Monday, October 30, 2006

Board Games

When was the last time you play boardgames?

I went to Settlers Cafe on Saturday to re-live the days when playing boardgames were a regular pasttime. The cafe has been around for 3 years, nice concept where people can gather to play cards, boardgames, eat, drink and make hella of noise without worrying disturbing the neighbours or dirtying the house if one were to invite friends over. There are SO many games to choose from, you have the classics like Boggle, Scrabble, Monopoly, Cluedo, Risk, even old Maid card games! The staff are always there to help recommend the popular games and explain the rules on how to play etc.

There were 6 of us and we played from 7pm-11pm, each person coughing out only about $12, quite reasonable.

These are the games we played, you might want to check it out:

Sequence: 3 teams of 2 players. Aim is to form a row (diagonally, horizontal, vertical) of five using the chips and place the chip according to the card you draw.



















Blokus Trigon: New version of the ever-addictive Blokus. Now it comes in a hexagonal shape, 6 sided but still 4 players. The shapes are more complicated and it's more difficult to plan your next moves unlike the previous square shaped Blokus.






















I'm the Boss: Abit complicated. Each player tries to make business deal and get as much money as possible. You have to negiotiate with other players and see if they want to join you in the partnership.














Dragon Delta: Fun! Aim of the game is to construct a plank across stones to get across to the other side of the island. Made a blooper by making a illogical step at the beginning of the game, malu but provide entertainment for my friends, haha :)














Jurassic Jumble: Ideal for ice-breaking or warm-up to get everyone in the mood. Something like Heart Attack where you pass the cards and exchange with others to form a set of matching cards, in this case, a category of dinosaurs. Whoever wins will retrieve a bone from the middle of the table and the last one without the bone is the loser.



Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Is this art ?

This is Frank Gehry's design for our Integrated resort at Sentosa.
What do you think of it?
I think it looks damn ugly! I saw a fish head amidst some junk metal plates in there somewhere! Yucks!



Frank Gehry is best known for his sculptural approach to building design and for constructing curvaceous structures, often covered with reflective metal.
These are some of his famed works:

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, along the Nervión River in downtown Bilbao

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao - a modern and contemporary art museum, located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain

Model of the house

The Dancing House in Prague.

I like most of his unique designs he has done so far, but certainly not the one he just did.

I certainly hope this design will not be approved else it will be such an eye sore!

Sunday, October 15, 2006

爱琴海上的珍珠 - 希腊萨托利尼 (Santorini)

早在1997, 我跟朋友结伴到希腊背包旅行. 去希腊总不能不去它的群岛.
读了这篇文章, 让我回乙当时在 Mykonos 和 Santorini 的迷人景色.
==============

学枫 (2006-10-16)

  在爱琴海上,我们探索那遗落的珍珠。

  那是希腊群岛中,距离雅典较远的萨托利尼岛(Satorini)。

  从雅典出发,凌晨六点多钟我们摸黑来到了码头,乘搭蓝星渡轮(Blue Stars Ferries),全程8小时,只为一睹萨托利尼的风采。

火山爆发后的地理景观

  公元前约1450年期间,一场灭绝性的火山爆发,引起了海啸和地震,岛中央的土地开始下沉,原本圆形的岛屿变成弓箭状,造就了萨托利尼漂亮独特的地理景观,号称希腊最美丽岛屿,并誉有“遗落在爱琴海上的珍珠”之衔。

浪漫的萨托利尼岛上,蓝色圆顶的白色教堂是最明显的坐标。

  在轮船开始驶近小岛时,游客都惊艳于眼前的景致:一栋栋雪白的建筑物屹立悬崖陡壁上,浮现在蓝澄澄的海和晴空白云间,浪漫之极。那一刻,我联想起拜伦,想起了这位在希腊独立战争中离世的浪漫泰斗……

在倾斜中攀上了峭壁

  大约下午3点多钟渡轮抵岸。

  哪里知道,半个小时前还晴空一片,抵达岛屿时,老天爷却偏不作美,天空开始下起雨滴。细雨纷飞,我们在码头附近的店铺寻找住宿。

  适逢淡季,来岛的渡轮也只有这么一趟,所以我们容易找到落脚之处。我们决定入住一家位于岛市中心菲拉城 ( Fira ) 的别墅。商议好价格后,别墅的负责人用专车迎接我们。

  离开码头,车子驶上了一弯狭窄陡峭的山坡路,我们在倾斜中攀上了峭壁。在车上,热情的负责人滔滔不绝地向我们介绍岛上风光,还说那朦胧细雨在五分钟后即会停止,说得十分有把握。

  大约15分钟的路程,我们来到菲拉城。菲拉城是萨托利尼的首府,在市镇里有公车总站、银行、旅行社、餐馆等。

在伊亚,喜见这临崖阁楼,有股留在斯地做隐士的冲动。

  镇里高高低低错落有致的典雅屋宇,沿着弯弯的海岸线层层矗立着,蓝白纯色映入眼帘,雨中恍似梦纪行。

  我们下榻的别墅就在市中心步行不到15分钟之处。或许当地人酷爱大自然,这里的房屋大多以纯白和湛蓝色彩为主,为萨托利尼营造另番风味,我们居住的别墅也不例外,感觉很幽雅。

