Contrary to popular belief, I don't club much. To many people I know, I seem to be always clubbing every other week. That is utterly wrong. I think I have been out clubbing less than fifteen times this year. It takes alot for me to want to go out clubbing and when I do club, I really hope to have a good night out. But that wasn't the case last night.

Last night was Steve Cobby from Fila Brazillia gracing the decks at Velvet Underground.

For some reason, my handphone chose to act up on me last minute and it's the second time that handphones has caused me great anguish on a rare night that I want to go out clubbing.

I remember how the screen of my 8210 died on me during Zoukout. My phone was the only way the Zouk folks could get in touch with me to tell me when and where to show up within the compound to do the interviews. There was no way I could have SMSed, told who called me, or simply call someone with that screwed handphone. Crap.

The 8250 that I am using now chose to give up on me last minute. On a night where I have to coordinate getting and passing invites to strangers with the hope that everyone would get to experience to magic of Steve Cobby. What I got in the end was friends getting really pissed/angry and me all vexed and wound up. Because I could only communicate through SMS and that SMS choosing to fail me too. It has caused great miscommunication that really pissed me and my good friend off. It's not hard to see how upset he was, as he left just after half an hour after the start of the gig.

Two friends left the gig after ten minutes because the place was too damn packed. Yes, it's a free gig but I would have paid my hard-earned money to watch him play. I was already crestfallen by the time the gig started. Why is it so difficult for me to have a good night out (spared from all the handphone jinxes)?

To be fair, the music was quite good though the mixing could have been better. I stayed for an hour with another friend and we decided to go off at 1.00am since both of us have to work the next day. So much for clubbing.

I must be nuts. I was mopping the house at 1.30am in the morning with Hip-hop playing in the background. I was trying to clean up the house so that my folks wouldn't nag at me when they come home on Wednesday evening.

Being the sneaker lover that I am, there's no way I would have missed the Sole Provider exhibition right? I love shoes. I love rare sneakers. I have written a long time ago about what vintage sneakers mean to me. Yes, I still have my Air Jordan 1, Air Jordan 3, Air Jordan 5. Amazingly, someone bought my old worned Air Jordan 4 for eighty bucks. The sole came off after the new owner wore it twice! I felt really bad and I wanted to pay the owner back his money. He declined and insisted that he wants to keep the shoe.

This exhibition is Nike showcasing the old basketball sneakers which they have produced over the years. I was really disappointed not to see a pair of Air Delta Force - which was the very first pair of Nike sneakers that I ever had. I told my friend that this would also be a time for people to "show off" their rare sneakers. I spotted people wearing really rare (expensive too) sneakers. I went on to give an analogy. Rare sneakers are like rare cars, people bring them out for show. No one parks a rare Ferrari at home.

There are also events that help to fuel the sneaker craze. If one looks closely at the what shoe Ying1 Mu4 Hua1 Dao4 is wearing in Slam Dunk, it's a pair of Air Jordan 6 (Hence Air Jordan 6 is hailed as the Ying1 Mu4 Hua1 Dao4 shoe). And of course, the silently handsome Liu2 Chuan1 Feng1 dons a pair of Air Jordan 5. Anyone with $300USD can try landing a pair off Ebay.

That explains why there's this friend who persistently tries to persuade me to sell him my Air Jordan 3 every time I see him. No way.

Bad news. Double shot bad news.

Been told by the magazine to scrap Steve Cobby because they had done something like that before. They also told me that my interview with Mark Farina is "crowded out" because it's too "old". Tough luck. Few nights ago, I cheekily asked a friend who also listens to Fila Brazillia to contribute a question. I guess my friend will never find out why their album is called 'Luck Be a Weirdo Tonight'.

So I told the magazine folks that I would be focussing my energy on doing Derrick May instead (22nd May 2003). Lets hope that this Detroit techno pioneer would not be as unprofessional as Juan Atkins. Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson are the legendary trio that spearheaded the whole Detriot techno movement about twenty years ago. Juan Atkins was supposed to play in Milieu and I was slated to interview him. He just abandoned the gig by not turning up and the interview was scrapped. I pity the club really. Interestingly, that would have been the only interview that I have done outside of Zouk's guest DJs. Though I was never really a big fan of Detriot techno, I am always interested in the movement behind the genre.

