Marina’s Bloggariffic

Remember my post about the adorable Tan Hong Ming and thoughts about Interracial Relationships some while back?

Recently, I was privileged to meet acclaimed director, Yasmin Ahmad, the director of the Tan Hong Ming as well as various other notable videos. She was here to grace the exclusive screening for MCYS on an advertisement entitled, ‘Family’

Charming view from the rooftop of the screening room

I reached the Screening Room, rather late after a staff day out, being unfamiliar with the area, my sense of direction gone and rather traumatized by the after working hours road conditions!

Rinaz poses by a wall featuring Federico Fellini

When I finally entered the theater, they were already halfway through playing Yasmin’s other works, such as How do you spell Dinosaur and The little Indian Boy.

To call the videos emotional would be an understatement! Mintea, who was sitting beside me and I were already fighting hard not to tear up through the showcase.

Mintilicious, Yasmin Ahmad and Sexeh Rinaz

When the lights came on, I finally saw her - Yasmin Ahmad right across me, sitting like a regal queen. She started sharing her experiences on being a director. How she faced prejudices from many because of her being a Woman as well as being a Malay. I immediately related to that, being a Malay Woman myself.

I started wondering how she was able to stay strong in such adversities when Yasmin quoted a beautiful sentence “The Thicker and Deeper the Mud The More Beautiful The Lotus Grows” Which I thought was elegant and profound at the same time.

Soonafter, the screening of the new commercial started - it features a doting single dad, raising up his daughter.

Yasmin mentioned that a family unit does not always have to be perfect and complete unit and asked the bloggers on our opinion of the video.

The reaction of the bloggers were mostly positive. There was one blogger (I think it was scarlett) who said that being raised up by a single parent and is now a single parent herself, she could relate to the video.

Ian Timothy is a little shy for pictures, so here is Brian and Mintea doing their best toothpaste commercial smile :)

Personally for me, I thought that the choice for the location was a little strange as it seemed a little dated. But that was when Ian Timothy mentioned that the location was a good choice as he emphatised, growing up in the lower class family.

There was a particular blogger who mentioned that because the majority of the population has a complete family unit, they may not be able to relate to the video - to which Yasmin humorously replied, “I watched ‘Finding Nemo’ … I laughed and I cried … But I’m not a fish!”

Here is a quick video montage of the interview :

Bloggers meet with Yasmin Ahmad from rinaz on Vimeo

Doesn’t she sound so queenlike? I think I could listen to her talk all day :-)

And what do you think of the advertisement video? Do you think that its okay for being in a single parent family? Are you able to relate to this video?

Links :

• Yasmin Ahmad’s Blog
• Interesting interview I found on youtube
• Ian Timothy’s Blog Post
• Mintea’s Blog Post

Sidenote : Mum was so excited when she read an article about Yasmin Ahmad in the Malay Newspaper. She rushed to show it to me, but I was groggy and almost going to sleep.

Recently, Brian was plurking about what we thought of local music. And the first thing that came to mind was ‘My one and only’ which was my ultimate favourite local song - I loved it for how romantic the song was.

Remixed by the beautiful Lum May Yee

I started typing out the lyrics and before I knew it, Brian invited me to attend the Rock the Sub at Timbre Substation to listen to Kevin Matthews, the original singer of the song.

And I was glad that I went!

Shiny (literally) happy people - The friendly Thomas, guitar player of the groovy people and me

Although the Timbre was dizzyingly full of people, I found myself enjoying the music tremendously, the band was really tight and sounded really good!

Here is a quick video overview of the event :

Kevin Mathews and the groovy people from rinaz on Vimeo

And of course, my favourite song :)

My one and only from rinaz on Vimeo

Do you listen to local music? What do you think of it?

Related links :

• Kevin Matthew’s Myspace
• Timbre - Host to Local Music

You might also be interested in :

• WOMAD - International Music
• Sojourn - Classical Music
• Klenengan - Gamelan Music
• Ministry of Bellz - Handbells Music

Sidenote : Saw a very beautiful sunset over the Clark Quay river yesterday.

