The Mantis Evolution

My routines are beginning to be like babies,
they're mostly conceived at night.

it's almost 6am
and my newest routine is more or less done!

Just one more rehearsal and i can pack up.

This one is called "The Mantis Evolution".
And while i've been thinking about it on and off for the past month,
it was only on thursday that i had something concrete down pat.

I was at the SMU underpass which is completely dead at night.
Yihong and Robert were there too to practise but they left early.
i stayed behind with my hood and had an inspired time,
until i realised it was damn scary that i was all alone near midnight in the long ulu SMU underpass.

Or maybe i was the one who looked really scary in a faceless hood

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did more hard rehearsing on Friday.
all the way past midnight.

the esplanade is open and bright and there were still pple around,
so it's a lot less scary.

I was rehearsing with my halloween faceless mask which reduced visibility by about 50%,
and then at midnight the underpass dims its light by 50%.
so i basically juggled with 25% visibility.

like machiam some juggling zen master.
must do it the hard way.

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Anyway,

i think the entire routine is just about done.
The D&D is tmrw,
can't get anymore last minute than that.

Alan very kindly offered to drop by to be my cameraman,
so perhaps one day i may be able to put the routine on youtube.

In the meantime,
here's to:

"The Mantis Evolution", by Baby Flamingo.

See also: Blog Entry on the first Baby Flamingo production - "Aquarius"

The Daffodil Laments

The new year has come and gone.
it was a bittersweet one.
:)
Some things are coming nicely,
some things not so.
And with every setback i trust that i'll get renewed strength.

i was at a really weird countdown party, with 1970s entertainment.
They invited the Talentime winner of 1969 (!!!???),
and the other guest singer is a group called Thunderbirds.

I have no idea who the Thunderbirds are,
they were probably famous before i was even borned.

The emcee proudly called them "lei gong jiao",
oblivious to how bad the phrase sounded.
And after lei gong jiao ended,
she sang a birthday song for a certain caucasian guest Mr Kork.

I swear she wasn't doing it on purpose.

"First lei gong jiao, now ang moh jiao", i heard someone say.

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I went to find my sea god again.
should have been wiser than to go on a public holiday.

it was hard to find a lone quiet spot,
another glaring reminder that singapore is 2 million pple away from sinking.

i compromised and found a spot behind 2 tents.
they vibrated every once in a while,
making me wonder whether there were any thunderbird activities going on inside.

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i'm suddenly hooked onto the Cranberries.
Specifically, the song "Daffodil Lament".

it's a strange song that breaks the normal structure of songs.
there is no stanza and no chorus,
and the more i listen to it, the more it sounds like drama in musical form.
the melody follows the lyrics which reflect the mood/story.

I have decided to leave you forever
I have decided to start things from here
Thunder and lightning won’t change
What I’m feeling

And the daffodils look lovely today

Ol in your eyes I can see the disguise
Ol in your eyes I can see the dismay
Has anyone seen lightning
Has anyone looked lovely

And the daffodils looked lovely today
Looked lovely

The tune of the solo guitar that picks up at 3.20 is classic.
i let the song play in the background late one night and the tune froze me.
i stopped what i was doing and just listened.
it sounded beautiful in the silence of the late night.

I never forgot how i felt that night.
Perhaps the reason why i'm hooked onto it now.
Ah, the taste of melancholy.