Let's see what comes out of this.

Bad news. Double shot bad news.

Been told by the magazine to scrap Steve Cobby because they had done something like that before. They also told me that my interview with Mark Farina is "crowded out" because it's too "old". Tough luck. Few nights ago, I cheekily asked a friend who also listens to Fila Brazillia to contribute a question. I guess my friend will find out why the album is called 'Luck Be a Weirdo Tonight'

So I told the magazine folks that I would be focussing my energy on doing Derrick May instead (22nd May 2003). Lets hope that this Detroit techno pioneer would not be as unprofessional as Juan Atkins. Derrick May, Juan Atkins and Kevin Saunderson are the legendary trio that spearheaded the whole Detriot techno movement about twenty years ago. Juan Atkins was supposed to play in Milieu and I was slated to interview him. He just abandoned the gig by not turning up and the interview was scrapped. I pity the club really. Interestingly, that would have been the only interview that I have done outside of Zouk's guest DJs. Though I was never really a big fan of Detriot techno, I am always interested in the movement behind the genre.

Let's see what comes out of this.

Still struggling with a painful neck/back while I am back at work. As expected, the work is piling up...

Took a while to look around my desk and it became apparent that I would have to cart home quite some stuff starting from next week.

Zoukbook - I don't usually buy coffee-table books but some of the people I interviewed are featured in the book. Plus the fact that the toy figurine that comes along with the book is pretty cute.

Speakers - plugged to my PC for playing music. Actually I was thinking if I should let someone else adopt them or bring them home.

Books - Four books left now. Some read, some half-read, some unread. I have already gave some books away to my colleagues.

CDs - Quite a few CDs to bring home. Roll-call
Spin Psyche, Mixmaster Mike (DJ from Beastie Boys)
Funny Break single, Orbital
Live at the Social Volume 1, Chemical Brothers (spare copy bought from 2nd hand shop in Bangkok)
Soulfood, various (under LTJ Bukem's Cookin' Records label)
The Private Press, DJ Shadow
Touching Down, Roni Size
Surfacing, Sarah McLachlan
Blazing Arrow, Blackalicious
Paris, The Cure
Juan Manuel, Plastilina Mosh
Fear of Fours, Lamb
Profound Sounds Volume 1, Josh Wink
In Full Gear, Stetsasonic

Magazines - Mostly URB magazine. This one is a pain. It's quite a stack now. I may not have a place to house them at home either.

Plus, other bits and pieces... (hard to categorise)

Maybe I should start with moving the CDs...

The walking wounded.

I woke up with a neck strain on Sunday. I can't turn or lift my head at all. Ever since I suffered a prolapsed disc since nineteen, my neck has been giving me problems very often. When I walk now, it's obvious that I stick my head out abnormally like some odd protrusion.

It hurts like hell.

Then I started to take stock of all my body defects.

Prolapsed disc
The most serious one. I remember that time when I couldn't even get out of bed. This also meant that I could never play soccer ever again as the swinging of my right leg would make my back hurt very badly afterwards.

Right ankle
I have sprained and injured it so many times that I have lost count. If I leave my ankle is a rest position for too long, I would feel as if my ankle is "frozen". It has a permanent swell but the swell is not as big as a sprained ankle. It hurts quite badly on it's own once in a while.

Knees
I don't know what is wrong but it has throbbing pain on its own.

Right waist
Must be too much mouse usage. But I suspected that a fall that I had when I was sixteen hurt it in some way. Like my knees, I feel throbbing pain too.

Left hand
My fourth finger and the portion below it often feels numb. Chinese sinseh told me that it's because my prolapsed disc has affected my spine and the nerves.

And I am only in my early 20s.

Washing machines are a wonderful modern invention.

Because it's hard doing handwashing! I tried to do that for all my work clothes and it was quite tiring. Mummy is away so I will have to do my own laundry.

Time to go put them out to dry now.

