心血来潮，两人决定”出国“到JB了！搭乘SBS巴士出国,一路在一直再次重复说出国竟然比去乌节路还快。走走，看到ibun的朋友，也唱了超爽的ktv (cheap n good, 两人只需37RM包括四杯水和一盘食物！)
偶尔放个假，跟你出远门走走真好！
Saturday, February 26, 2011
JB!
心血来潮，两人决定”出国“到JB了！搭乘SBS巴士出国,一路在一直再次重复说出国竟然比去乌节路还快。走走，看到ibun的朋友，也唱了超爽的ktv (cheap n good, 两人只需37RM包括四杯水和一盘食物！)
偶尔放个假，跟你出远门走走真好！
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Forum theatre
Let’s wiki on: Forum theatre
Augusto Boal developed and practised an orthodox methodology for forum theatre based on the interaction between his actors and his so-called "spect-actors". The spect-actor attempts to overturn the oppression using some method unused by the actors, whilst the actors portraying the oppressors improvise to attempt to bring the production to its original, scripted ending. If the audience believes that the spect-actor's actions are too unrealistic to be utilized in reality, they may call out "magic!", and the spect-actor must modify their actions accordingly. If this spect-actor fails in overthrowing the oppression, the actor resumes their character, and continues the production until another spect-actor calls out "stop! or freeze!" and attempts a different method.
If and when the oppression has been overthrown by the spect-actors, the production changes again the spect-actors now have the opportunity to replace the oppressors, and find new ways of challenging the oppressed character. In this way a more realistic depiction of the oppression can be made by the audience, who are often victims of the oppression. The whole process is designed to come to a conclusion through the consideration of opposing arguments, rather than where an argument is one-sided and pushed from the actors with no chance of reply or counter-argument.
So yes, I’ve just caught a forum theatre meant for secondary schools. Similar to my recent discovery that people actually dare to sing in front of a huge audience (during the singalong), students now have no qualms about voicing out their opinions and standing in front of the audience on the stage to act. Gone are the days when learning was one way (that was what it seemed to me in my whole education life till university where there were slightly more attempts to make you speak up). Of course, the forum theatre was a subtle way to make them think about societal issues and they might not even realise that this was meant for learning and evoking thoughts? Not boring readings compiled by English teachers now… they watch forum theatre to learn. Learning through the arts… I can only say kids now are so much luckier because I don’t remember having such a luxury.
Augusto Boal developed and practised an orthodox methodology for forum theatre based on the interaction between his actors and his so-called "spect-actors". The spect-actor attempts to overturn the oppression using some method unused by the actors, whilst the actors portraying the oppressors improvise to attempt to bring the production to its original, scripted ending. If the audience believes that the spect-actor's actions are too unrealistic to be utilized in reality, they may call out "magic!", and the spect-actor must modify their actions accordingly. If this spect-actor fails in overthrowing the oppression, the actor resumes their character, and continues the production until another spect-actor calls out "stop! or freeze!" and attempts a different method.
If and when the oppression has been overthrown by the spect-actors, the production changes again the spect-actors now have the opportunity to replace the oppressors, and find new ways of challenging the oppressed character. In this way a more realistic depiction of the oppression can be made by the audience, who are often victims of the oppression. The whole process is designed to come to a conclusion through the consideration of opposing arguments, rather than where an argument is one-sided and pushed from the actors with no chance of reply or counter-argument.
So yes, I’ve just caught a forum theatre meant for secondary schools. Similar to my recent discovery that people actually dare to sing in front of a huge audience (during the singalong), students now have no qualms about voicing out their opinions and standing in front of the audience on the stage to act. Gone are the days when learning was one way (that was what it seemed to me in my whole education life till university where there were slightly more attempts to make you speak up). Of course, the forum theatre was a subtle way to make them think about societal issues and they might not even realise that this was meant for learning and evoking thoughts? Not boring readings compiled by English teachers now… they watch forum theatre to learn. Learning through the arts… I can only say kids now are so much luckier because I don’t remember having such a luxury.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
iBunny (one piece as of Feb 11)
According to Mr Gareth, iBun wants me to blog about him.
