巾帼奇英 & 碧海狂僧

巾帼奇英, The Magnificent Heroine was the show by the Wuchuan City COT on Wednesday night and was one of the most entertaining operas. This is the heroine Chen Shi Min, 陈诗敏. Somersaults, split-leg jump, one-leg stand, spears, swords - to her they are as easy as eating vegetable.


This is the passionate monk, 23-year-old Li Wei Cong, 李伟聪. He performed an excerpt, 林冲夜奔, on Sunday and he acted very well. And on Wednesday night he sang a song, 碧海狂僧 (an extra item not in the programme). He also sang very well with plenty of action, motion and emotions.


Wei Cong with an admirer

Good display of martial skills

On Tuesday evening I saw a man, probably from the Wuchuan City COT, praying outside the backstage of Kreta Ayer People's Theatre. Later I learnt that it was to pray for the safety of the artistes doing the fighting scene and that everything went smoothly.

Society may advance and modernize but some traditions and rituals continue. Some people may think it is superstitious, but the important thing is that it gives them peace of mind.

The fighting scene went very well with some spectacular stunts. They fighting was well-choreographed and the stunts well-executed. In one of them, the two male leads fought each other standing on the the backrests of two chairs placed on a table. When the villain was killed he fell backwards, body-straight, from the chair ... Oh no!!! We held our breath. But not to worry ... he fell into the hands of the imperial guards, his troupe mates.

All this needs good coordination, timing and teamwork.

Although the fighting scene went smoothly, there were two stoppages in two other scenes due to 'power failure'. In one of them, the leading actor was singing fine in one moment but the next moment there was no sound. What happened? So the show stopped.

Fortunately, things were put right very quickly.

Note: a cafeteria has just opened next to Kreta Ayer CC. It sells hot & cold drinks and food like fried mee hoon, chee cheong fun and char siew rice.

Fire on stage

There was a little surreal drama last Friday, the first night of the Wuchuan Cantonese Opera Troupe performances, at Kreta Ayer People's Theatre. Towards the last 10 minutes or so of the final scene, there was smoke at the upper right hand corner of the stage. We all thought it was part of the show. You see, the final scene was a fiery one with a lot of action, fierce fighting and some splendid stunts.

Then one of the rolled-up backdrops hanging behind caught fire at the right side. The rebels set fire to the palace? The fire to make the show look more real?

No, they are not part of the show.

The backdrop was lowered down and an 'imperial guard' tried to beat out the flames. The next moment there was some foam and the fire was put out. I think someone at the side of the stage used an extinguisher.

Fortunately the artistes were calm and the show continued after the brief interruption.


Here are some clips of the Wuchuan COT performance:
http://uk.youtube.com/profile?user=OperafanSingapore

1910

A week ago I was at Kreta Ayer People's Theatre waiting for the Kong Chow 168 anniversary show to start. Then I saw a lady usher guiding an old woman to her seat. From their conversation, she was 98 years old.

Those of you who are below 30, 98 is so far away, right? (According to my previous survey, about one-third of my visitors are below 30.)

She really looked old with her wrinkled shrunken face. She was of small-built. But, from the way she talked and walked, she looked healthy enough. I think she would have no problems passing the century mark. Later a woman came to talk briefly to her. She didn't speak loudly so it meant the old lady's hearing was still good. Still later a man sat beside her.

The usher asked her the secret for her longevity. She said "don't eat pig meat, eat fish".

I was thinking of going over to ask her what watching opera was like in the 1920s and 30s when she was a sweet young girl. But then ... Tok Tok Tok Chang! ... Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang! Chang! The show started.

Road quiz

See if you recognize the road in this video. There are two prominent landmarks. Some objects might also give you some hints. There was not much traffic because it was a blazing humid Sunday afternoon.

Friends in other countries, if you have visited my country you might have come to this road before.

Fund Raising Cantonese Opera Show

Here is a message from Allan. The poster is also sent by him.

Dear All

Please refer to poster attached. The Cantonese Opera will held at Kreta Ayer Peoples Theatre on 3rd June a 7:00 pm. The total collection inclusive of donations, tickets selling, sponsors will be donated ONE HUNDRED PERCENT to these two countries to help the victims. As for some who are not familiarized with the Cantonese Opera, I can say they are amount the top local talents, some are even professional and teachers in the Opera Circle.

Please help the victims by buying tickets for the performance or by means of contribution. Please cross your cheque and address to Singapore Red Cross Society. Please write your name, address, I/C numbers clearly at the reverse side of the cheque.

Don't miss out being kind as one good gesture will make you a happier and healthier person.

Thank You.

Best Regards
Allan Woo.

Joker

Talking about the school discipline master... Although he punishes pupils, he is also one of the most respected teachers in many secondary schools.

