2006's Final Pleasant Surprise.....

itunes: OST Good Night, and Good Luck (2006)


Wow what a pleasant surprise??!!! Mr Huang, thanks for the Christmas card!! Hehe your first Christmas card since I knew you SIX years ago.....sob sob sob.....Nice nice card....I'm sooooooooooooooooooooo bloody touched...haha

Hey if you are reading this blog, give me a buzz. What makes you do it out of the sudden? I thought it is not your style to send greeting cards? haha Is it because you have received mine every year and yet u did nothing and now u guilty conscious?? haha

Anyway, big thanks thanks...really appreciate that very much! 2007 will be indeed a better year for everyone!! Thanks for being a great friend... :O)

No Music No Life 12/2006

itunes: 小泉今日子, オトコのコ オンナのコ (1996)

The list of CDs that I have bought in December 2006:


Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
Peanuts creator Charles Schultz called on pianist extraordinaire Vince Guaraldi and his trio to compose and perform music that would reflect the humor, charm, and innocence of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the entire Peanuts gang for their 1965 Christmas TV special. A truly great contemporary jazz Christmas album. I love it very much. Initially I bought one from ebay for YL's birthday present, after second thought, I bought another one from ebay for myself. This CD was not released officially in Singapore but I happened to see a few sold at Borders.



今井美樹, Milestone (2006)
At last, the album that I have been waiting for finally arrived from Japan. First pressed limited edition with DVD. Great voice!!



Marvin Gaye, The Very Best Of (1994)
He is a legend who revolutionise black music, redefined soul music. What do u reckon?



Lily Allen, Alright, Still (2006)
I guess Lily Allen is the best debut artist in 2006. A very refreshing britpop, cheeky and amusing that belies the sugarcoated sounds. Not to be missed! You may have heard her over the radio, the first single, "Smile".



Michael Bublé, Self Titled (2CD Edition) (2003)
I'm not really a Buble fan, it's the second disc "Let It Snow!" that impressed me so much that I cant help but to buy this CD as the second disc was not sold separately. Hehe I bought it at half the retail price from Yahoo Auction, still in very good condition even though it is second hand. The song "Grown-up Christmas List" touched me a lot, check out my earlier blog on this song.



Thievery Corporation, The Mirror Conspiracy (2000)
I got this for free from my office Christmas gift exchange. We are suppose to buy a present for a colleague that we have picked without letting the other party know. But I purposely let out some news of my 'wants' through the office grapevine and hey I got what I wanted!! Hehe ohh I'm a big fan of Thievery Corporation and almost finish completing in their discography collection. Yeah their breezy and atmospheric downtempo electronic sound is the best groovy companion in late night.



Martina Topley-Bird, Quixotic (2003)
This CD is definitely hard to come by. I spent lots of time searching for it islandwide. None of the stores carry this except HMV & Borders. HMV sell it at an extremely ridiculous high price (which I'm not willing to pay but evenutally it was sold, damn!) and Borders carry the American pressing which I'm not keen at all. In the end, I got it from ebay!! So happy that it arrives safely from UK today. This solo debut is unique in the sense that it slowly resonant deep into you and it is irresistable. Imagine chillout vibes with patches of soul, blues and rock, the music is beautiful, complex, errie and haunting yet rich and melodic. This piece of work radiants a huge creativity charm in her.


NO MUSIC NO LIFE

Let It Rain! Let It Rain! Let It Rain!!

itunes: Michael Bublé, Let It Snow EP (2003)

It started to rain last night when I finished writing last night's blog. When I woke up this morning, the rain did not stop either and it's getting heavier and showed no sign of stopping. The weather is sooooooo cool and relaxing (the temperature in my room now is only 25.5 degrees celsius) and I decided that I should give myself another day off. Haha I declared today I'm applying urgent leave day off!! Just laze at home and do nothing, yippy yeah yeah!! Haha an extension of Christmas celebration!!!!

