Oceanshaft

Movie - Departures

2009-03-18T01:14:00.002+08:00

Just caught the Japanese movie "Departures" at Vivocity today. Rushed down after work to meet with LLL. Unfortunately we could only get seats in the very first row. Good thing it was not an action film, otherwise I would never have been able to catch what was going on, what with being so close to the screen and all. Really affects your vision when trying to follow movements across the screen.

The film (Japanese title おくりびと) was a typical heartwarming tale. Very Japanese in its understatedness and theme, actually. But it was a good film, and the comic moments were not overdone, as is often the case. The funeral scenes were good, but the family members in all of them being so grateful did seem a little contrived. The main character's wife needed just a wee bit more work in fleshing out as well.

Overall, a good film.

日本一週、報告

2009-03-09T21:41:00.002+08:00

日本から帰ってきました。一週間の休暇をとったわけです。

再会できた方々、ありがとうございました。こんな私に時間をくれたわけですから。二年間にあまり成長していないのはすみませんでした。

会っていない方々、または連絡取らなかった方々、すみませんでした。時間が限られていたことと、行く前は仕事で忙しくて中々計画する時間がないことで、色んな先生・先輩・後輩・同級生・友人などに連絡を取らず行ってきました。

「何で日本に来て俺に教えてないの？」をいきなり私がレンタルした携帯に電話してきたJさん、また今度でね。

とりあえず、留学が終わったほぼ二年前に決まったこと「就職後、かならず大学の研究室の先生に会いに行きます」はやりました。

いい一週間でした。色んな人にもっと話したかったけど、しゃーないな。一週間で満足します。あと、ご馳走してくれたみんなにもありがとうございました。こんな一週間で１０回ぐらいご飯を奢ってもらいました。

ちなみに、結構買い物しました。漫画六巻、本一冊、Billy BanbanのＣＤ一枚。食べ物も。あともうちょっとCDと漫画を買いたかったけど、これ以上の贅沢はもう…

あと一言。それぞれの部屋に泊めてくれたFさんとPさん、まじありがとう。お邪魔しました。

Belated Happy New Year そして。。。

2009-02-10T00:41:00.002+08:00

Happy New Year! Very late I know. Let's see, oh, I haven't posted since September?!?!

In the interim, some of my friends got married, some people I only know from afar got married, my friends'kids were born, I started work, etc. Sorry, not in order of occurrence.

でも、そんなことより、実は、わしは三月にHakataとTokyoを訪ねるつもりです。はい。もうそろそろかなと思っていますから。先生たち、友達、食べ物たちが惜しくてね。

So if I know you, maybe I'll see you.

ライブ

2008-09-14T02:23:00.002+08:00

さき、MISIAのライブに行ってきました。シンガポールに初のライブのようだ。とにかくエネルギーはすごかった。唯一よくない点は、30分遅く始まったことかな。あとは、けっこう楽しかったね。聴衆の半分ぐらいが日本人かな（あくまでも見積もりですよ）。日本人って、小さい子供をこんなライブにも連れてくるんだね。途中にこどもの泣き出しが聞こえたし。楽しんでいた子供もいましたが。

Chrome

2008-09-04T01:52:00.002+08:00

Wow, Chrome is really fast. The interface is really clean and simple too. But I'll probably use Firefox more, for now. Those handy plug-ins, you see.

From Java

2008-08-25T15:23:00.002+08:00

Am in Yogyakarta right now, having a good time overall. Have been to Borobudur and Prambanan. The weather here is drier than Singapore (it's the dry season right now) so it feels cooler. It's still hot in the afternoons, but not muggy like in SG. No rain either so far. Write more next time.

Packing

2008-08-23T01:08:00.002+08:00

For my first backpacking trip to Europe, I prepared way in advance, planned and packed. After the first one or two trips, I've become a last-minute packer. I generally pack the night before (and rather late at that). Preparations are done quite late too. Maybe it's because I've got my packing list more or less standardised - I know I won't miss anything and that if I do, I'll still live. Maybe it's because of the feeling of laziness and not wanting to do anything that strikes me the afternoon before I leave.