Next up. Next person to be grilled by me. That would be 26th November

Steve Cobby - one half of Fila Brazillia. Let's hope he agrees to be interviewed...

Something that made me happier this year was interviewing guests DJs that play in Singapore.

Since those people who picked up my LTJ Bukem/MC Conrad interview were quite happy with my interview so I just continued to contribute whenever I could. My criteria is really simple : I just need to like the DJ or his/her/their work and the freedom to do it my own way. So far, they have never made sweeping changes to whatever I have submitted.

The hits :

Sister Bliss
One half of Faithless. I actually did the interview in the car on my handphone while my brother was driving! Out of all the interviews that I have done, this one sucked the most because she just wanted to get it over and done with. She even suggested that I go pick up some past interviews from the Internet. No matter how bad my writing is, I will not compromise on journalistic integrity!

Pete Tong
Was actually a last minute thing but I was happy to help out. Since I usually spend quite some time planning the questions, I do feel that the quality of the interview suffered because of this. I only had like half and hour to come up with the questions. Very nice and obliging fellow despite him being a really famous personality in UK (tall and good looking too). Apart from the interview, we chatted. Amazing we discussed Talk to Her and soundtracks.

Joe Claussell
It's really great pleasure doing this one. Friendly, warm and humble despite being a legendary New York DJ. It was more like a friendly chat rather then an interview. He even put his arm over my shoulder while we tried to get a picture taken. It's a pity the picture didn't come out as the person taking it didn't operate the camera properly. He even asked me to call him if I ever visit New York.

What impressed me even more was the fact that he replied personally when I sent the pictures and the pdf file for the interview over to him.

Mark Farina
Friendly guy who doesn't really look his age. Rather animated. Apart from the interview, I had fun chatting with him as well. It was such a long interview that I had difficulty transcribing it and chopping it down.

The misses :

Talvin Singh
He turned down the interview.

DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow! Yes! DJ f**king Shadow. The one that got away, thanks to SARs. I had an appointment set up already and I was so close to meeting up with him. I was given a slot in the afternoon and I was even preparing to go on leave just to do this. I got a call just one day before with the bad news - that he's not coming after all because of SARs. Till today, I still have the invite that was sent out for this event. As a memento.

DJ Krush
Slated to come in two weeks after DJ Shadow. SARs did it again!

Jazzanova
Only one guy from the group turned up and poor guy lost his records on the plane.

Stereo MCs
To the best interests of everyone (Zoukout, the mag and myself), I was told not to conduct the interview even when I had already prepared for it. Complicated.

I did get to sit in with the interviews with Gus Gus and Dirty Vegas. Gus Gus was alot of fun to hang out with. I had alot of fun pictures taken with them. I think people from Nordic countries are alot more relaxed than most people.

James Lavelle
Night two of Zoukout. He was visibly tired because he was jetting around doing gigs and it was already past midnight when I caught him. Personally I felt like it was the best interview I had ever conducted. The pace, the depth, the questions and how I steered it. I had been forewarned by alot of people about how he tends to be aloof and taciturn during interviews. Plus the fact that he was tired and the partyground at Zoukout with music booming all around you isn't the most conducive place for an interview.

He got interested immediately when I chatted to him about collecting toys and sneakers (he is a big on them) after the interview. I managed to get a picture taken with him as well.

Why was it a miss then? My heart really broke when I found out a few hours later that the recorder didn't work too well during the interview and nothing was recorded! So the whole interview went up into thin air and this was the interview that never got published because I was too upset to even try to piece it together from memory. Sister Bliss yes (handphone remember?), but not James Lavelle. Nonetheless, it was a pleasure meeting him in person.

Laurent Garnier & Galliano
Prepared the interview but I couldn't do it because of a timing problem. I can't do a proper interview in fifteen minutes for two solid DJs so I scrapped it. I heard they went on to play a really good set.

Target List :

Who I would really like to meet/interview
Goldie
Kruder & Dorfmeister
Thievery Corporation
DJ Shadow (yes, another chance please)
Orbital

list goes on...

One of the reasons why I haven't hated the movie Rage so much is because the music in the film was really good. It's a pity Jah Wobble did such great music for such a crappy film.