Happy Boxing Day!! :OD

And so I'm offering this simple phrase, To kids from one to ninety-two, Although its been said many times, many ways, A very Merry Christmas to you...

itunes: Vince Guaraldi, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

The weather is cool, have been raining for days and right now, the thermometer in my room shows 26 degrees Celsius. Good temperature for the Christmas mood, my itunes playing a 60’s classic Christmas album, cool and yet heartwarming. It would be best to have snow too……

This Christmas Eve I had an early night after a long tiring day. I dozed off before I can welcome Santa and his reindeers. No presents for me, guess I have not been a good boy this year. HAHA

I had an enjoyable morning at the Wild Wild Wet ( http://www.wildwildwet.com ) despite of occasional light rain and no sun :O( The water rides are fun but the Slide Up really scared the hell out of me. Imagine plunging down a steep U-Shaped four-storey ramp, which is a nearly 90 degree vertical, accelerating until you hit the deck and skim across to soar up the opposite side. It’s like riding on a pirate ship but more exciting because it’s just 2 persons settling on 1 inflatable raft and the only security you have is to hold on to the raft tightly. I dread the first free falling feel but subsequently, it’s just fun swinging. It’s a slide ride, from one side of the U to the other until the momentum runs out. I will definitely return sometime next year. Yeah!

On Christmas Day I went to an old friend YL potluck’s Christmas gathering. Nice spread of food, desserts and good wines. It’s relaxing and layback to sample the good food with nice Merlot red wine (No no I hate Shiraz) and chit-chatting with classic Christmas music playing at the background. The most delighted thing is TV has been banned, even though some anti-social ones managed to turn on the TV briefly. At the end, the desserts (I must say the apple crumble is awesome, say big bravo to Louise’s friend!! It will be nicer if cinnamon is added, yum yum) and the dessert wine (it was said that the dessert wine suppose to bring out the sweetness of the dessert, but I just cant get it hehe. Nevertheless must thank Carol for bringing the good dessert wine that she brought back from South Africa)

Take a look at the 2 types of salad that I have prepared.



This one I have cut red cabbages, carrot & Japanese cucumber strips, cherry tomatoes, baby corn and the base is butter lettuces.



This one I have big cuts of Romaine Lettuces, Oak Leaf Lettuces, Red & Green Coral Lettuces, Radicchio, Lollo Rosso, Spider Mustard, some dry apricot and sprinkle a handful of raisins and nuts. Thanks to Louise who added some nice smoked Salmon slices and the generous olive oil for dressing. Great!!

Some other generous contributions:


Sushi platter


Otah (squid)


Curry Chicken


Turkey & stuffing & honey baked ham


Christmas Log cake
Take a closeup look at the cake decor. A nice house with fun snowman and a singing Santa.



Ohh, how I love Christmas! With festive goodies, great classic Christmas music, Christmas gifts and most important, cheerful friends around. It brightened up the season spirits. How I wish after dinner, we can just walk out into the snow, listen to the carols build a nice snowman and a snowball fight!!

Let’s sing The Christmas Waltz:
Frosted window panes
Candles gleaming inside
Painted candy canes on the tree

Santa's on his way
He's filled his sleigh with things
Things for you and for me

It's that time of year
When the world fall in love
Ev'ry song you hear seems to say
"Merry Christmas, May Your New Year Dreams Come True"

And this song of mine
In three-quarter time
Wishes you and yours
The same thing too

Joyeux Noel to all and good night!

Now I’m looking forward to the New Year’s eve tea and dinner party at Norman’s house. Hey I will get the Organic Oat Cranberry Cookies from Marks & Spencer……Happy 2007!!

Guess What Is This?

itunes: Jim Reeves, Twelve Songs Of Christmas (1963)

Guess what is this?



This is the raw Wasabi (ワサビ or 山葵 pronounced as Wa-Sa-Bee, not Wa-Sa-Bay), the root of the Japanese horseradish. In Japan it is called Hon Wasabi (本山葵), meaning original or true wasabi. It has to be finely grated with a traditional tool made of dried sharkskin with fine skin on one side and coarse skin on the other, as shown in the picture.

The one that we usually see in most Japanese restaurants is imitation. Since there are only few places are suitable for large-scale wasabi cultivation, and because such cultivation is difficult even in ideal conditions, most of the "wasabi" served today is really just European horseradish dyed green, or a mix of horseradish with black mustard and chlorophyll, often as a powder to be mixed with water to make a paste for the same effect.

