inspireME

theoretically over

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:19:00 EST

Took my ABRSM Grade 8 Music Theory Exam today at SMU. Went together with GY after we revised together at Kovan, and we were nearly late because of a woman who snatched our cab, and the untimely traffic jams which slowed us down (we should have taken the MRT). No thanks to the cabdriver too, who couldn't drive us to the right building even when I'd showed him the map. By then we only had three minutes left before the exam would start, so we gave up on the driver and got off the cab and ran around to find the correct place (yes, we literally ran - the SMU students must have thought we're mad). Luckily our sense of direction was good, and we managed to find the exam room. The moment we ran in and sat down, the exam started. There are 5 questions in all - Q1 to complete a trio sonata passage, Q2 to complete a keyboard passage, Q3 to compose a 16-bar well-modulated melody with given opening, Q4 and Q5 to answer questions based on two given orchestral scores. The total duration was three hours, so I planned to spend half an hour on each question, leaving half an hour for checking. I did the questions in the order Q4-5-1-2-3. Everything went fine as planned, except for the final Q3, where I spent nearly an hour without realising it - only knew I had five minutes left when the invigilator announced it. By then I was only at my tenth bar, so I rushed through to compose the final six bars, having not much time to check the accidentals. The given opening was a cello passage in 2/4 with demisemiquaver patterns (which meant that there're many notes to write). My key changed from G minor to D minor to C minor to G minor - sharp, flat and natural signs were flying all over the page. Extremely error-prone. Got out of the exam hall feeling quite gloomy as I didn't check the rest of the paper, and my Q3 must have been full of careless mistakes (I can't sing the notes accurately in my head whenever there are modulations), but I felt better when I met up with GY. Apparently she had a lot of difficulty with the paper as well. And the more we talked about our answers, the more we felt unsure of how we'd performed. That reminded me of those old days when I was a student - I'd leave the school immediately after exams so that I wouldn't need to compare answers with anyone. In any case, I'm just glad that the exam was over. After waking up early on Saturday mornings to attend theory lessons for the past two and half years, I'm finally free! Woohoo! P.S. SMU students dress quite shabbily eh? Always had a very good impression of SMU students - they always look so 'hip' and clever in the advertisements - but from what I saw today, even the "nerdy" NTU or NUS students dress better? And when I came across a bunch of students and asked for a general direction, they didn't even know where the faculties are! Boo.

atonement

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:17:00 EST

ntended to write the reviews only when I've finished watching all the movies, but I simply couldn't contain my thoughts after watching Atonement. Atonement is the story of how the accusations of a jealous, brooding little girl (Saoirse Ronan - her eyes are chillingly haunting) radically ruined the lives of her elder sister (Keira Knightly) and a promising, young man (James McAvoy). An extremely powerful movie, with one of the most enthralling editing and musical score I've ever experienced in recent movies. And the depressing darkness still lingers for a very long time even when the painfully heartwrenching end-theme has finished playing. The movie scored the Best Picture in Golden Globe and BAFTA, but the Oscars only awarded it with the Best Original Score. It's my favorite movie so far in my week-long marathon, and I really think Atonement should have won the Best Film, instead of that Old Men show. No Country For Old Men tells the cat-and-mouse story between a cold-blooded professional killer (Javier Bardem) and a man who found a satchel full of money by chance (Josh Brolin). Not for the faint-hearted, as the insane eyes of that bloodthirsty Javier Bardem (together with his unique weapon and fate-deciding coin tosses) are enough to give people endless nights of nightmares. Yep, he truly deserved the Best Actor win in the Oscars. But I thought the movie was overly-long and indulgent, despite the critical acclaim. La Vie En Rose is the story of that famous French singer Edith Piaf. Marion Cotillard was perfect as the title role, and that is clear from the numerous Best Actress awards that she's garnered (including the Oscars). Piaf's true life was probably too dramatic for drama - even the congested film, which highlighted only some of the key events and had to breeze through some others (in order for the movie to be of a reasonable length and pace), couldn't contain all the tragedies that the actual Piaf has undergone. A beautifully nostalgic movie, nevertheless. Juno turned out to be a pleasant surprise. It's the story about how a sharp-tongued teenager (Ellen Page) came to terms with her unplanned pregnancy. Relevant, sincere, light-hearted, memorable, hip, clever, funny and bittersweet. Plus (a BIG plus actually), the soundtrack was simply B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T: teenage pop with a tinge of country influence. No wonder it won the Best Original Screenplay in the Oscars. My favorite, next to Atonement. August Rush is a story about a musical prodigy (Freddie Highmore), who was separated from his musician parents (Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers) since birth. Can be quite corny and overly Hollywood at times, and Freddie's character felt like a copy of Bjork's in Dancer In The Dark, where she hears music everywhere, even in noises. The difference is, the music in Dancer was great, but here in August, the music can be quite jarring at times. Freddie's character likes to play the guitar by hitting the strings on the fingerboard - which is fine if it's just for a few virtuoso sections - but he does that all the time. And Keri Russell looked stunningly beautiful with her cello - but I couldn't help wondering how the strings could vibrate properly with her hair all over the fingerboard. A feel-good movie with too many rough edges. Rewatched Lust|Caution (色|戒) for the second time. This time, the unedited version. Actually I didn't think the censored scenes were very essential to the original - in fact I felt they slowed down the flow of the movie. Well, maybe it's because I'd watched the edited version first, and those emotions couldn't possibly be more intense when I was watching the same film for the second time... I just didn't feel that painful emptiness this time. Warriors (投名状) was another pleasant surprise for me. Initially thought such "blood brothers" storylines have been so over-played and cliched in Mandarin movies and I couldn't possibly like it (only watched it because of the big cast), but I actually felt really involved with the movie and was deeply moved by the way the movie ended. CJ7 (长江七号) was quite disappointing. The child actress's portrayal of a boy was flawless - but still a little too plastic even for a comedy. Except for this girl and that very likeable alien creature, the rest of the movie was quite pointless. It's no excuse that it's supposed to be a family-oriented movie made for the Lunar New Year: after such a long introduction about how the alien dog CJ7 came along and how the family came to accept it, I think there should have been some development after that, but the story ended quite abruptly with little or no substantial development at all. Leaving some space for a sequel, maybe? Glad to be able to catch up with all these movies - didn't have the time and energy to do that during the school term. All right. Eight movies down. Seven more to go!

