Thursday, February 19, 2009
Good Times
Yesterday i after sch, i went out with Louise. It's been a long time since we went out. She wanted to collect somes photos from her previous workplace which was Night Safari. We met at CCK mrt station. After few mins at Night Safari, i saw many Japanese wearing their sch u. The ones u will see in Jap movies/dramas. The guys are so handsome lor then some of the gals really are super choi! Too bad i didnt take any photos with them. Ha. But i've taken few photos with Louise! Lol, i really had a good time yesterday! Ya Ta!
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 7:44 PM
Choi Bu
Yesterday i was in school doing bqt. Then in the morning got a class having TR, so got a few students came in and borrow shuffling dish, sternos. Hmm that i went to pack up the bqt room. After i took my lunch, Chris, Iris and i start to joke ard. At abt 2pm plus, the students came back to return all those stuffs. Lol. i was enjoying my potato chips and suddenly someone behind me said this "Wah, u having a picnic here ah?". I turned back then i saw this pretty gal, she looks like a Taiwanese celebrity called Xi En.
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 7:37 PM
Monday, February 16, 2009
The 5 Languages of love
#1 Words Of Affirmation
#2 Quality Time
#3 Gift Giving
#4 Acts Of Service
#5 Physical Touch
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 6:55 PM
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Kangqi
Happy Bday Kangqi! Hope to meet up with you soon! Takkaire! =]
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 7:27 PM
VALENTINE'S DAY COMES ONCE A YEAR, BUT LOVE SHOULDN'T
As lovers all over the world celebrate their relationships and feelings, remember that it does not have to be for only one day.
Candy hearts with cute sayings. Big red velvet boxes with chocolates inside. Dozens of roses. Cards with sentimental poems. Red lace lingerie and pink heart boxers. The aforementioned have become regulars for Valentine's Day as lovers scramble to get each other surprises under the pressure that stores and the media place upon this holiday. But is this all this holiday means?
No one really knows what exactly started the idea for Valentine's Day. Popular stories include a Roman who refused to give up Christianity and was put in jail for his faith. There is also the legend about a Roman clergyman who, inspite of Roman decree, performed secret marriages for soldiers and their lovers. However it got started, ever since Pope Gelasius in 496AD, February 14th has been for lovers.
One day out of the year people publicly profess their love without fear of being thought of as "mushy." However, this year, pledge to your loved one that Valentine's Day will not end at the stroke of midnight. Continue the attention and sentiments of the holiday all throughout the year. Now, this is not saying buy a dozen roses every week or get fat on Hershey Kisses.
To continue the holiday is simple. Hug your loved one when they least expect it. Hold a door for them when you go out. Grab their hand while walking and don't let go after just a few seconds. Leave a note on the fridge in the morning just saying "I love you," or "Have a nice day." Truly grasp what love means by exploring the little gestures that mean so much more than an expensive box of Godiva.
Help your love continue to grow even after the Valentine's Day bouquet withers and dies, and you might be surprised how much happier your relationship could be.
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 12:38 AM
VALENTINE'S DAY @ CHARCOAL
Celebrating valentine's day at Charcoal with my classmates was not a bad idea after all since i dont have the chance to go out on a date with anyone. Ha, when we were having our staff meal, silly Alicia dropped her spoon on my apron! Lol! It's fun taking photos with Jin Mei! I got to taste the mango pudding which was the extras from the set menu. From next monday onwards, i am left with 6 weeks before going back to school. I've to treasure the rest of the time i have in Charcoal le.
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 12:31 AM
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Different dance genres
Hip Hop
Hiphop consists of four main elements; graffiti art, break dancing, DJ (cutting and scratching) and emceeing (Rapping). Never forget to mention the 2 main categories of hiphop- Old School and New School Hiphop. Old School consists of locking, popping, breaking and wave.
Contrary to Old School, New School Hiphop is unique on its own and usually goes hand in hand with slower pace songs. Hip hop is all about rhythm, groove and a whole lot of attitude!
Lyrical Hip Hop
Put a punctuation mark into Hip Hop!
Lyrical Hip Hop emphasizes on accents, punches and hits combined with milking techniques which brings out that extra flavor.