Anyway, I'm more or less packed and ready to go. This is probably the last trip for my grey backpack that I got in 2001. Why? Well, some of the smaller pockets are torn and can't be used anymore. Hopefully it'll last through this trip. It's always the loading onto buses and airplanes that damage it, sigh. I'ld rather not check it in, but with all the rules restricting liquids, gels and etc. in hand luggage, I've opted to check it in this time.

CM

2008-08-20T23:17:00.001+08:00

これってさ、この前映画館で見たCMです。映画が始まる前のCMでした。初めて見たときは結構面白いと思っていました。皆さんはどう思いますか？

Vietnam trip photos

2008-08-19T02:22:00.000+08:00

Finally finished adding descriptions to my photos on Flickr from my trip to Vietnam. The set is here. Wonder if I'll ever get round to finishing a proper page on it.

走る

2008-08-17T22:37:00.000+08:00

先週の金曜日は８kmを、今日は５kmを。やはりちゃんと運動せなきゃあかんということで、これから週に一回か二回ぐらい走りたいけど、この意志はいつまで続くだろうな～。

Movies

2008-07-30T00:35:00.002+08:00

Recently, I have watched "Hancock", "The Dark Knight" and "Red Cliff".

"Hancock" was a film with an interesting premise. Will Smith was believable in his role, but the tone of the film was uneven. Crude humour, then the touchy-feely stuff, then lots of action all mixed up. Sigh. It was cool though.

"The Dark Knight" was good. Very dark, though. It was a bit sad that Gotham was no longer as dark and atmospheric as in other films, although I guess it was meant to reflect that under Batman the city had cleaned up a lot. Nice touches throughout - I love the fact that the second time the Joker explains how he got his scars, you suddenly realise how twisted and manipulative he really is, not deserving of the little pity you may have given him when you first heard his story.

I didn't really get the ending though. Why blame the deaths on Batman? Just blame the Joker, or leave them unresolved. The ending speech by Gordon was somewhat illogical too, it sounded as if they just needed a speech that ended with those final words.

Good film, but seriously dark, and not exactly for kids.

"Red Cliff" was draggy. The battle scenes were good. The scenes where Tony Leung and Kaneshiro Takeshi converse are good. Some scenes were unnecessary though, I feel. The horse in labour. The pigeon flying across the water. The football scene.

And I'm sure some scenes were cut by the censors, as the shift in scene in certain cases was too sudden and jarring. Which means it must have been, oh, even longer originally?

Oh, and please, no more white doves in a John Woo film can?

テレビ放送

2008-07-28T21:13:00.000+08:00

なぜ？なんでシンガポール対ブラジルのサッカー試合はテレビに放送されていないの？あああああ…

Vietnam Day 8 & 9

2008-07-21T04:38:00.002+08:00

Yesterday I took a day tour down to Halong Bay. The bay was nice, the tour was so-so.

Today, walked around Ha Noi a little, met my friend and had ice-cream, then coffee, then retired to his house, then ate at some streetside place nearby (balut, but with quail eggs instead), then left for the airport.

And here I am back in SG. I feel somewhat disoriented. Or rather, it seems strange that just a few hours ago I was in Vietnam...

Vietnam Day 6 & 7

2008-07-18T14:48:00.002+08:00

Day 6 was spent riding in the train, sleeping and observing the people around. The scenery consisted mostly of padi fields; later on limestone outcroppings started to appear, prodding outwards from the fields around them.

It was raining in Ha Noi when I arrived.

Today, woke up early and walked round Hoan Kiem Lake, saw the One-Pillar Pagoda, the outside of Ho Chi Minh's Masoleum, the Temple of Literature, and wandered around the Old Quarter. Traffic here is not as chaotic as Sai Gon, but the streets are narrower and feel older. At least, in the Old Quarter they do. Everything here seems to cost more than in Sai Gon - am I being overcharged? There's a real problem with copycat businesses here, worse than in Sai Gon.