So yes, talking about iBun.. he had a bath recently and was clean(er), but that was a matter of several months ago so he’s kinda almost back to usual. iBun has had many adventures recently – flying across rooms, banging against tables, cameras crashing on him but all in all, he still enjoys himself pretty much most of the time going out with me and my friends and the guy who loves him most (Mr Teng). Actually iBun has requested for another bath but Mr Teng refuses it, saying he should only bathe once every three years in case he falls apart (so sweet that he cares isn’t it…).
In any case, while iBun is still in one piece, he loves to make people smile. So, please smile at him when you see him!
So yes, talking about iBun.. he had a bath recently and was clean(er), but that was a matter of several months ago so he’s kinda almost back to usual. iBun has had many adventures recently – flying across rooms, banging against tables, cameras crashing on him but all in all, he still enjoys himself pretty much most of the time going out with me and my friends and the guy who loves him most (Mr Teng). Actually iBun has requested for another bath but Mr Teng refuses it, saying he should only bathe once every three years in case he falls apart (so sweet that he cares isn’t it…).
In any case, while iBun is still in one piece, he loves to make people smile. So, please smile at him when you see him!
大家唱
The Singalong session was an eye-opener for me. The biggest thing which struck me at first was how the facilitator of the singalong session could not sing in tune properly! A little horrified by that considering it was a performance, I soon realized that this may encourage people to sing. I guess if the facilitator could sing really nicely, none of the audience would actually dare to raise their hands to ask for the microphone and sing.
The next thing which struck me is how this group of older generation actually knew all the songs, regardless whether it was in Mandarin or Cantonese or Hokkien, or whether it came from the 1930s or 1960s or 1990s (that is one whole generation of songs!). Also, thinking that Singaporeans are unlikely to offer to sing and the facilitator probably have to force people to sing, I was surprised to see that people raised their hands for the microphones to sing in front of a few hundred people. These people didn’t bother whether they could or could not sing – not like me who will probably be very paisei and not sing in front of everyone knowing that I can’t sing. Well, of course it may be like what someone told me.. “these people have already lived past half a century, still paisei what?”
Audience sang, and as I watched them, I can’t help but feel their memories connected to the various songs. It’s not about the songs and the lyrics presented in front of them, it was about what it brought to their minds. Perhaps their mothers used to listen to the songs on radio in the past, perhaps they used to hear these songs in old Singapore, perhaps these were the songs during their courtship days. Looking around, I can’t help but be fascinated by the thought that there are probably hundreds of long-“packed away” memories surfacing by the bay that night. Even as someone who did not have memories connected to these songs, it was very heart-warming to ‘feel’ the feelings of other people ‘floating by’.
And so, I realized that arts is not all about the ‘high-end’ arts which the masses do not understand. Gone are the days when I was strongly only in favour of artistic works for the minority.. well, I still strongly support the creation of new forms of art with very high artistic values, but I realized that just a simple presentation of old songs can also be such a heartwarming form of art which connected the audience together so well. Even the 7 years old girl took and microphone and sang 我问天!
The next thing which struck me is how this group of older generation actually knew all the songs, regardless whether it was in Mandarin or Cantonese or Hokkien, or whether it came from the 1930s or 1960s or 1990s (that is one whole generation of songs!). Also, thinking that Singaporeans are unlikely to offer to sing and the facilitator probably have to force people to sing, I was surprised to see that people raised their hands for the microphones to sing in front of a few hundred people. These people didn’t bother whether they could or could not sing – not like me who will probably be very paisei and not sing in front of everyone knowing that I can’t sing. Well, of course it may be like what someone told me.. “these people have already lived past half a century, still paisei what?”
Audience sang, and as I watched them, I can’t help but feel their memories connected to the various songs. It’s not about the songs and the lyrics presented in front of them, it was about what it brought to their minds. Perhaps their mothers used to listen to the songs on radio in the past, perhaps they used to hear these songs in old Singapore, perhaps these were the songs during their courtship days. Looking around, I can’t help but be fascinated by the thought that there are probably hundreds of long-“packed away” memories surfacing by the bay that night. Even as someone who did not have memories connected to these songs, it was very heart-warming to ‘feel’ the feelings of other people ‘floating by’.
And so, I realized that arts is not all about the ‘high-end’ arts which the masses do not understand. Gone are the days when I was strongly only in favour of artistic works for the minority.. well, I still strongly support the creation of new forms of art with very high artistic values, but I realized that just a simple presentation of old songs can also be such a heartwarming form of art which connected the audience together so well. Even the 7 years old girl took and microphone and sang 我问天!