LA Hip Hop
This is a new school Hip Hop style incorporated with fast and sharp movements combined with milking techniques. Get trained in full body control.
Popping
Popping revolves around the technique of Hitting, which gives off an illusion of a jolting effect.
Throw in some rolls and moves like 'the Wave' and 'the Glide', and you'll be taken back to the funky Old School!
Locking
Locking is created by Don ‘Campbellock’ Campbell in the late 1960s during the soul/funk era. It was developed around the concept of a series of quick movements flowing into sudden stops and pauses. Locking is a funky-filled dance style which never fails to bring out the funk in your soul. So pull up your socks and get your groove on!
Reggae
Reggae is an African Caribbean style of music developed on the island of Jamaica. The word "reggae" was coined around 1960 to identify a "ragged" style of dance music. It soon acquired the lament-like style of chanting and emphasized the syncopated beat.
The essence of reggae lies in precise body isolations and percussive hip movements. Learn to dance reggae and explore the fundamental moves ie: swing it, bounce and butterfly. Get Ragged!
Waacking
Waacking focuses mainly on dynamic arms movements, extensions as well as various poses.
It is a dance style which was originated way back in the 1970s. However, it only gained its popularity only in the recent years.
Now, Waacking is not only danced to House music alone. Many people are Waacking to Hip Hop music as well as incorporating this dance style with other dance styles such as Locking, House and Hip Hop.
However, there is a misconception that Waacking is too feminine for men. That is not true. Add in your own flavour. This style is open for everyone!
Lyrical Jazz
A technical class which emphasizes on Jazz techniques and also on movement, flexibility and listening skills.
It is performed to lyrics of a song, which is the driving force and inspiration of the moves.
MTV Groove
MV Groove is a dance style combining jazz, hip hop and funk. Mixing groove and fun, this sexy, high-energy dance also exposes students to various jazz techniques such as turns, jumps, muscle strengthening and flexibility; all of which are essential to bring out attitude and developing lines unique to MTV Groove.
B-Boying
B-boying is a form of hip hop dancing popularly known as breaking. It consists of top or up rock, footwork, spinning moves (power moves), and freeze. B-boying began in the Bronx, NY. The term "B-boy" or "B-boying" was created by Kool Herc who was a DJ spinning at block parties in the Bronx back in the days.
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 12:47 PM
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
HIP HOP SLANGS
I will explain some hip hop terms and what they mean.
Firstly Hip hop is a cultural movement built largely around the music genre of hip hop music, which developed in New York City during the 1970s primarily among African Americans and Latino Americans.[1][2] Hip hop's four main elements are rapping (or MCing, from Master of Ceremonies), DJing, graffiti writing, and breakdance. Other elements include beatboxing, hip hop fashion, and hip hop slang. Since first emerging in the Bronx and Harlem, the lifestyle of hip hop culture has spread around the world.[3] When hip hop music began to emerge, it was based around DJs who created rhythmic beats by looping breaks (smalls portions of songs emphasizing a percussive pattern) on two turntables. This was later accompanied by "rapping" (a rhythmic style of chanting). An original form of dancing, and particular styles of dress, arose among followers of this new music. These elements experienced considerable refinement and development over the course of the history of the culture.
The relationship between graffiti and hip hop culture arises from the appearance of new and increasingly elaborate and pervasive forms of the practice in areas where other elements of hip hop were evolving as art forms, with a heavy overlap between those who wrote and those who practiced other elements of the culture. Beatboxing is a mainly percussive vocal form in which various technical effects of hip hop DJs are imitated.
#1 Dope: A hip hop term that describes something that is excellent or extremely cool such as music, fashion, ppl, etc.
#2 Homies: Friends
#3 I am cool: it's fine/it's alright
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 11:33 AM
Yusheng
Yesterday @ Charcoal, got ppl from VISA who came and booked reservation for 33pax. It's was split into 3 tables of 8ppl and 1 table of 9ppl. Then their 1st course was the Yusheng. I was in charge of one table to do the yusheng for them. Ha, i was so nervous lor. After trying for the first time, it's so fun that i can do it again and again.
