Tuesday, January 30, 2007

BECAUSE WE HAVE BIG MOUTHS


The Rock n Roll Circus will be in town in April...


What do ants do when they approach a building? They crawl into its crevices and maybe even make their homes in the cracks. This is how these artists have taken to the building that is The Substation.

Responding to the theme of Master and Slave, and the narratives of pain, subservience, power and politics, four artists/performers Rizman Putra, Noor Effendy Ibrahim, Zulkifle Mahmod and Zai Kuning take to the The Substation Gallery like ants to honey, occupying its corners as a way of finding a response to notions of injury, sacrifice and healing.

19th and 20th april 2007, 8 pm
ARTISTS Noor Effendy Ibrahim, Rizman Putra, Zulkifle Mahmod, Zai Kuning & Cyril Wong
DURATION Approx 1 hr (No Interval)
SEATING Free Seating
TICKETS $16

* price(s) excludes $1.00 booking fee
VENUE The Substation Gallery

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Nenek: In Remembrance


Nenek 1927 - 2007, In remembrance, Al-fateha

My nenek passed away last Saturday evening peacefully after battling ovary cancer for 5 years. I visited her a couple of times in the midst of my crazy schedule. She was always in high spirit even though she was bed ridden. Throughout her 80 years, she live through the war, married 3 times, had 11 children and above all, created my mother.

I had to rush by from my assesment which I have KIVed just to see her for one last time. As I saw her body, I could not recognise her at all, I kissed her forehead, it was cold, and her skin was yellow and pale.

In 2005, I did a video performance based on her and my mum, it was called Generation Lullabye, in one of the scene, she sang an old Japanese song which always fascinated me.

Its funny, we are always too busy working realising our dreams, sometimes we do forget to appreciate the existence of others, and I am one of those selfish people. At this moment, the sense of guilt is apparent, I need to sit and just ponder, reminisce about the times I had with nenek. And to spend more time with my mother.

Thursday, January 25, 2007

OSAKA-Asia Contemporary Dance Festival 2007



This is partly the reason why I will not be able to catch Beastie Boys next month, but what the heck, it is not everyday I get invitation to perform as a dancer in a dance festival alongside fantastic and brilliant dancers.

More info of OACD fest07, go to www.db-dancebox.org or you can google the translated version on google. Rock and Roll.

Monday, January 22, 2007

Norico as A Sexworker



Norico's new work where she will be presenting in States.

www.sexworkersartshow.com

Saturday, January 20, 2007

WABEE SABEE! WABEE SABEE!


The Adventures of Wabee Sabee: Episode 1 (Latte and Cappucino)

Friday, January 19, 2007

Dance/Prance/Trance/Chance

Recently, I have been noticing the trend of conversation with friends as I grew older. We are beginning to talk about good massages, bodyaches. It is a sign of aging, or maybe not, it could be a sign of goodwill. Another factor of aging is absent-mindedness, or perhaps memory lapse. Well, I am guilty of that...I am not sure if it is scary. But times they are a changing.

And of course, conversations about failed relationship, failed marriages, singlehood, brotherhood and boys in the hood. Adding to that, Robin Hood. Just like Kevin Costner in that helluva film about the hero who steals from the rich and helps the poor. But Axl Rose would have said they feed the rich while they bury the poor. Yes, I know its not making sense at all.

We have 24 hours in a day, how do we fit in our sleep? Maybe I should stop blogging and start practicing my breakdance. I saw a clip on Channel News Asia about that new reality dance show, they had an interview with Bill Calhoun and Gladys the Ballroom dancing mistress of the cha cha cha. Hopefully, someone would present a Butoh piece about blood on the dance floor. Such an asswipe situation.

I am not sure of where to go these days, probably because there is nowhere left to go. Or going left is to nowhere... Now here is left or going. Yes, very idiotic and cryptic. Encoding the coded coat...
Some molestation of words that create phletora of meanings, rapture the action of specific genre or usage...

Break dance/Breaking a dance/Dancing a break/Broken dance
Line dance/Dancing a line/Dancing with lines/Lineage dance
Pole dance/Dancing a pole/Polling Dance/Dance with a Pole
Lion dance/Dancing with a Lion/Dancing Lion/Lionel Richie
Molestation/mole station/Stationary mole/Stationing a mole
Bullshit/ Shitting a Bull
percussion/ per cushion/ percussive/ per cursive
Alternative/ Alter the native/ Nativity in Alteration/ Alternate a Thief
Hip Hop/ Hopping the Hip/ A Hippie Hop/ A Hopping Hippie

and lastly Rizman/Li Tze Man/Ritz and Man/ Wisma/
thank you.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

We Are Invincible!


The not so energetic balloons floating by...at Fort Canning Hill.

I first heard MUSE when I was in college, it was from the Showbiz album, and a good friend of mine got a pirated copy of it. We played them in the studio and we got blown away. I would say MUSE was part of my post-teenage angst phase or whatever you wanna call it. You know the Hey-I-Am-A-Tormented-Soul phase.