The lake was beautiful in the morning. It's getting hot, I shall retreat to some air-conditioned place soon.

Vietnam Day 4 and 5

2008-07-16T13:28:00.002+08:00

Spent most of day 4 in a train. The view was mostly of forest and padi, except for a stretch near the end after passing Danang, where there were great views of the sea.

Found my hotel and walked around the town a little, had dinner, went back to the hotel, did my laundry and that was the end of the day.

Day 5 (today), woke up early, and went to the Imperial Palace in Hue. Spent about 2 hours there from 7.30 am to 9.30 am. Everyone wakes up early in Vietnam. I was up by 6 and on the streets by 7 but so was 'most everyone else. People playing badminton or jogging in the parks, or just chilling out at the street stalls before going to work, I guess.

The palace was stunning. I took lots and lots of pictures, till I got tired.

The weather was hot by the time I finished, so I had a late breakfast and then retreated to a mall. Then ate some more before retreating to the town area. Going to look for a place to have tea/coffee and just relax later on.

Tomorrow, it's onwards to Hanoi.

Vietnam Day 3

2008-07-14T19:22:00.002+08:00

Spent today on a tour of the Mekong Delta. Joined this tour run by Sinh Cafe, on the recommendation of one of my Vietnamese friends that they are well-known. Well, they must be. They have a wide selection of tours and there was a huge crowd of people outside the place this morning waiting for their various buses.

For my group, we went to My Tho and Ben Tre. While waiting to board the little boats that would take us to the various islands in the delta, there was a huge bridge under construction next to the jetty. Believe it was the Rach Mieu bridge, apparently it will be completed next year.

Anyway, the day was spent visiting farms where we were shown how they make rice paper, honey, coconut candy and so on. Even had a short performance of traditional Vietnamese music for us. What really impressed was that there was none of that in-your-face style of pushing you to buy stuff. Wares and goods were on display but at no time did you feel you were being forced.

Met a lot of nice people on the tour, there were Japanese, Filipinos, Koreans, Chinese, Vietnamese, and one German guy who had apparently been travelling for almost a year.

Going up to Hue on the train tonight.

Vietnam Day 1 and 2

2008-07-13T15:53:00.002+08:00

Arrived in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday morning. Flying in, from the plane you could see rivers and irrigation canals running through areas of padi fields. The international terminal for the airport is really new and clean, but small. I resisted offers of taxis to catch a local bus (no. 152) down to the city centre, to the area where most of the backpacker hostels and budget hotels are - Pham Ngu Lo and De Tham. Got myself a room, a sim card, had pho for lunch and then visited the Reunification Palace.

The Reunification Palace was really worth the visit. Really spacious and clean-lined architecture, while the rooms were furnished just as they were in the 60s, with Vietnamese art. The basement was really dark and brooding, kept pretty much the way it was when it was a command centre in the war. Had tau hua while I waited for my friend. Interestingly, they put ginger in it. Walked around Dong Khoi and the area with my friend, who later brought me to dinner at this great restaurant to have Hue noodles. The soup was like that of pho, but with more spices, like a lighter and clearer version of tom yam...

The traffice here is chaotic. Motorbikes everywhere.

Today, so far I've visited the War Remnants Museum, walked all over town and ate at Lotteria (there's no MacDonald's here). The reason I ate at Lotteria? Primarily to get out of the hot sun. The streets here, by the way, are mostly tree-lined and quite cool. Also found this street that has a very high concentration of Japanese restaurants, more than I've seen in Singapore so far.

The weather here is hot, so everyone comes out at night, except for the tourists of course, who can be seen wandering around even in the daytime.

Oh, I ran into my friend from Singapore, entirely by chance. Rajah and Tan from Singapore is having their firm's trip to Vietnam right now, apparently. What a coincidence!