There was one DM who was quite a joker. One day a lady teacher who got her driving license not long ago was driving her new car cautiously at a very slow speed into the driveway in the school compound. Pupils had gathered in the field on one side of the driveway waiting for the flag-raising ceremony which would start in about 5 minutes.

The DM was crossing the driveway. When he saw the car approaching him, he pretended to be very alarmed and quickly jumped out of the way. Hahaha, as if he was so scared of new female drivers.

He was very comical. Everyone was giggling or grinning away.


Notice: I was informed that some cantonese opera artists are organizing a show to raise fund in aid of the earthquake victims in China - on 3 June 2008 at the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre. Anyone with more information, please post it at the comments.

Miscellaneous thoughts

A man was fined $1000 for feeding monkeys. Originally it was $4000 but it was reduced on appeal. I don't think $1000 is too harsh.

A school discipline master used to say 'education and punishment are complementary'. He means you can teach and counsel students but must punish them too.

Similar we can educate and advise people, tell them not to drink drive, not to breed mosquitoes, not to feed monkeys, etc. After that action must also be taken.

I don't believe in just educating and counselling.

What I think of .....

Off-day for maids - Give them at least an off-day every fortnight.

Escape of JI man - No need for DPM Wong to step down.

One more thing,
Heard of this argument "If 18 is old (or mature or whatever) enough to do NS, they should be allowed to vote or do this or that." ?

I don't quite agree with this logic. Anyone wants to convince me?

If the age for NS call-up were 16 and not 18, then I suppose we can't use this argument. I think 16-year-olds are also 'old enough' to be trained to use weapons and defend the country and fight in a war.

So, it doesn't mean just because you do NS you could do this or that.

Dirty jobs

Recently there was a report about old people cleaning toilets. I feel it is ok if the people themselves want to work and do not mind.

I remember quite long ago there was a Use Your Hands Campaign. It was was started because people did not want to do jobs that dirtied their hands. As with many campaigns it had to start with the young and schools had to take the lead.

So schools had their own campaigns in which students cleaned up their classrooms at the end of every term and in some schools, classes were scheduled to clean toilets and pick up litter in the school compound.

Today the situation is very much the same. People are still reluctant to dirty their hands.

And in the news today - it is difficult to get bus drivers. It won't dirty your hands but it is long tiring work and includes shift duties. It was reported our bus companies are short of 200 drivers and of the hired drivers, only about 25% are Singapore citizens. I think they will have to hire more foreigners.

Free money

The day after Labour Day I was walking along some shops when I saw a long queue snaking out from an OCBC Bank into the hot sun outside. Unusual. Why so many people? I asked the bank girl on duty outside. She said they came to withdraw the bonus the Government had given out.

I see. But why couldn't wait a few days. Then no need to wait so long. Or maybe they needed the money desperately.

When the Government first gave out free money about 2 years ago, I remember reading a blog post in which the writer said he was not happy with the way the money was given out because some people he knew got more than he did and he felt they did not deserve it.

I think he would rather the Government not give out money or just give to those who really need it and not to everyone.

This man has a wife and kids, lives in a private house and drives a car. So we can assume he was quite well-to-do and happy with his life and then the Government gave out money and made him unhappy.

Car

Once my car seat belt got stuck. Fortunately I was not in a hurry. After a while and some struggling with the belt, I won and it let go. Later I thought about it. What if the car burst into flame? Not a comfortable way to die.

So I keep a pair of scissor in the car. A small one, about the length of your palm. Anyway, a scissor has many uses.

A friend of mine keeps a long screwdriver under the driver's seat of his car. He said it is to defend himself against robbers. As if he always encounters robbers. A screwdriver is a car tool, so it is ok to carry it around, he claimed.

Another friend, an NPCC officer, put his peak cap on the dashboard of his car. He said it was a deterrent against theft. No one would want to steal a police officer's car, he reasoned. As if a lot of people want to steal his old car.

Money not enough

The other day, at a supermarket.......

A cute little girl took an ice-cream from the small freezer near the exit. After that she toddled to the cashier at the counter nearby, raised her little hand and offered the cashier a one-dollar coin.

"Not enough. One thirty," the amused cashier said in English. The little girl did not seem to understand.

1 30, the cashier repeated, 1 30. Still the little one shook her head.

At this instance, a kind uncle who was delivering goods to the supermarket went to the girl, squatted down and explained to her. Whether she understood or not I don't know. In the end she toddled away, haha, probably going to look for her ice-cream at another shop.

Surname

In the news today, there was a report about a teacher with the surname Ding. It reminded me of a teacher with quite a rare surname, Dieu (pronounced dew). I don't know what it is in Chinese or what his native dialect is.

One day Mr Dieu was walking along the corridor beside some classrooms where lessons were going on. Those were the old type of classrooms with open doors and windows. Suddenly the senior assistant came out of his office and shouted after him, "Dieu! Mr Dieu!" I think the SA wanted to talk to him.