Want to try the real raw Wasabi? It definitely taste better than the artificial ones. This is where we go, at Tampopo Japanese Restaurant on the basement level of Liang Court. The food there is authentically good Japanese. By the way, it's S$5 for the size of the Wasabi root you see in the picture.

Note: the info on wasabi is taken from Wikipedia.

Christmastime is here...

itunes: The Carpenters, Christmas Portrait (1978)

I'm no Christian and never celebrate religously and I just dunno why December Christmas season just gives me a sense of inner peace, merry and joy. When I was a little boy, I'm truly fascinated by snowman, Santa Claus and his reindeers magic and I just love those Christmas songs, not forgetting the Christmas children story books that I borrowed from the library. Imagine, the snow, the sleigh, the fireplace, tucked in bed early for Santa. That's my childhood dreams!! Well, now I'm still love those Christmas songs and still looking forward to Santa to make my Christmas wishes come true. It's self deceiving but one cant deny the fact that there is a child in everyone's heart, right? I'm still looking forward for a white Christmas holiday in a far far away land, with snow, sleigh ride and a fireplace, and now of cos I hope my dearest one by my side.

Yeah, enough of dreams, I guess Christmas has given me a different meaning now. It's at the end of every year and it's a celebration of all things (particulaly the bad ones) should come to a closure and it's time for me to reflect the things that I have done in the year, plan and looking forward to a better coming year. It's time to feel nostragic on the good old memories. It's a time to show my well wishing to the people closest to my heart. It's time to tell some of them that I have not forgotten about them even though we have not been talking or constantly staying in touch.

The Christmas cards have been sent out this morning, in the midst of Christmas rush. I have never failed doing so since my primary school days. In this electronic era, technological advancement has enriched our life but never enriched our soul. I'm still insisting to send my well-wishes this way, not because I'm a stubborn rock who resists changes, but I think it adds more personal touch when the wishes are sent in my own handwriting. It's as good as telling the receipent that I'm still alive and kicking haha. Sometimes I really wonder how my friends feel about receiving my cards, thankful or touched being remembered or just merely a card? For me, I'm still looking forward to receive a handwritten Christmas card in the mailbox like my younger days, even though it's quite rare nowadays. The joy and bliss of finding a Christmas card in the mailbox, open it up and read the well wishing words, I can never forget that since I received my very first Christmas card in the mailbox many years ago.....

Check out this song, Grown-Up Christmas List by Michael Buble. Love it very much. It relates closely to how I feel about the spirit of Christmas, to spread and share the joy of well wishing all around. I have grown up, but my heart have not lost the ability to dream that I had when I was a boy. Maybe Santa really exists in the South Pole and maybe I can hear his sleigh bells ring this Christmas eve night.....

Do you remember me?
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you with childhood fantasies
Well, I'm all grown-up now
Can you still help somehow?
I'm not a child, but my heart still can dream

So here's my lifelong wish
My grown-up Christmas list
Not for myself, but for a world in need

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Every man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown-up Christmas list

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth?
Maybe only in that blind belief can we ever find the truth

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
Every man would have a friend
That right would always win
And love would never end

This is my grown-up Christmas list
This is my only lifelong wish
This is my grown-up Christmas list

My All Time Favourite MTVs

itunes: Janet Jackson, 20 Y.O. (2006)

My favourite MTVs of all time

Fiona Apple – Across The Universe
This is the remake of The Beatles' classic song. I just love the ‘cool’ in this video.



Kylie Minogue – Come Into My World
Fun and interesting to see Kylie in casual, strolling around and around and around and around a city block within the Boulogne suburb of Paris, France.



Bjork - Cocoon
Well, it's Bjork. Beautifully eerie!



Madonna – Bedtime Story
Madonna's most experimental video to date. It visualizes the concept of the song, showing images that seem like a dream or some other state of unconsciousness. The Whirling Dervishes was featured in it. It has been said that this video was strongly influenced by Frida Kahlo's paintings, Remedios Varo's painting The Lovers (Los Amantes), as well as by some scenes of Tarkovsky's movie Stalker. This song is written by Bjork.



