From a conversation Julian Wong and I were having.

Tue, 7 Jul 2009
2 min read
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We were discussing our annoyance at how people relentlessly compare OTOT to Army Daze, which is, in our humble opinion, missing the forest for the trees.

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Julian: …I guess people use the Army Daze thing because they have nothing to compare it to. If someone else wrote a play about transsexuals, the audience might compare it to Private Parts too.

Laremy: That’s true. People are always looking for familiarity and something to relate to so they can make sense of the world. Hence the use of stereotypes, which we are both also guilty of using in our plays… Hehe 🙂

Julian: But as a friend of mine said, there is space in the hearts of most people here to accept another play about the NS experience. If people can’t open their hearts and minds enough to accept that OTOT is different, then they’re missing out on a lot.

NS is experienced by every person here (for every guy that enlists, his whole family and circle of friends go through it with him in their own way) – surely it deserves to be shared and celebrated in more ways and more plays than Army Daze!

P. S. If we’re getting this comparison now, think how terrible it must be for the next person who comes along and writes something about NS!

I’ve got a dirty little secret!

Fri, 12 Jun 2009
1 min read
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The tags might give you a clue, but I will only reveal the full extent of what I want to share next week, after Wednesday.

But seriously, I think, like, only five people will be interested or excited about what I’m going to say, so be prepared to be disappointed. But for the REAL FANS *ahem* of Laremy Lee, watch this space eagerly!

In other news, I am looking to hire a personal assistant. Any takers for the job?

Some advice I’d like to give to valedictorians.

Thu, 4 Jun 2009
2 min read
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I personally know at least two people who are gonna be valedictorians in their respective fields this year, so I hope they will allow me to share my views on what I think a valedictorian’s speech should be like.

I’ve never been a valedictorian myself, so it might seem quite impetuous of me to be sharing my views. But take it from the perspective of someone who has studied the craft of writing and has sat as an audience member long enough to at least have some valid views on the matter.

Also, I am usually right, most of the time, so it makes sense to trust me. LOL.

  1. Keep it succinct. Use the recommended rate of 150 words per minute to help you keep track of what you have to say e.g. if you have 5 mins to speak, your speech should be 750 words long. Conversely, if your speech is 1500 words long, you’re gonna take 10 mins to speak; more if you consider all those pauses for breath that you’re gonna have to make.
  2. Keep it sweet. All the speeches which I’ve heard from valedictorians seem to border on nostalgic, mushy, unfocused drivel. Try something different this time: try speaking from the heart about an issue that should matter to the group of people you’re talking to. Think about it in terms of extrapolation: the group of people are at x point in time; paint a picture of what they might be in x + y years’ time if they take your advice to be socially responsible and stop STOMP-ing, for example.

    I want to cheat a bit and use Daren Shiau’s USP Commencement Address 2008 to illustrate my point, but I can’t find it online, so I’ll settle for second-best and ask you to read J. K. Rowling’s “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination” instead.

That’s all. I’m rather succinct and sweet myself, you know. LOL.