The music for Tokyo Eyes was even better. Produced and supervised by Xavier Jamaux who also records as Ollano (on Shadow Records). I have previously bought stuff from Shadow Records and they are always very good.

Yes, music that I listen to will seem obscure to most people. Whenever I engage in conversations about music with people, it seems that I do scare people off when I rattle off about the stuff that I listen to and overload them with details - like some Japanese "otaku".

I have been very hooked on Accuradio's Hiptronica channel recently because the tunes they broadcast are really really good. I have never listened to so much Hip Hop in my life before. It's mostly Hip Hop that isn't played on MTV or local radio. I have heard of most of the artists being played but their stuff aren't usually available readily in Singapore. When I interviewed Mark Farina (San Francisco DJ), we shared the same sentiment about how good Hip Hop doesn't even get played anymore while acts like Eminem and 50cent give the masses the misconception of Hip Hop.

I will never look like someone who listens to Hip Hop. Not even if I try.

There are three people working for me on a temporary basis. Since the program that I am handling is ending soon. Tommorrow will be their last day.

They have been with me for about two months. It's a boring job (mainly data entry) but I spent my own time with them to involve them in more interesting work so that they have something to take with them. I had promised them that I would help them to look for "continued" employment and I was happy that another team agreed to absorb them after tommorrow.

It's the birthday of one of them and we chose to have lunch at Fish & Co. The first time I dined there I noticed that the staff did a special sing and cheer thing for the birthday girl/boy so I requested for them to do the same for the birthday girl. It was fun! They lit a sparkler and asked the birthday girl hold it while they did the singing/cheering. After that they served her ice-cream!

I will miss them, and I really hope they will go on to find real jobs soon.

I am quite surprised that I didn't fall asleep during the midnight movie marathon. The turnout was pretty good. Cheekily, I was really curious to know how many people will last till the end but I think about eighty percent of the people made it to the last movie.

About the crowd. There were alot of cute girls there! I was remarking to my friend that I was very impressed by the fact that girls seem to be more capable for finding their own intellectual stimulation. I usually attend film festivals on my own but I told my friend that I would not have gone for a midnight marathon alone so I was glad I had company. I would have felt really out of place otherwise.

Movie One - Embrassez qui vous voudrez (See How They Run)
Interesting movie that is very well-paced. Much like a dark comedy which only the French could make. I have seen French movies similar to this one and I enjoyed them. Thought it was very good programming to put this movie on first to engage everyone.

Movie Two - Une femme de menage (A Housekeeper)
I was quite lost on this one. The open-ending ending was anti-climatic and ambigious. Not much character development and the plot isn't fantastic either.

Movie Three - Tanguy
This film was sold out for it's own solo screening and was a big favourite when it was shown as part of the EU Film Festival. Though I found the story to be a little ludicrous, I enjoyed the witty dialogue and the "dramatized" humour. I think this should have been the film which most people have stayed up to watch for this movie marathon.

Last Movie - Fureur (Rage)
I normally don't hate movies, but I hated this! To think that I almost paid to watch it on it's own. Very weak ripoff of a Hong Kong movie that was pretty good. Lang4 Man4 Feng1 Bao4 (Someone Up There Likes Me) which had Aaron Kwok playing a boxer who unintentionally kills his girlfriend's brother in a boxing match. This is proof that not all East-West collaborations work (this was a Thai-French collaboration).

By the time we stepped out, it was already bright daylight. The ticket stub allows for one to redeem a coffee and croissant (reward for lasting through the night I suppose) but I suggested going for prata instead. So it was egg/cheese prata at Fong Seng right after.

I only slept three hours since I couldn't really sleep. Hope I don't fall asleep while catching Tokyo Eyes later in the evening.

I wonder whats with me and long lost friends.

Just last night, I spoke to someone whom I have lost touch for six years. Last I heard her voice was six years ago, before she left for Boston.

She's changed a great deal. Six years ago, she was really passionate about music. She made her own music (does AIFF ring a bell? Her tune got featured in one of BigO's CDs), enjoyed music tremendously and hung around with her musician friends. Once she invited me to her house for some gathering just right before her departure and I remember how I took over her stereo to play the tunes that I bought along with me.