friday

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:16:00 EST

Friday had been a long day. Had my annual lesson observation by my superior - luckily the lesson went very smoothly. It was also my full day, which means that I had to teach non-stop from the start of the day up to past noon, with only a half-an-hour break, which I'd used up listening to my trainee teacher who broke down due to a few disrespectful, academically weak yet ungrateful students. One student actually shouted loudly during her class that she's incapable and the previous teacher was much better. She was utterly hurt by the comment but she managed to suppress her tears until she left the classroom. The trainee teacher was from HCJC, and I guess the experience of teaching in a neighbourhood school must have been a great culture shock for her. I shared my own experience with her, and told her that coping with difficult students is really part of the learning process, and what she's experiencing is the reality in heartland schools - we simply cannot expect things to be as rosy as what's happening in the better schools: if she's able to accept the fact and do the best that she can, she'll be able to find much satisfaction in the job. After all those destructive kids are a minority (I can't say that this is true for all classes, but it's true for her Express classes) - we have to concentrate on the majority, who are interested to learn. Actually I was quite glad that she cried. It showed that she cares. And that she wants the kids to learn. I used to have a trainee teacher under me who was from VJC. She was so proud of it that she looked down on our school and insulted the "cannot-make-it" students behind their backs. I nearly wanted to tell her that I was from HCJC and I wasn't even boasting, but I decided I shall not stoop as low as her - hanging on to a piece of past "glory" that doesn't even mean anything. Oh yes, back to Friday. So I had my first meal at 5 am, and my second only 10 hours later, at about 3 pm. We had a "staff bonding lunch" at Seoul Gardens. For once, Seoul Gardens food actually turned out to be quite palatable (the coffee-marinated chicken was good!) and I enjoyed the lunch with my colleagues. Guess I was too hungry. Only remembered why I hated Seoul Gardens so much when I got out of the place, smelling quite badly and feeling very sticky. Think they should really invest in a good smoke removal system to get rid of all that greasy steam. And so my one-week holiday has finally begun! Will be spending the week setting exam papers, studying for my Grade 8 music theory exam on Saturday, and going through a week-long movie marathon, with about 15 movies in my to-watch list. Started watching a few of them yesterday - shall write all the reviews at one go at the end of the week. Hope time moves slower. =)

hello, paradise

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:16:00 EST

In this week's American Idol, Jason Castro sang one of my all-time favorite songs, "Halleluja". He did a wonderful job with his very vulnerable-sounding voice but I feel he sounded too much like the legendary Jeff Buckley, so the surprise factor wasn't that high for me. On the other hand, David Archuleta has done it again with "Another Day in Paradise"! There's a bit of pitch problems here and there, but it's really amazing how he's able to reinvent those old classics and make them sound new and even more affecting. And he's only 17! I also really enjoy all the guy and girl rock contestants for this season. Each of them has a very different "rocking voice", but regrettably many of them seem to have faltered over the weeks... Hope at least one of them gets into the finals. Here's David Cook with his brilliant rendition of "Hello"...