Fatboy Slim – Ya Mama
A straight forward but innovative video, watch it and you understand why



Christina Aguilera – Fighter
Very gothic and industrial, I like.



Janet Jackson – Got Til It’s Gone
The video is a blend of 60's and 70s African and African American culture as the people feel free and have a good time living life. Beautiful….



Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity
This is perhaps Jamiroquai's most well-known music video. It’s simply the one that broke the rules…



Madonna – Ray Of Light
This Koyaanisqatsi inspired music video which features sped-up images of daily life, from people riding a subway, ordering food, bowling, and children in a classroom. It projects a positive aspect of life.



All Stars Tribute – What’s Going On
With Jermaine Dupri serving as producer, this 2001 Marvin Gaye’s cover featured an all-star lineup of dozens of popular contemporary artists from all genres, and its video and donations were not only dedicated to the problem of AIDS, but it was also eventually expanded to dedicate to the then-recent September 11, 2001 tragedy. Artists for AIDS Awareness lineup: Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Bono (U2), Backstreet Boys, Destiny's Child, P. Diddy, Jermaine Dupri, Fred Durst (Limp Bizkit), Eve, Perry Farrel (Jane’s Addiction), Nelly Furtado, Nona Gaye (Marvin Gaye’s daughter), Darren Hayes (Savage Garden), Ja Rule, Jagged Edge, Alicia Keys, Lil Kim, Aaron Lewis (Staind), Jennifer Lopez, Chris Martin (Coldplay), Pat Monahan (Train), Monica, Mýa, Nas, Nelly, NSYNC, Britney Spears, Michael Stipe (REM), T Boz and Chili (TLC), Shashi Tharoor, Usher, Scott Weiland



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wDtGRygNmM

There are another 2 versions of this video, check them out. The order of the stars' appearance differs as well.

What’s Going On (R&B Mix)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78Hoaisl2Xs

What’s Going On (Pop Mix)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T120pwJ7wg

George Benson at Esplanade Concert Hall

itunes: George Benson, Greatest Hits Of All (2003)





How can one miss George Benson's concert last night at Esplanade Concert Hall? Imagine in a fine concert hall, listening to the live performance of one of the greatest guitarists in Jazz history. His 5-piece band members were indeed seasoned session players, jammed through the 2 hours with NO music notes at all, and to think of the drummer who was pulled in just 3 weeks ago, it's simply amazing!! Noticeably, I saw the drummer tossed one of his drum stick into the air occasionally on the set, and yet fast enough to get hold of it to hit the hi-hat. The bassist who can play his bass guitar and at the same time, he is able to swing the tambourine with one of his foot.

The star himself, who sang and played his rhythm guitar in a beautiful rounded tone, particularly his lush soulful vocal and his impressive jazz guitar solos, delivered his soul-jazz format best ever. He spelled out a couple of his hits: Turn Your Love Around, Never Give Up On A Good Thing and of course the cheesy Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You. Eventually he heated up the hall with the number On Broadway, set everyone standing up and groove to this music. He came back for encore with This Masquerade.

Despite its most disappointing that he did not perform his hit, Breezin’. Nevertheless, it’s still the most memorable fusion jazz concert. Wow! What a wonderful evening!

The interior of Esplanade Concert Hall


The Hall is slowly filling up for great evening!




The magic of the night


Burning down the house!

Shimbashi Soba OISHI!!

itunes: Diana Krall, Christmas Songs (2005)

I went to Simbashi Soba for restaurant for dinner for the first time recently. I'm a Soba fan and I cant possibly miss a Japanese restaurant that specialised in soba, particularly soba is made fresh. Trust me, the texture is different from the soba you may have tasted in all Japanese restaurant and enteries. It was said that some grind buckwheat shells was added in the making and hence it gives the soba a bit rougher than what we usually eat elsewhere. Despite of that, it gives me a very organic taste when eating. Prices are slightly steep but I think it still worth the try. Oh yes, the miso soup taste good too. I never like miso soup but I did finish the soup this time.

The machine that grinds the buckwheat for Soba.




The soba-making chef and his certifications from Japan.