I played : Mazzy Stars' (Fade Into You), Chemical Brothers' (Loops of Fury), Orbital's (Time Flies) etc. How time really flies.

Now she is back in Singapore and she told me that she's given up on music. She doesn't make music anymore, doesn't listen to much music now, doesn't hang out with "the music types" at all (words hers) though she makes a living as a music teacher. Yes, to each her own but I did feel sad when she told me how she's changed in relation to music. Although I felt like as though some part of her died, she told me that she's happier now and that she's really contented with her life right now. For that, I felt glad for her.

I don't know whether I will change like she did. But I hope that the music in me doesn't die. It's music that has been with me through the best and worst moments in my life. In many ways, it's been like an "intangible friend". Never too far away from me and always reliable (unlike people). This probably explains why I am more cynical of people than I am of music.

Catch

"Yeah I know who you remind me of"
"A girl I think I used to know"
"Yeah I'd see her when the days got colder"
"On those days when it felt like snow"

"You know I even think that she stared like you"
"She used to just stand there and stare"
"And roll her eyes right up to heaven"
"And make like I just wasn't there"

"And she used to fall down a lot'"
"That girl was always falling"
"Again and again"
"And I used to sometimes try to catch her"
"But never even caught her name"

"And sometimes we would spend the night"
"Just rolling about on the floor"
"And I remember even though it felt soft at the time"
"I always used to wake up sore..."

"You know I even think that she smiled like you"
"She used to just stand there and smile"
"And her eyes would go all sort of far away"
"And stay like that for quite a while"

"And I remember she used to fall down a lot"
"That girl was always falling"
"Again and again"
"And I used to sometimes try to catch her"
"But never even caught her name"

"Yeah I sometimes even tried to catch her"
"But never even caught her name"

Now playing: The Cure on Friday. Wonderful. Especially when it's a recording of their live performance in Paris.

Friendster!

Few months ago I read about the "phenomenon" which the URB editor wrote about. Yes, it was Friendster he chose to write about on his Diatribe column.

Taking stock of the "evolution of communication modes in the online world". When I first had internet access, everyone I met was exchanging email addresses and that was it. People emailing each other incessantly and soon I hated it because chain mails started flowing. I am proud of the fact that I never sent any chain mail and every single email that I wrote since then was sincere and personal. I remember how I used to write such long intense emails to my friends that burned me out. Since then, I haven't been writing much to people. Most emails I write these days are enquiries for online purchases or me commenting on how I am impressed with someone's art (check out www.freddic.com).

Then came ICQ. Amazing as it allows you to be in touch with people who are either faraway or really busy. However, ICQ messages are very "intermittent" and "disruptive" (especially when you are getting something done or focusing your attention on something). Most people on my list has gone MIA somehow. I never tried any other incarnations of ICQ so I wouldn't know how they function.

Sparkmatch.com (now defunct I think) had something that was quite similar to Friendster. It creates "your profile" after you answer a series of questions and you can post your picture up too. The other people can then choose to get in touch with you by leaving you messages which will be sent to your "profile". Never really interested me because I never took those Sparks' tests seriously. I always had more fun laughing at the results of those psychological tests.

Not long after, came the blogging revolution (if you are reading this now, you are part of it). It really brought out the writers that reside in people.

Of course, the Friendster wagon is here now. I joined because one of my close friends kept bugging me to try it out. As most of my real life friends are not too plugged to the Net, the number of "friends" that I have on Friendster is quite miserable. I made one observation - people who look good seem to have alot of "friends". Hundred over friends? Three hundred over friends? How true are these friends? However, I do find the bulletin function to be really useful and I will make full use of that to alert people of events coming up.

I noticed that most people on Friendster are mostly younger than me (between eighteen to twenty-five) and they hooked themselves all up with their JC classmates, university school-mates etc. In some way, I do feel old - most of my friends back from school are mostly married or not so hooked up to the net with the exception of a few.