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 11:06 AM
Friday, February 6, 2009
The Days 歲月
The Days (歲月)
The Usual Suspects
The ubiquitous Ah Beng of Singapore continues to be a cultural fascination for the big screen in Singapore cinema, having been the subject of films like Royston Tan's 15, and Kelvin Tong/Jasmine Ng's Eating Air. I guess almost every one of us will bump into Mr. Beng at some point in our lives, either in schools, coffeeshops, at nightspots, or even have been, or are still currently one ourselves! This classification and label have been evolving through time, and this version here presented in Boi Kwong's The Days, happen to be an era of mine as well.
Set in the late 80s and early 90s in Ming Fa Secondary School, The Days is loosely based on the director's own experiences, and growing up in the same era, you can't help but to nod in agreement at some of the spot-on observations, and the accurate depiction of generic behaviour of the characters. You know, the gang of boys who form cliques and spot non school approved hairdo, who tuck their shirts out, fold their sleeves and pop their collars, who don't walk but strut their stuff around the school turf. They pick on the weaker boys, and as a group, act in a rather gung-ho, devil may care fashion, firmly believing in strength in numbers. Fights are picked on a whim of accusatory stares, and these boys are fodder for recruitment into underground gangs, where recruiters usually hover around school fences, hooking up and enticing them with values like brotherhood and loyalty, of being "family", or could be bold enough to infiltrate schools to help settle differences.
These boys tend to lead a double life. In schools, they are hopeless as students, but come alive after school - which actually depends on whether they decide to skip lessons altogether - at nearby coffeeshops smoking and drinking beer (this was before more stringent laws were passed to curb selling to minors), or at the arcade plying their skills on the latest Streetfighter game, or at billiard salon to congregate with other members of the same fraternity. On weekends, the discos playing the latest techno hits become their playground, to let their hair down, or to pick up girls, or to pick on someone for fights.
While The Days may seem like it contained a simple story to tell about two brothers, it boasts of a broad documentation of the delinquent life as described which I'm fairly sure still exists in the school courtyards of today, despite being out of an observation post from within. Fusing these elements effortlessly into the narrative, The Days centers on the story of two brothers Zi-Long / Tai-Zi (Justin Chan) and Zi-Hao / Baby (Ivan Lim; yes he's nicknamed that because he's the youngest and the kid-brother), of their relationship which starts to strain because of differing values.
Tai-Zi and his 3 friends call themselves The 4 Heavenly Kings, consisting of Cockroach (Avery Ang), Dog (Derrick R) the part time medium and Tau-Per (Kelvin Tan) the dropout and motorcycle fanatic. Together they form quite a terror group in school, and become ripe for a final initiation (with altar and complete with recitation of vows) into a larger gang, sponsored by their Boss Jeremy Tan (Anthony Levi Kho), who happened to be the live-wire in the movie. All these faux-pas glamour and power-play proved to be enticing to a timid, loner Baby who gets picked on In his first day of school by the resident lower secondary ruffian Rat (Jason Ho, with excellent snarl and one of the most convincing in his role). Baby, whose impressionable mind decides that he too should live it up like his brother in the hip and In-crowd, who in Tai-Zi's earnestness, tells Baby that his band of brothers would be his brothers as well, pivoting the story from that point on.
Hang on, you'd say. Isn't this glamourizing delinquent behaviour, and giving a nod towards street corner gangsters? If this was made some 10 years ago, I'd think it would raise more than a few eyebrows. But here's where I thought the compromise was - the characters hardly ever swear, if at all, which makes it a tad quite impossible. They use language and terms which are quite sanitized, and there's a moderating voice represented by Richard Low, whose aged durian seller and ex-gang member provides that constant reminder of not throwing one's youth away for short term pleasures and to make better use of one's time to better oneself. While essentially a mouthpiece of good sense and caution, he becomes a showcase of the detrimental outcome of one who led a life of violence. However, you can count on the veteran actor's gravitas and charisma to lift the one-dimensional role, and doesn't come across as too preachy, and his involvement in many local indie productions, is nothing short of admirable.
In some ways though, there's a distinct lack of authority here with the marked absence of the cops (for a nation like ours that boasts of a safe and secure environment), save for one scene where some plainclothes did a raid, and for a school, there's also the noticeable absence of teachers. Granted, this makes the film border a little on the fantastical, akin to flicks like Volcano High and Crows Zero on turf wars, only without the snazzy effects and superhuman powers. However, there are some eye-popping animations and graphics used to elevate the various characters into legendary, comic book styled status, providing some added colour into the narrative.