How to Appreciate All Kinds of Music
We can wiki on everything!
http://www.wikihow.com/Appreciate-All-Kinds-of-Music
1
Appreciating and liking are two completely different things. Listen to all sorts of music, even if some of it might not be your absolute favorite. You don't have to like the music, just listen to it and try to understand it. Listen to a little bit of everything, from Bach to Billie Holiday to Less Than Jake to Liquid Tension Experiment to Michael Buble to Slayer.
2
Most songs are written for a reason. There is usually a message being sent. If you don't understand it upon first listening to a song, look up the lyrics. This is hard to do in classical music, as there are not necessarily any lyrics. For that, you have to try a little harder when you listen.
3
Don't criticize the first time you listen. Just sit back and let it wash over you. If you start complaining or griping, you have no hope of appreciating it.
4
Do your best to expose yourself to new kinds of music. Go out and buy a random used CD or listen to a different radio station each day. Go on sites like allmusic.com, pandora.com, myspace, or purevolume.com to find new bands.
5
Research underground music or listen to garage rock/pirate radio stations. These types of music are usually unique and tend to expose you to different.ideas and styles. Research music like ska, two-tone, and experimental. All of those less popular genres will help you to better your understanding of different music.
6
Don't limit yourself to "Pop" music. Go for some opera, classical, jazz, electronic, reggae, and heavy metal, too. Also, look up music from different countries.
I guess these apply to most art forms.. never limit yourself to one genre. Points 1 and 3 stand out in particular. Similarly, experimental art should actually be encouraged too. Just like Science, experimenting might just lead to inventions afterall; while horrors may be created, beautiful art might just be discovered as well.
http://www.wikihow.com/Appreciate-All-Kinds-of-Music
1
Appreciating and liking are two completely different things. Listen to all sorts of music, even if some of it might not be your absolute favorite. You don't have to like the music, just listen to it and try to understand it. Listen to a little bit of everything, from Bach to Billie Holiday to Less Than Jake to Liquid Tension Experiment to Michael Buble to Slayer.
2
Most songs are written for a reason. There is usually a message being sent. If you don't understand it upon first listening to a song, look up the lyrics. This is hard to do in classical music, as there are not necessarily any lyrics. For that, you have to try a little harder when you listen.
3
Don't criticize the first time you listen. Just sit back and let it wash over you. If you start complaining or griping, you have no hope of appreciating it.
4
Do your best to expose yourself to new kinds of music. Go out and buy a random used CD or listen to a different radio station each day. Go on sites like allmusic.com, pandora.com, myspace, or purevolume.com to find new bands.
5
Research underground music or listen to garage rock/pirate radio stations. These types of music are usually unique and tend to expose you to different.ideas and styles. Research music like ska, two-tone, and experimental. All of those less popular genres will help you to better your understanding of different music.
6
Don't limit yourself to "Pop" music. Go for some opera, classical, jazz, electronic, reggae, and heavy metal, too. Also, look up music from different countries.
I guess these apply to most art forms.. never limit yourself to one genre. Points 1 and 3 stand out in particular. Similarly, experimental art should actually be encouraged too. Just like Science, experimenting might just lead to inventions afterall; while horrors may be created, beautiful art might just be discovered as well.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
眼泪
眼泪是一种释放吧。
想笑就笑，想哭就哭。
该笑就笑，该哭就哭。
大家喜欢笑，大家不喜欢哭。但这不代表哭是错的，这不代表哭是不应该的，哭也不代表你是怪物。但是，要坦然的面对眼泪还蛮难的。在这社会里，我们已习惯hold back our tears，搞得连要哭都难。
眼泪不代表你是脆弱的，因为哭过了就会看到更坚强的你。
所以，不要在困住无辜的眼泪了！想哭，就release your tears吧。
想笑就笑，想哭就哭。
该笑就笑，该哭就哭。
大家喜欢笑，大家不喜欢哭。但这不代表哭是错的，这不代表哭是不应该的，哭也不代表你是怪物。但是，要坦然的面对眼泪还蛮难的。在这社会里，我们已习惯hold back our tears，搞得连要哭都难。
眼泪不代表你是脆弱的，因为哭过了就会看到更坚强的你。
所以，不要在困住无辜的眼泪了！想哭，就release your tears吧。
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