I don't know whether Friendster will be a fad or not. I am sure something new might come along. I wouldn't be trying to make "new friends" from Friendster, not when I already suck at people in real life.

Why I feel defeated.

I feel defeated because I know that something's wrong and I can't do anything to help it. The friendship between me and a friend got very strained and it's due to no fault of ours at all. Since we are all flawed human beings, there are some things about ourselves which cannot be changed. This friend of mine finds it hard to accept that I am always bitter over certain things and me always choosing to "isolate" certain things as a way of handling them. I admitted that thats how I am and I stood by it.

I too, accepted that my friend is not entirely pleased with my way of dealing with things and that really started widening the cracks to a larger crevice. Reached a point that both of us are well aware that our friendship could never be the same again. Yes, I suck majorly at people but that's what I am. I feel more helpless than angry really. The fact that I am aware of the root cause of the problem compounded by me being totally helpless over is what makes me feeling totally defeated.

I feel defeated. Over people.

*defeated look*

Bought tickets to the Midnight Marathon (French Film Festival) and so I am going for it after all.

Went over to Tower Records because I had the "burn" off the twenty dollar voucher that I got as a "welcome gift" (UOB MTV Card). I am extremely fussy when it comes to buying CDs. I usually pay more for a US pressing if I know it's available rather then buy a CD that I know is poorly pressed. I wanted to get a really old release : Renegade Soundwave's R.S.W. 1987-1995 and they didn't have a copy of it. At the end it was a toss between Thievery Corporations's Sounds From the Thievery Hi Fi or Plastilina Mosh's Juan Manuel (Japanese press). Plastilina Mosh was something that caught my ear when I started listening to Accuradio in the office recently.

So I settled for Juan Manuel (yes, I couldn't resist buying the Japanese pressing) and it turned out that it was fantastic. I tested the CD on a friend's stereo at the shop he worked at and he wanted me to sell the CD to him! Not a chance! (not my Japanese pressing at least, more so since it's a steal for me at twenty eight bucks!) My friend took down the details and he said he will go look for a copy at HMV.

My take on the whole music piracy situation.

"We will never know who struck who first".

Music companies are increasing ripping people off. Is it because they feel that they have to try to reap as much off fans with all the blatant downloading going on? I don't know. I have seen a "new" REM compilation including one "new song" which is "previously unreleased". How many times do they (music companies. i.e) what to rip off their customers? How many of such "best of"s are we going to see? Stone Roses, Smiths, U2, Manic Street Preachers, Chemical Brothers etc etc.

There's an even more creative way in which they continue to suck the fans dry. Pick up a series call (Back to Mine), which is usually accredited to the "taste" of a famous DJ or a famous band. All they do is to choose a few songs which they personally like and they will put a CD out - showcasing their "choice cuts". Whatafuck? This is even better. They don't even need to produce anything. They just need to choose... I have seen tracks from Orbital, Mazzy Star, LTJ Bukem being chosen. Man, I could have chosen these tracks on my own! I was remarking to a friend on how I could have done my own (Back to Mine) from the six hundred CDs that I own and it could have been better than someone paying thirty five dollars for it. What stops a discerning music fan write down all the track titles and download the music off the net?

At this juncture, I am going to put out a sweeping opinion. Personally, I always felt that the biggest problem with the music industry today is the quality of the music being put out. No one is going to spend twenty over bucks buying an album with only one or two outstanding tracks. Till today, I still love most of the older albums that I bought and I think the general standard of music have declined over the years. Most music fans will agree with me. Do I think the fans need to foot some responsibility as well? Perhaps.

That being said, I will still continue to buy CDs if the quality of music is good (or else how would I have have clocked six hundred CDs now?) because nothing beats owning the original sleeves and cover art. I will let them decide if it's geese or eggs. As for (Back to Mine), I am writing down the tracklistings. *humphz*

So who struck first?

Someone that I have lost touch for about one and half years left me a message to tell me about how the play Animal Farm was enjoyable and getting the book after the play.

I am glad. At the same time I am surprised that my friend remembered me as someone "so gushed with Animal Farm". But I am happier at the fact that my friend enjoyed Animal Farm - Orwell's genius.