How to do a lipdub from rinaz on Vimeo

You will need :

1. A music player.
2. A video recorder

Step 1 :

Choose a song for your lipdub. A happy and upbeat song would be great while a depressive song might not be the best choice.

Step 2 :

Choreograph the type of moves that you want to do for your lipdub. There are a number of moves that you could try such as the dance, the lip sync, the actor.

Feel free to experiment with different styles and remember you could also use props in your lipdubs!

Step 3 :

Now that you have decided on your moves, video yourself with the video recorder at the choice of your location.

Step 4 :

Upload your video and give your self a pat on the back for a job well done.

Done!

Sidenote : We did our first lipdub session yesterday and it went great! I hope that you join in. We need more footage!

Below is a work in progress to get you inspired :-)

Lipdub Project - Draft 1 from rinaz on Vimeo

What do you think?

Truth be told, I had no intention of watching Leap Years if it was not for Malique whom was so impassionate in recommending it to me.

Hence, I went to watch it with the lovely VanClaire at Plaza Singapura last Sunday. And it was such a tear fest! In the end, I think I washed away my make up clean!

Leap years based upon the novella, Leap of Love by Catherine Lim, (whom I believe is Singapore’s most talented writer). The story revolves about the main protagonist, Li Ann (played by Wong Li Lin) whom by a stroke of inspiration decides to ask a handsome stranger (played by the hunkylicious Ananda Everingham) on a date and takes advantage of an Irish Leap Year custom where a woman’s proposal must be fulfilled.

Spurred by her spontaneity he accepted. Eventually, Li Ann and Jeremy realised that they had a connection with each other. However Jeremy had a mysterious issue haunting him, and was able to stay in Singapore for a short while before flying off. However he promises her that he will wait for her every February 29th.

With that pledge, viewers will share the journey and find out if this relationship would continue.

I enjoyed the movie, cinematography wise, it was picturesque. The director has effectively made Singapore look very romanticised - the lights of the skyscrapers from across the Singapore river, the bustling sounds of the colourful food centers, the tranquil shophouses, lulled by the melodious Corinne May.

However I do have minor qualms on how very different our landmarks look like as beautiful as they were, it just did not have the Singapore ‘feel’. In some of the scenes I looked hard and wondered if it was really Singapore.

Storywise, it was deeply engaging, and there were a number of twists that kept me wondering. One of them being the identity of the man, lying in the hospital while a 48 year old Li Ann looks most concerned. There were a number of plots which was easy to figure out, such as the revealing of K.S’s girlfriend. (whom by the way, I think had the most unfortunate name ever. K.S = Kiasu? Kiasee? Kanasai?)

At the same time, there are some parts which are illogical, like the part when Jeremy takes Li Ann to meet his grandmother on his first date. She commented to Li Ann that Jeremy would make a good husband - a true grandmother would have known her grandson’s marital status, wouldn’t she?

And why on earth would anyone promise to wait 4 years to have a date with someone? Thats crazy man. I meet Cartcart every six months and its already immensely hard. If we had to meet every 4 years, I think I’d probably die from heartbreak.

Regardless, being a romantic sap, I enjoyed this movie thoroughly. And like Malique, I clapped at the end of the movie :)

Have you watched leap years yet? What do you think about it?

P.s. I don’t know about you, but Paula Malai Ali, the actress who played Kim, is so hot. Speaking of hot, the song below is sexeh too :)

P.p.s. I read in some reviews that Wong Li Lin and Ananda Everingham had no chemistry with each other. But I was too busy imagining that I was Li Ann to take notice :P

Links :

• The Leap Years Official Website
• Dr Catherine Lim’s Blog

You might be interested in :

• I am legend
• Il Mare
• Chronicles of Narnia

Last Saturday, I joined Nicole and Miccheng to the Victoria Concert Hall to listen to the NTU Symphonic Band presenting their yearly concert.