In a movie strong in the themes of brotherhood, the women here do play important roles as well, apart from being molls and dolls, and calling the shots at times. Besides sibling rivalry and brotherly love, there's a contrast and parallel to Tai-Zi and Baby in sisters Shan Shan and Valerie (played by real life sisters Adele and Adora Wong), with a built-in love triangle to spice things up a little, to add fuel to the fire. While one sister acts as an inspiration for a change in behaviour for the better, the other becomes the catalyst and chief instigator to entice another's descent into delinquency, of wanting to be, or surpass the "achievements" and reputation of his sibling. It's an interesting parallel, especially when it boils down to hell having known no fury like a woman scorned, and one showing that she has enough tenacity inside her to take charge when the time calls for It. Actress Yeo Yann Yann rounds up the female cast in a supporting appearance as the single mother of the sisters, and in a bar maid role here, that makes it two in a role, given something similar in Yasmin Ahmad's upcoming release Muallaf.
Pacing of the film is remarkably even as it didn't try to cram too much, but felt a little bit rushed toward the end (checking out some film stills did leave an impression that a lot more didn't make it to the final cut). I would suppose some would gripe about the film regarding the fight sequence toward the finale taking place at night, which was a bit of a blur, especially when compounded by shooting it in the dark and had a fair bit of close ups, whereby the characters realistically wearing dark clothing didn't help in allowing to see who's engaging who. Then again, it brought out an aspect of such gangland whack-fest - most of the time, the victims would hardly know who's raining blows at that point in time, and brought out the cyclic nature of such violence perfectly, where victims who survive will round up a bigger gang to take on his attackers when they're left alone and at their most vulnerable. And the cycle continues until there is none-left standing.
For those who still live in the dinosaur era and dismissing every Singaporean movie that comes out automatically based on biased notions of poor production values, of having tele-movie look and feel, and not being able to entertain, you'd be surprised at how far Singapore cinema has come with The Days now setting the benchmark for a quality and slick indie production with what seems to be on a relatively modest budget. With accessible themes, identifiable characters and excellent cast in what would be the first-outing on the big screen for most, I would rate this movie as highly recommended, even though the younger crowd would miss out on it given its NC-16 rating. Don't go in expecting Young and Dangerous, as this movie would ring closer to home in more ways than one, set firmly in our local context.
Btw, put your bums on your seats when the end credits roll, as there's a coda at the end that will complete the story. And it would be interesting to see how The Days would fare at the box office, because it had set up to room for a sequel to be made should the box office prove to be an overwhelming success, that while it wrapped up this particular chapter of the story, still had enough reserve fuel in its tank to go for another round.
The Days premieres at a local theatre near you - 11 Sept 08. Watch for it!
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 9:39 PM
Art Imitates Life
They say art imitates life. I would like to walk a path feeling a life and recreating stories in lives, evoking emotions and senses to tears of sorrow, joy, love or from sheer laughter. All fear did for me was rob (though some fear might have kept me safe), so I hope I always have the courage to love and live in acceptances of the desires of the heart. I send love to the people who have shared a relationship with me and listened about my work recently and from the past. Know that your words left a little imprint in my journey.
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 8:48 PM
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Another Day Has Passed
Another day has passed, tday i was the Headwaiter @ Charcoal. Although i didnt help out much in service but i m glad i got the chance to chat and encouraged 2 customers who were hesitating to come in and dine. I felt a sense of worth in me. Ha.
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 7:38 PM
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Painful Sia
Yesterday while i was doing a function in school, it's was the school staffs' reunion lunch. I am in charge of the beverage side, when i wanted to open the milk, that's when i accidentally cut my left hand with a pair of sharp scissors. It cut one of my hand's vein and i was bleeding alot lor.
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 6:28 PM
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Erika Toda
Erika Toda, she's so cute. How i wish i can know her as a friend!
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 1:15 PM
Happpy Bday Xuan!
Happppy Bday to u Xuan! It's been a long time since i saw u, how have u been? Catch up soon, ya?
Posted by Dancing Is My Life at 1:13 PM