Well, we'll never know what we have done or said will eventually be something which others might remember us for right?

There is something about my blogging that I told one of my friends about.

I explained how my blogs are mostly anecdotal or long train of thoughts. I could never just write one or two lines and put it out. As a result, I can never blog if I don't have the time to write. So I end up writing about events/thoughts from the past. I think my brain is more like a "preliminary blogger" that unconsciously posts stuff into a designated space somewhere in my head and I turn them out into blogs later on.

I haven't been to Holland Village for about two or three years. Right after the movies I went to Wala Wala because one of my friend's music teacher happened to be performing there.

It's pretty packed and I believe it's because it's Halloween.

There was this guy sitting near me who spoke to me. I believe he was a little tipsy and he started telling me about how the band is playing crap and how it sucked and everything. I gave him a smile and I told him that I thought the band was pretty okay. It's really sad how people could take potshots so easily. I don't think I will diss a band off unless I can play better than them. Right at the end, that guy and his friends shouted, "Fuck off", "Go home" etc. I actually hoped that they got beaten up or something.

Maybe I have double standards - I can't stand it when a supposedly renowned DJ spins bad music. But still, I will not go to the extend of shouting or screaming. I will however, complain to people around me then or do so after the gig.

It's Halloween and I am spending it watching two Israeli films.

I didn't choose to go for any films for this year's Israeli Film Festival because I had already gone for too many films for the month of Oct. Japanese Film Festival, Czech Film Festival, EU Film Festival, and not to mention the Israeli and French Film Festivals which are ongoing now. I even chose to give the EU Film Festival a miss earlier and I will only be going for one show for the French Film Festival - Tokyo Eyes, which has Takeshi Kitano in it. Though I am still thinking whether I should go for the midnight movie marathon at the Alliance Francaise next Saturday night (Four shows in one-go from 11.30pm to 7.30pm the next morning!).

Still my friend was kind enough to ask me to go along for two films and this is my third Israeli Film Festival.

I have always loved films with sports inside them and the first film I saw was Provence United which is centred around soccer. I remarked how one of the Israeli actors looked quite like Adrien Brody (yes, with that impossible nose too). The turnout was quite dismal and I think it's because the French Film Festival has overshadowed the Israeli one. I think there were less than thirty people in the cinema.

Second film was much better. Desperado Square. Key to the plot is a famous Indian movie called Sangam and I think alot of people got very intrigued by it. One of my older colleagues told us how she didn't have a TV set at home forty years ago and creeping to their Indian neighbour's house to watch TV. Sangam was one of those movies she watched back then and she keeps raving about it. She could even sing some verses from the movie even though she doesn't know any Hindi! Now we know that Indian cinema has had it's day before Hollywood took over as even the Israelis were crazy about Indian films, as depicted in the movie.

One of the actors really looked like Antonio Banderas and much bigger too.

Eventful Thursday night.

I had got home early today so that I could pick up the car and go get a haircut. I was thinking of going back to the office right after that so that I could get some work done and clear up my messy desk.

It was about 8.00pm when I got an SMS that read, "Where are you now? Aren't you going to the wedding dinner yet?". What wedding dinner? After calling my friend did I know that I am supposed to attend the wedding dinner of one of our friends and it turned out that the person responsible for infoming me conveniently forgot about it. It's Bukit Timah where I was and definitely not clad in something which I could show up in for a wedding dinner. I think I have never driven faster in my life and I think I was clocking 130km/h at some point. In fifteen minutes time I was back in the East and by 8.40pm I was at Grand Copthorne hotel for the dinner and not entirely happy at not being told about it earlier.

And the person still had the cheek to ask, "I really didn't tell you meh?". More displeasure.

So I arrived in time and they were just about to serve the first dish. Thankfully, the food wasn't too bad as compared to most other wedding dinners that I have been to. Turned out that the groom invited Andrew Chow as well and I had a great chat with him as he was just sitting directly behind me.

The bride and groom met each other in Zouk five years ago and went through ROM two years back. Wonder how many others met their life partners at Jiak Kim Street.

Wishing them all the best for the future.