Admittedly, I’m not that used to listening to these types of music. Nevertheless I found myself enjoying the evening. Below is a quick clip of two of the segments that I enjoyed tremendously.

Sojourn 2008 from rinaz on Vimeo

What do you think?

Link :

• NTU Symphonic Band

You might be interested in :

• An Evening of Southeast Asian Music and Dance
• Ministry of Bellz Singapore
• Groovalicious WOMAD

A most spectacular event. It was surprisingly captivating that I enjoyed every minute of it!

Recently, my friend, Mus invited me to attend the event, An Evening of Southeast Asian Music and Dance.

Having already hanged out with the Singa Nglaras group during their jamming session, I was definitely looking forward to watching the concert.

I brought my mum as a date. By the time we got into the theatrette at the Arts Faculty, it was completely full of people! We had to content ourselves by sitting on the stairs instead.

But the music was beautiful and hypnotic. They sounded so put together since their first day of their jamming session. Mum was going on and on about how powerful the Indonesian singer’s voice was. Whereas I was captivated by the hypnotic sounds of the musical instruments.

Here is a short clip of the first part of the concert :

Gamelan 2008 from rinaz on Vimeo

I think they were great! Thumbs up for the concert! :)

Links :

• Hanging out with the Singa Nglaras jamming session
• Mus’s blog post
• Eileen’s blog post
• Very impressive Thai Music

Wed, 26 Dec 2007

A couple of weeks ago, fellow pingster, Tstar, twittered about her handbell group performing for a concert during the holiday week. After we bugged each other on gmail, she asked if I would be interested in attending. Naturally I said yes!

The tickets that Tstar reserved for us!

Thus on wednesday evening, Cartcart and I spent some chill out time over at City Hall. Prior to that, it has been a busy day for us, rushing over to attend the Islamic class in the morning. We were glad to have a little bit of respite afterwards.

We spent a little time for some yummy coffee at the coffee connoisseur and I admired the adorable decoration which still had a christmas theme to it. It was a warm and cosy place to be.

Afterwards, we took a walk along the parliament road where Cartcart admired the historic buildings that were around since 1800’s.

Somehow this picture looks very London-ish. Credits to Cartcart

We finally reached the Arts house where there were a small number of people already lounging around. Once we found the poster, we went up the rustic staircase and went to have our seats.

Though I’ve been to the arts house, I’ve never actually been into the chamber before. This was where formerly, the place where the member of the parliament gathered to debate. It was a very charming place. The seats were so antique! I even saw very retro speakers attached to the chair.

The show started just as soon as we sat down. I’ve never been to a handbell concert before, hence it was very interesting for me to observe the proceedings. I saw the conductor raise his baton, and then the music began.

My gosh, it was such a beautiful sound that both Cartcart and I were so enthralled by it! It was such a lovely and relaxing sound that everyone who attended the concert were mesmerized.

Here is a short clip of the concert :

View in Vimeo

Isnt it gorgeous?

I scanned out for Tstar during the concert and there she was, cheerfully swirling her bells around. Tstartsar looks so elegant with her outfit, the cute purple tie scarf and her black gloves. I couldnt wait to say hello to her afterwards.

During the intermission, I made my way to the ladies for a bit, and when I came back, I saw her chatting to Cartcart and I was quite surprised. That was when they retold their narration.

Tstar : Where is Marina? I thought I saw her here.

Cart : Hello. She is in the ladies for a bit. My name is Roberto

Tstar : Who?

Cart : Roberto … Hmm Cart

Tstar : Oh! You mean Cartcart? Hi!

That was when I saw Tstar’s family coming over to give her their support. It was always heartening to see that :)

I quickly took asked for a picture with Tstartstar but when I saw the picture I was rather shocked.

I looked like a giant next to Tstar! I dont remember being so big!? I’m only 1.6 meters -_-”

Next : Cart’s first meet with the aunt

In this series :

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3

Sidenote : Anyone interested in watching the Chingay parade with me?