  海岛上的晨早,阳光和煦,轻洒在屋檐上,教堂清脆的钟声划破了沉静的大自然,唤醒一天的复始。

享受岛上一景一物

  迈步岛上街路,没有车辚辚,马萧萧,放眼尽是碧蓝一片的爱琴海,清新爽朗。日子忙忙碌碌,难得弗届尘嚣,偷上几许闲暇,我们贪婪的去享受岛上的一景一物,逸趣盎然。

  难怪,这里被公认为希腊蜜月假期的理想胜地,市场上还推出许多游萨托利尼的蜜月配套。

  我们走过色调缤纷的门墙,花光叶影错杂篱边,也路过沿海房屋,在峭壁上矗立,颇有个性。我忙碌摄景的当儿,有几番冲动,很想很想,向前去串串门子,看看屋内又是怎样的一个春天。

纯白和蔚蓝构成了这里的房屋特色。

蓝白风情

  萨托利尼的南部,是闻名的阿克罗蒂里(Akrotiri)遗迹。

  曾经,在这里发掘出了不少历史文物,有精美的壁画以及陶瓷器,出土的一幅幅《春天》 、《羚羊》、《拳击少年》等色彩鲜明的壁画,现今已展现在雅典国立考古学博物馆里。

近距离接触“红海滩”

  我们到达的阿克罗蒂里,如今是一片以棚架搭起被包围起来的广场,供考古学家钻研遗迹。

  其实,岛上有不少明媚的海边,是夏日里东欧人避暑的好去处。阿克罗蒂里的附近,即是声称的红海滩。红海滩之所以“红”,是火山爆发喷出的熔岩积累。然而,当我们在近距离接触后, 发现“红海滩”其实是“红岩石”,有点儿被哄的感觉。

  沿着萨托利尼海边的红岩峻岭,从海面上望去,有如一脉峭崖衔连到辽阔无边的云天,气势磅礴。据悉,在炎夏时节,这里是沸沸扬扬的一片。

“红海滩”,名副其实的红岩峻岭。

  没有旅游旺季的喧嚷,我们则乐在静谧中悠游。

  除了萨托利尼红海滩外,岛上还有好些海滩,如弗利哈达海滩(Vlihada),佩里沃罗海滩(Perivolos)和卡马里海滩(Kamari)等,其中以位于岛中央东边的卡马里海滩最为热闹,并以黑沙滩闻名遐迩。

  毕竟,萨托利尼历经一连串的火山爆发,给岛上增添了不少的特色。在岛屿弓箭型的顶端,是一个叫做伊亚( Oia )的小镇。午后,我们从菲拉城乘公车前往。

明信片上的招牌风景

  车子驰骋在转折迂回的石路上,窗外不断更替着一幅幅旖旎的景致。峥嵘起伏的山峦,巍峨中呈现着众多色彩淡雅的房屋。放学后的学生成群在嬉戏,一副天真写意。

  在伊亚,我们尝试去觅寻那明信片上的招牌风景。

  在许多介绍萨托利尼的照片中,都以蓝色圆顶的白色教堂为重要坐标。

色调缤纷的门墙,花光叶影错杂篱边。

  走近当地民宅,有临崖阁楼,有弯曲石阶,纯净祥和的一栋栋建筑物,令人心胸舒坦。这里没有摩天高楼,也没有那叫“电梯”的东西,我们足足浏览了一个下午。

  那一刻,我忽然觉得,自己是抛开世俗的隐士。只可惜这里四处窜跑着三三两两的狗群,一不小心,脚底踩得正着的是一堆粪便,实在有几许的煞人风景。

  伊亚的景色独特宜人,据说,这里有最美丽的夕阳西沉。可惜的是,那一夜,我们却没有见到日落美景,没有见到那冠为世界上最为迷人的日落。

  生活中的得与失,很多时候就凭那一份契机。

《联合早报》
(编辑:冯玉君)

Mother of mine

I saw this remarkable Finnish film "Mother of Film" yesterday. It was shown as part of the annual European film festival, organised by the European society of Singapore.

The story is about Eero, a war child, who was sent to Sweden to seek refuge when Finland was in war during World War II. Eero was separated from his mother and was assigned to a foster Swedish family. The foster mum did not like him initially but their relationship grows and Eero slowly accepts her as his mother.














The film has great cinematography, with each frame looking like a picturesque postcard. The film was Finland's entry to the Oscar foreign film category in 2005 but did not make it to the final five.

I have not seen a movie for a while that touches me as much as this one did. Perhaps the loss I've been through before allow me to immerse myself to the character's anguish and pain, I can't help letting my tears flow ...

Thursday, October 05, 2006

Weather with you

Finally can see blue sky!
Yes our weather has been hit by haze for the last week and every morning when I get to work, the sky is always so grey and misty.

Heard this tune played on the radio while I was travelling to work today, Weather with you by Crowded House, nice cheery song that helps jumpstart my day, I like.