Seeing them last night was pretty much a warm affair, warm in literal sense. I have not been to a rock concert for a long time, I stood about 30 metres from the stage, surrounded by new MUSE fans (I could tell by their anticipation when they sang the newer songs passionately) and there were a couple of beer guzzling old caucasian blokes who were so impressed with Matt Bellamy.

My first ever rock concert was Mudhoney/Pearl Jam in 1995, the thing I like about rock concerts is the ambience, like a near religious event or sort, the rock signs and the random banging of the head. I remembered the Pearl Jam gig at the indoor stadium, got drowned in the crowd and blocked by big and burly Caucasian Doodes were all part of my experience. Yes, I know, I was and still am short, its genetic, can't help it. But that event made me feel like as if I had grown into a Man. A Big short man. I knew that concert changed my life. Yes, I was almost in tears. Partly because, I had to break my piggy bank just to get the tickets.

Rock concerts are big theatrical experience, its all in the method of presentation. Hopefully, Flaming Lips will come, hopefully not when they are in their 60s. I would love to see Wayne Coyne walking in his bubble right above my head.

MUSE kicked ass, but I think what's missing is my youth.

INVINCIBLE by MUSE
Follow through
Make your dreams come true
Don't give up the fight
You will be alright
Cause there's no one like you in the universe

Don't be afraid
What your mind consumes
You should make a stand
Stand up for what you believe

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Finding Ways to Escape being A Reserve

What I am about to write is a fable or sort, it could be mythical, it could be a legend, but above all its a story. It is going to be in cryptic code, and its best I express it this way to avoid any form of 'interpolistical' investigation. Its nothing much, just a commentary or sort.

Well, its about a boy who wanted to be deferred from his reservist training, for every strong and healthy man in his country has to serve the nation in after which they have to go through a period of 10 years as a reserve. But this boy, has a million and one things to do in his life, not sure why, but he is just a restless soul.

So he seeked deferment from his beloved school, an art school, he got the letter from the lovely Student Affairs department who gave a 2 line description for his deferment. Well the letter was sent, then it got rejected 4 days before he was called up. So this boy, with all his crazy engagements, got no choice but to apply another letter from his superior, a dean from the Baltic Sea, he is also known as Mimi to some.

Fast forward to his call up day, he arrived at the venue which was printed wrongly on his call-up letter, sprained his thumb while closing the taxi door that cost him 20 bucks travelling from the East to the Northwestern part of the island. All he wanted was to pass the letter to someone so kind, so that he could just get the hell out of that god forsaken place.

But...NO! They made him wait together with all the eager and brave (or maybe not) looking looking men from all walks of life, short and skinny ones, hairy chested, slicked hair or whatever there was.

He waited and waited for about 2 and a half hours, patiently, well finally, his letter got approved but the madness continued, he had to go through this process of waiting. He waited with all the Men with Letters plus Men trying to look sick. He got through the waiting game, then he questioned himself, what was it all about, at the end of the day, its all about debt. To avoid paying this debt, he got to find ways to escape. There is a saying, if one does not want to be in the groove, he got to find his own groove, like a needle in the groove.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Adam Air

"Art school is so cool!" Yah sure, that statement is like slurpung meatballs with your nosetrils. I don't think so, I am not sure if all the cool kids are in art school. But that is not the issue here.

Well, I am not sure at all. I am still thinking about the missing Adam Air plane. I am always curious of how a plane can go missing, like the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle. I was in an Adam Air plane last month to Jakarta. The plane felt kinda strange, the sterwardess had this slightly over the top make up.

Based on reports, most of the planes are about 17-20 years of age, it could have been me in one those planes, I have always thought, to die in a plane crash is pretty much a major tragic affair. I do have this fear when I am in a plane, before the plane takes off, I will try my best to close my eyes, so that if the plane were to crash, I would die in my sleep.

Hopefully, they will find the plane soon ...

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

With Lovers and Friends You Still Can Recall


Episode5 at The Other House last Sunday, performing with half of Moods, me playing the cameo. Photo ripped of from Julie's blog.

Yo ho ho Jeelo Seven ya All!


4 a.m. The Shockarellas in action.


3 a.m. a break from reading Schechner's origin of performance. With the help of my Shabu Shabu.

Ok...ok 2007 is here already, James Brown is dead, Adam Air is in trouble, Saddam is dead, Waffle Tuesdays are the best, I am so in love with the donuts from Donut Factory and I am getting bigger by the day. Of course Muse is coming to Singapore soon and I am going to miss Beastie Boys, dang and double dang. I need to finish up my bloody thesis soon.
Episode5 went pretty alright despite my fatigue, we shall rock the roll through 2007. The state of lateral thinking is back in business, the juggler has been re-employed, Deleuze is mad and we are having a ball.