旅を

2008-07-11T21:44:00.002+08:00

お！久々に旅にでるぞ！明日の朝からベトナムへ。一週間ぐらい。というか、まだ荷物整理していない状態で、現在は夜中で、航空便は朝の七時ぐらいですわ。やっぱり短い旅だとこんなになります。慣れ慣れで、最後まであまり準備しません。ま、これからですね。

おまえ、いつシンガポールにくるの？そう、おまえのことだわ。

Nadal

2008-07-07T21:53:00.002+08:00

Wah, Nadal won! I'm having mixed feelings because before the match I couldn't decide who to support. And I didn't get to watch the match. Switched on the TV, saw them play for a few minutes and then play was stopped for rain... Then I find out today that play resumed later. Argh! I missed such a historic match.

Hmm, why so many sports-related posts recently? Don't know leh, I'm not really that into sports actually some more...

サッカー

2008-06-30T18:13:00.002+08:00

スペイン！スペイン！スペイン！スペイン！スペイン！

よく勝ってくれた。ようやく。俺は後半だけ見た。途中に10分ほどドイツがまた強くなって、まさかスペインのメンタル的な弱さがあわれ、その時点で負け始めるという恐い想像…　でもスペインは今度こそという感じで、今度こそもう自爆なんかしないよっていう感じでまたゲームの支配を握った。

とにかくパスはすごかった。綺麗過ぎる。そして持ってる自信も。

Firefox 3

2008-06-18T21:28:00.000+08:00

Woohoo! Firefox 3 is out! Get it here.

スポーツ

2008-06-08T23:38:00.002+08:00

先 Roland Garros の決勝戦を見ました。Nadal は完全に clay の王様だね。Federer も Djokovic も　straight sets で負けました。

この前の金曜日に泳ぎに行った。今日はバドミントン。そう、そう、もう運動を始めなきゃ。

World Cup qualifiers

2008-06-02T22:21:00.002+08:00

Ugh. Singapore lost 7-3 to Uzbekistan. For once, we scored goals. But what happened to our defence? Sure, the Uzbekistan team was good, but were we ever this bad? The commentator noted that this was Singapore's worst defeat in a long time. It was still fine for the first thirty minutes up to the 2-2 scoreline. Most of the second half was decent too. But oh, the last 15 minutes of the first half. When we dropped to 5-2 down. And the last part of the second half.

Decent SG players: Duric, Shi, Wilkinson, Khairul. SG player that impressed me most: Noh Rahman. Better performance than the rest, visibly more effort, and loads more fighting spirit. Challenged for the ball, was a crucial defender, went up to attack. Yah, basically, you just kept on seeing him where the action was. Kudos to him.

I wonder about tomorrow's headlines...

Positive things to take away: the Singapore team never stopped playing to win. Kept coming back.

Just... what was wrong with our playing skills?!

福岡ってば

2008-06-01T20:17:00.002+08:00

最近ニュースをネット上で読んだら、こんな記事があってさ。Woman lived hidden in Japan flat。福岡という名を読んだら、すごく気になった。粕屋らしいだね。ああ、福岡ってば。こんな面白い日々があったっけ？まさか俺の押入れにもだれか住んでいたかい？

やはりたまにちゃんと掃除をするのも大事だね。

Boats and the ocean

2008-05-04T18:44:00.002+08:00

If you know me personally, you're probably aware that I studied my degree in a field to do with ships and the ocean. (This course wasn't offered in NUS or NTU back then, so yes, I'm an oddity) I also hope to learn scuba diving some time. So, no surprise then that I went to Asia Dive Expo 2008 and Boat Asia 2008. For the dive expo, it wasn't a grand affair, but I picked up some brochures. Boat Asia, in comparison, was grand. Well, when you showcase leisure boats, luxury is key. I took lots of photos, and got onto some boats. Wow, the interiors really impressed me. On the other hand, some of the smaller boats (without rooms and so on) were actually cheaper than cars in Singapore, I believe...

Maybe I'll post some photos on the blog soon. In the meantime you can go to my Boat Asia 2008 Flickr set.