The chorus goes:

"
Everywhere you go,
you always take the weather with you
"

but certainly in our context here, don't take the haze with you ok? :)
Take the sun with you wherever you go!

Enjoy the MTV:

Monday, October 02, 2006

网上卡通片《黑屁股》

从小就很喜欢看卡通片.那天在报章上读到有这部可在网上下载的flash卡通片《黑屁股》,听起来挺有趣也挺有创意的,毕竟花3年4个月花的制作时间.















狗狗雨夜流浪,三千万电影赚人热泪--黑屁股

原创:www.a-hha.com

《黑屁股》讲述的是都市里,一只长着可爱黑屁股的小狗的故事,它在雨夜的街头流离失所,看尽人间冷暖。据张毅自己说,这部仅16分钟长,分4段可供网民独立下载的flash足足花掉了制作团队3年4个月的时间来创作。他又算了笔账,若按每月砸下去20万人民币计算的话,《黑屁股》简直是flash领域里的“超级大片”了。而一组黑屁股小狗被6名小孩围攻的镜头,更是苦煞了技术人员,张毅坦言,在网络的世界里,这组看似简单的镜头,简直相当于在传统电影里指挥千军万马。

现在这部耗资三千万港币的影片,终于出炉。感动上映……

第一集
第二集
第三集
第四集

人群里,
车流中,
一只显然没有家的小狗,
它要到哪里去?
生活里,
错身而过的问号,
是夜深人静之后的不安,
更不安的是;
你虽然想到,
也片刻辗转,
但是,仍然沉沉地入睡。
突然明白,
一只不知去从的小狗,
是不可追忆的痛伤,
甚至,是希望入梦而不可得的一个影像。
突然明白,
那是生命里最大的成分,
爱别离,
怨憎会,
求不得,
突然地明白,
恍如闪电。

哈姆雷特

那天才blog了电影《夜宴》与Hamlet, 早报在星期六的副刊也写了同样的文章.

林仁余-哈姆雷特 无法不忧郁

林仁余

   看电影《夜宴》之前,刚好看了DVD中劳伦斯·奥利维尔(Laurence Olivier)扮演的哈姆雷特。算是巧合。看着银幕上的葛优章子怡,以及讲究到做作的美术设计,脑子里重叠的是黑白画面。奥利维尔的电影《王子复仇 记》是1948年的作品,只有黑白灰色,只有搭设的内景,可是丹麦王子深邃眼神却比华丽服饰更叫人难忘。

  据说奥利维尔曾经好长一段时间连演《哈姆雷特》的舞台版,把忧郁举棋不定的王子诠释得丝丝入扣,却因为每晚的几个小时都得陷入王子无法复仇的悲伤中,虽然只是演戏,结果造成内分泌失调。

   上一代的艺术精品往往是创作者投入生命的结晶。和朋友说起演精神病演得最出神入化的演员大概就是费雯丽(Vivien Leigh),看过她在《欲望号街车》中饰演神经质的布兰奇的人大概都不会反对。那也是黑白电影,1951年的。后来才知道,《欲望号街车》舞台版在伦敦 首演时,女主角就是费雯丽,导演正是奥利维尔,当时他们是夫妻。她曾说,塑造银幕上的布兰奇,奥利维尔对她的影响比电影导演卡赞(Elia Kazan)更大。有机会把电影《哈姆雷特》中奥利维尔的忧郁狂躁,和《欲望号街车》中的费雯丽那种精神状况在毫无预警中如行云流水般流动的状态作比较研 究的话,该有不少收获。听说后来费雯丽婚姻遭遇许多挫折,还得了抑郁症。

  或许因为付出生命力量,作品中的形象才如此慑人。可是那是前 一代人的作风,现在作戏多了,就如《夜宴》那样的就一个字了得。成为口头禅时,尽失去当初应有的无拘束的潇洒。现代人大概只能这样,经典在我 们手中大概只剩下小品。就如偶尔在路上见到园艺公司的货车载着满车小树在奔驰时会想起莎翁另一出名剧《麦克白》中女巫对野心家的预言,当整座树林移动时就 是你的末日。树林怎么可能移动?那是砍一棵树都得花费不少力气的时代,野心家当然可以安心去谋反。高速公路上超速飞奔的小树林很快失去踪影,我又和麦克白 说再见了。

  我们的生活方式已经很不合适读《哈姆雷特》原著。每天有一小段时间读书的人,已是珍奇动物,可是那样的间断时间只合适读电 视剧式的书本,每10出分钟被广告打断,上厕所听电话开冰箱带些什么吃的喝的再回来继续。过去时代的书不是为如此生活方式而写的,它们要求的是一对一的义 无反顾的绝对忠诚及毅力;当时或许不需要太大毅力,因为那是很容易静静集中精神阅读的时代。

  看DVD原来是再读《哈姆雷特》的前奏,希望借助奥利维尔的魅力增补一点毅力,现在被《夜宴》插了进来,哈姆雷特全被搞得灰头灰脸,奥利维尔的风采也打了折扣。看样子只好再请梅尔杰森(Mei Gibson)的现代版《哈姆雷特》来拔刀相助才行。