the weird cabbie

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:16:00 EST

Am I just paranoid? Or are the people around me plain unlikeable? First, the umbrella ladies. Now, a weird cabbie. Today I took the cab after a long day of work. Thought I could take a short nap, but the driver started burping loudly, non-stop. Fine, I thought, maybe he drank something gassy and he needed to get the air out. So I just left him alone. Then he stopped burping. And he started whistling, out of tune, and out of wind (more aptly described as 'lau hong' in Hokkien), along with the songs playing on a Chinese radio station. The non-music was really unbearable. He must have been really tone-deaf - probably even deaf - to be able to tolerate such piercing out-of-tune sounds in such a small, enclosed space. Fine, I thought, maybe the whistling helped him to stop the burping. Then he started talking about Mas Selamat and the impossibility of his prison-break. At some points I thought he was trying to strike a conversation and I should probably be friendly and show some response, but whenever I tried to say something, he didn't seem to hear me and just went on rattling about his theories. So I concluded that he probably just wanted to hear his own voice. Just when I was thinking things couldn't get any worse, we came to a halt at a traffic junction, and he started punch-massaging his laps with his fists. Oh well, I can understand that cab-drivers need to massage themselves once in a while as they sit in their cab the whole day. But this man was punching himself so hard and violently that the whole cab shook along with his blows. Glad that I reached my destination two minutes later. I couldn't imagine what he was going to do next.

the umbrella ladies

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:15:00 EST

I was waiting at the bus-stop when these two umbrella ladies came along. I was going to be late for my violin lesson then because of a bus which only arrived twenty minutes later. Isn't it frustrating when your destination is just five busstops away? It doesn't make sense to walk the distance and get yourself all sweaty and tired, yet if you want to take a bus you may have to waste a ridiculous amount of time waiting for it. It's even more vexing when after the long wait, two or more of the same bus arrive at the same time. Anyway this entry is not about the consistently inconsistent bus schedule. It's about the umbrella ladies. It'd rained earlier but the rain had stopped. However these two ladies in their late thirties still kept their umbrellas open even when they were standing under the shelter of the bus-stop, as if the bus-stop was not already crowded with people because of the late bus. That was not all. They were apparently so engaged in their conversation that they felt the need to keep swaying, with their umbrellas, like they're filming some MTVs or something. And they stood right in front, where their unflattering figures and giant umbrellas had obscured everyone's view of any incoming bus. I was already very irritated by the late bus by then and I really felt the urge to say, "Hello, the two umbrella ladies in front, it's not raining at the bus-stop: no sun, no rain, no need umbrella, you know?" But immediately a possible caption in the Forum page appeared in my head, "Rude teacher bullies elderly at bus-stop". So I kept my cool. Thought of telling them off politely but I figured my tone couldn't possibly be good when I was already jumping mad with the late bus. So the umbrella ladies kept on dancing under their umbrellas, until their bus came. Before mine did. The world is so unfair, huh? :/

beadboy

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:14:00 EST

My sister has been crazy over beads lately. These are two of her first works - nice eh? And the boy is a gift for me. Stick skinny, just like me! =)

imagine

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:14:00 EST

Nowadays I'm so busy that I only have time to catch up on the newspapers, practise violin, and watch the recorded American Idol during the weekends. I do take a few short breaks in between work to do a bit of Facebooking, but that's about it - when I reach home I'm usually too exhausted to do anything else. And so I watched last week's American Idol. Had goosebumps when I first watched David Archuleta's rendition of John Lennon's "Imagine". Paula described my sentiments most aptly, "That was one of the most beautiful songs ever written, and one of the most moving performances I've ever heard." Didn't think this classic could be sung convincingly in any other way until I heard David's rendition. Think the ending phrase was a little too overly decorated, but the performance was nonetheless very touching indeed. So what does it take for music to connect with people so intimately? Coincidentally my guitar teacher said something that struck a chord in my heart yesterday, "Sometimes when we play a piece, we may feel something about it and at the end of it we may feel a sense of achievement, but to another person who's listening, the piece may not be so extraordinary after all." It's true really. Sometimes I may feel emotions flowing through my fingers when I play but my sister who's listening beside may not be all that impressed. Maybe music is just a self-indulgent thing for me. But what is this missing key that would translate our feelings to reach out to the audience? I wish I'll know the answer someday.

hum chim peng

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:13:00 EST

Interesting yeah? I'd always hoped for guitars and ruans to be playing together in a band one day, now some young people have finally done it. Although I would never have included Hokkien songs as my repertoire even in my wildest imaginations.

over time

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 22:13:00 EST

这几天因为筹备一个朋友的生日礼物而翻箱倒柜地回顾了不少经典日剧，并重看了我从前十分喜欢的《Over Time》。是因为日剧比较老套吗？还是我已经跟不上潮流？现在流行的虽然是韩剧，我还是惦念着久违了的日剧��简单、纯朴、短短十余集的故事，却曾让我哭过、笑过、感受良多。或许现在看着这些日剧，能让我重温十年前看这些日剧时的心情吧？当时的我应该是无忧无虑、想哭就哭、想笑就笑的吧？很庆幸从前搜集了这些日剧的VCD。虽然影像不如DVD那么清晰，但那其实已经不太重要。看戏的感觉，是潮流与科技所无法冲散的。