‘around’ a bit too much as a preposition, so I modified some occurrences. ‘Toward’ has the next highest hit, but it’s harder to replace the word.

I’ll post the story/Chapter One up when I’m done getting feedback on it and editing it. Merry Christmas, everyone and have a Happy New Year!

Robbie Williams’s take on Human by The Killers. The link here if you can’t see the embedded video.

You can find them here. Just click on the link on the right-hand side of each row.

P.S. I know you might think this ultra-nerdy, and I make no bones about the bookishness of this exercise.

From past experience, however, ‘mugging’ for concerts does have its payoffs. If you can remember the lyrics to all the songs, you can sing along/mosh while the band plays. It’s a heightened experience, and it gives you more bang for your buck. And with ticket prices in the three-digit range for this particular gig, I’m sure you’ll want as much bang for your buck as you can get.

1. How is it like working with each other?
   Great! Jon and I have learnt a lot from each other over this production and the last. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to work with him, as he’s very committed to the craft and is always working to get the best out of the text: whether it is in terms of using the best line to convey a certain meaning, or in terms of putting the actors through their paces in order for them to convey the best emotion.
2. What changes were implemented from the previous run of OTOT in 2008?
   The main consideration has always been giving the customers what they want, so we’ve listened to audience feedback when revising the plays. We wanted to make the play a better experience for audience in terms of entertainment and artistic value, so I’ve made changes to the action and the dialogue. For example, there were some concerns that last year’s version of Full Tank! was draggy and heavy-handed; I’ve gone through the script again to cut out repetitive lines and reduce clumsy expressions.
   
   At the same time, I actually experimented with a few different scenarios, character motivations, etc. while making revisions to the script that was used during the OCBC Singapore Theatre Festival 2008. However, I’ve returned to the original plot that made Full Tank! a success, because I realised the stories that were told were what endeared the play to the audience. All that was needed was a bit of tweaking to the mechanics of the plot and it’d be good to go.
3. Did you join any Arts clubs/Theatre societies when you were an undergraduate?
   I was a hostelite through and through so I participated mainly in activities within Kent Ridge Hall. I co-wrote and edited two Hall Productions and contributed three short plays for an Inter-Hall Drama Fest in 2008 (one of which – The Last Political Animal – was censored by the Media Development Authority).
   
   However, I think it wouldn’t be wrong to say that participating in activities outside of clubs and societies might have had a greater part to play in helping me hone my writing abilities. I read two modules taught by Huzir Sulaiman – EN2271: Introduction to Playwriting and EN3271: Advanced Playwriting. It was during that period that an early draft of Radio Silence, an absurd play about National Service, was read by Ivan Heng. This resulted in Ivan nominating me to participate in World Interplay 2007, an international playwriting festival held in Australia. My participation in this festival was co-funded by grants from the University Scholars Programme.
4. What led to your decision to pursue a career in the Arts?
   Unlike the others, I’m not working in the Arts full-time. I’m actually teaching the General Paper at Saint Andrew’s Junior College, but I still enjoy writing as a means through which I can take part in the Singaporean conversation about things that aren’t always very easy to talk about in the mainstream.

From: Victor Chen
Date: November 3, 2009 1:19:14 PM SST
Subject: Blues in November

Hi folks,

It gives me great pleasure to inform all of you about the latest development in the blues scene. Louis and myself, together with Danny Loong and Francis Chan of Ublues as well as Crazy Elephant veteran Ray Aziz, are now playing at Timbre Mobile @ East Coast Park from 5pm – 8.30pm every Sunday.

Keeping in line with our dear leader’s policy of grooming the next generation of leaders, we are now working on grooming the next generation of blues musicians. The Sunday gig will also be a jam session where upcoming blues players, hobbyists and old birds (lao jiao) alike will be featured. Any of you who are keen to take the stage to jam are most welcome to do so, especially if you already have a full band line-up. Above all, this is the perfect excuse to have a beer on a Sunday evening and the meet the folks in our little blues scene.

In other news:

• Shameless plug #1: Double-bill at the Esplanade.
  DATE: Fri, 6 Nov 2009
  TIME: Evening
  VENUE: Esplanade
  TICKETS: $25 from the Esplanade or 4 for $20 each.

  I have been roped in to play with the Stray Dogs for their upcoming reunion gig at the Esplanade on Nov 6, a double-bill with Pest Infested. These 2 bands were the pioneers in Singapore’s nascent blues and rock and roll scene back in the 60s and our setlist includes some John Mayall, CSNY, Deep Purple and Cream among others and of course, a Stray Dogs original recorded back in the 70s.

• Shameless plug #2: Gigs at the Old Brown Shoe.
  1. Sat, 21 Nov will herald the inaugural edition of The Black Room Sessions at The Old Brown Shoe, where I will be singing (*gulp*) and playing solo for 2 sets of acoustic blues. The setlist will draw from some of the Malted Milk and Medium Rare repertoire, but will include more slide guitar on songs from Robert Johnson, Tampa Red and the like. I will also be playing some of my own songs, since no one else wants to play them. (Ed: LOL!)
  2. Sat, 14 Nov and Sat, 28th Nov will feature Medium Rare.
  3. These 3 gigs will start at 8.30pm.

As always, do check the gig listings for any changes.

Cheers,
Victor

The perks? Getting to watch really good shows for free (think Animal Farm).

So go for it if you haven’t tried it before – it’ll definitely be worth your while.

~

Dear Theatre Volunteers,

We are looking for volunteers to assist at the FRONT-OF-HOUSE (FOH) for BEAUTY & THE BEAST!

The world’s favourite love story gets turned on its head in true W!LD RICE style this festive season. From the same team that brought you last year’s runaway hit Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, BEAUTY & THE BEAST is a spellbinding musical comedy filled with laugh-out-loud jokes, fabulous song and dance routines, stunning costumes and sets… and singing utensils!

The volunteers for FRONT-OF-HOUSE (FOH) will be required to:

• Welcome patrons,
• Sell show programmes and merchandise, and
• Collect feedback forms from patrons after the show.

If you are able to commit at least four (4) weekdays (Tuesday to Friday) OR a weekend (Saturday & Sunday), please call Ellen @ 6292-2695 or email ellenng@wildrice.com.sg before Fri, 13 Nov 2009 with the dates you wish to commit for.

Please take note that the following dates are the only ones available for volunteers:

• 3 Dec, 7.30pm
• 6 Dec, 7.30pm
• 8 Dec, 7.30pm
• 9 Dec, 7.30pm
• 10 Dec, 730pm
• 11 Dec, 7.30pm
• 12 Dec, 7.30pm
• 13 Dec, 2.30pm & 7.30pm
• 15 Dec, 7.30pm
• 17 Dec, 7.30pm
• 19 Dec, 2.30pm & 7.30pm

I’ll need your personal particulars:

• Name:
• Mobile:
• NRIC No:
• Email address:
• School/Workplace:

Thank you for your continuous support and dedication!

Looking forward to meeting you again.

Cheers,
Ellen