The Physicists

October 27th, 2004 Uncategorized

This show has a few good actors and a handful of inexperienced actors. Felt a little rough but the set and effects were nice. What I find particularly interesting is his view that knowledge is always used for better evil. That the smartest thing a genius can do is to withhold his knowledge for mankind to survive a few more decades. But a genius, as he says, is public property: he has to share his genius with the world because we have so few of them. A genius is also not a prophet or a psychic: he can’t tell for certain what mankind is up to – good or bad.

I wonder why Friedrich Durrenmatt has such a bleak view of mankind. If mankind is indeed driving itself to destruction, it will. Whether quicker or slower, in this lifetime or the next, is irrelevant. Any move to stop it, is futile. Man will be extinct eventually, this I believe. But I just can’t see that the extinction is due to his own efforts.

The Visit of the Tai Tai

October 24th, 2004 theatre

Saturday, stuck at work and worn out I had half a mind to skip the show even though I’d already gotten the tickets. Luckily I did no stupid thing like that. Everything was lovely. I like it’s stylishness and direction. The actors were extremely competent – even though many roles were supporting, the cast felt strong and acted well. Ivan Heng, in his get up as Lee Kwan Yin, frightens me. He is a terrifying witch – ugly, cold and twisted. The execution felt a little slow but suitable to the story of a decaying Sai Tang.

As the anticipation builds towards climax, I looked for clues signalling a last minute change of hearts. When it built to its natural ending, I was shocked. Extreme poverty strips humanity from humans. Attraction is an insufficient balm for injustice. Human judgement is flawed therefore has a price tag.

*Due to a weak memory I am poor at reviewing. My records of shows is to collect the writer’s view of the world. A better review by Vanessa Tan here.

Godsford Park

October 22nd, 2004 screen

Because Borders was having a book discount if I get a DVD, I picked up Godsford Park. When I first saw it – must have been two years ago now – I was enraptured and saw it twice even though I was jobless and my funds dwindling (but then I am never careful with money). It’s around a murder mystery but not on it: there is so much gossip, snobbery, sarcasm and generous display of household realities. Because there are so many characters moving in and out, the film makes the audience feel completely invisible. You hear both the upper and the lower floor going-ons, like a child evesdropping unknown outside grown-ups door. The murder mystery bit is not thrilling – sort of by the way as a doorway into the characters who populate the country manor. A deeply satisfying movie.

For the woman awake at 2am

October 20th, 2004 Uncategorized

One doesn’t need to look very hard to find the silver lining. (How familiar all these sound – the four hour toss and turn, how my could not have sucked any more than it did.) I found Robert Yeo in this new volume of QRLS. With that find, my day improved by a million fold.

Robert Yeo is one of people whom when I meet want to fall on the ground and genuflect. His plays are unafraid, earnest and so deeply Singaporean in its concerns. I have read some local writers who dress their characters in Singlish and take them to be Singaporean. Their writing is entertainment suited at the back of rubbish magazines: it does not speak the voice of the people. When I see the media label these group as Singaporean writers, I snort and make disgusted sounds. They are Singaporean only by birth. Robert Yeo doesn’t hide, or play tricks for effect. He entertains in the most traditional way: by making the audience sit patiently to learn. His is the kind of writing I aspire to achieve.

Orchid Diary: Not all doom and gloom

October 18th, 2004 Treats

Growing orchids, fussing over them makes me feel happy and the blog reflects this happiness: it is cheery and chatty, unlike Headspace which has a tendency towards melancholy. Lately I have not blogged about the dear plants because I have lost all my plants. This happened after a fight with my mother. Angry, I punished her by denying myself but I am the one punished. My mother has now taken over the plants. The big ones outside have all but two died under her care. The roots of the small ones are starting to rot from overwatering. Soon there would be no orchids left in my home.

It’s not all doom and gloom though. I have identified a good spot in the office to house my plants. It’s not wonderful and there is the danger of my boss throwing it away.

Economics of Marriage

October 17th, 2004 Uncategorized

Take a look at the Economics of Marraige by Kelvin Tan. He considered virginity as the commodity in which a woman bartered for security. I’m not so sure. I think of marriage (for women) much along the lines of slavery. When labour resources were limited in supply, men decided to accord rights to human property by slavery. My guess is that women, at a point in history, were in limited supply. By making women private property and enforcing beliefs about sexual purity, men secured the rights to ensure descendents were their own.

If it was so disadvantageous, why would women agree? It could be that a woman was physically weaker than a man. She would be less able to get food for her brood if she spent the same amount of time/effort as a man. By agreeing to this arrangement, women secured security in the form of food, lodging and protection.

But I like very much his opinion on affairs, that the marginal cost of hours with the wife is lower compared with the lover.

Christopher Reeve September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004

October 11th, 2004 Obituaries

It’s hard for me to think of Christopher Reeves as anyone else but Superman. There were other Superman – Dean Cain and Tom Welling – but I didn’t feel they were as Superman as Reeves.

Obituary