It was quite funny. Dieu is an offensive word in cantonese.

New magazine

New cantonese opera magazine. Real one, not my creation. (Picture taken from MSN Opera Forum, link on the right).



About the Quiz in the previous post
You need to know something about the story Journey to the West. Here goes....

Monkey King and Bull Demon King were sworn brothers. BDK was the husband of Iron Fan Princess. They had a kid called the Red Child who was very mischievous and caused a lot of troubles. MK had to fight with the Child to stop him causing troubles. He captured the Child and the Goddess of Mercy took him away for punishment. Because of this, BDK and his wife hated MK.

By the way MK can do 72 transformations.

Answer to the quiz
Monkey King transformed himself into Bull Demon King and conned his wife Iron Fan Princess to give him the Fan.

Quiz

Refer to previous post .....
Monkey King transformed himself into an insect and entered Iron-fan Princess's stomach. He then forced her to lend him the Magic Fan. But she gave him a fake fan.

Question: Finally how did MK manage to get the real Fan from the Princess?

Opera magazines

If you are not aware, there are already 3 HK cantonese opera magazines on sale here. You can find them at a ground-level shop in Bras Basah Complex. One or two shops opposite the Complex also have them.

Opera magazine

How to be an expert

A man was sitting next to a group of women who were indulging in their favourite pastime - idle gossip. The man was a little annoyed with their incessant talking. Later their topic was about birds which the man had a little knowledge. So, occasionally he intervened to make comments.

Some of the things he said about birds were true but others were his own inventions. He sounded very knowledgeable and the women believed him. He became bolder and talked more nonsense. The women began to regard him as an expert on birds.....

Hahaha, you see, if you are bold enough and the others are not knowledgeable enough, you can pretend to be an expert in almost anything.

Do you remember my other post about a simple dim-witted gardener who was mistaken by a media reporter to be an eminent economist.

These stories are quite fun to read.

Drama VCDs

I've just taken some photos of my vcds for record purposes so that I know what I have.

Here are a few of them.....

Justice Bao (4 sets with about 4 stories in each set)

Legend of the Condor Heroes (3 parts), Crimson Sabre



Some of my favourites.

Cha Cha Chang! Tok Tok Tok Chang!

Channnnnnng! Some boys learning to play percussion tunes in cantonese opera.

Qiang jian

Yesterday I was at a video shop. A HK cantonese drama was showing on the TV in the shop. I remember I saw something of it in HK. I asked a girl attendant what the show was. She said 'qiang jian'. For a second I thought of 'rape'. Got such a title?

Then I realized it is not rape; it is 'Strong Sword', a swordsman drama.

Candid shots

"Hee hee hee hee hee" - someone tickled her funny bone.
Recognize her? But I don't think you have seen her laugh like that before.

"Oh no, not every night, please go away" - trying to hide from her suitor.

What's this...now, which opera got this scene??

This is not a gangland confrontation. They are 'imperial guards'.

Some of my files (pictures, videos & applications) just vanished overnight. Does anyone know what is a possible cause or whether the files are still there, hiding somewhere...

Another old thing

A 10-year-old calendar, all the 12 months still there. Can still be used to decorate the wall.


芗剧 - 艺地情缘狮城会

粤剧 - 香妃

Old things

There are some old things I would have forgotten about if I had not read about them again in Laokokok's blog, Times of My Life - things like blotting paper, old paper bags, old school textbook books, Hero pen and ink and others. It is quite amazing the collection of old things he has.

So I rummaged through my cupboard and flipped through some dusty albums to see if I still got any old things not thrown away yet.

Nothing of interest.....anyway just show you an old bus ticket and an old book.

No, I don't collect bus tickets, I just have a few with some nice numbers. This picture shows you both sides of the ticket. No idea what year it was. By the way, the number 8 lying down looks like the symbol for infinity in mathematics which is also a good sign - abundance of wealth and fortune and longevity.


This is one of the few old books I still keep because it had helped me a lot. Hee hee, you see, I'm a grateful person. It is a useful little book with good explanations followed by lots of exercises to reinforce what you have learned. It was also cheap. In case you don't know, calculus is a topic in Pure Maths, a subject I took in Pre-U.

Reality lesson

A few days ago in Circuit Road I saw the driver of a car dangling his arm out of the car window. It was quite far down. The driver's body must be leaning towards the door with only the left hand on the steering wheel.

It was a very stupid thing to do. It endangered himself as well as other road users.

I was hoping something would happen that would give him the fright of his life.

Hahaha, I'm not evil-hearted. I feel that sometimes people need some reality check to teach them a lesson or to jolt them out of complacency.

The escape of the JI leader is an example. Or a person may need a sudden pain to make him go for a long-overdue medical checkup.

亡国恨

李後主之去國歸降 - this was one of the shows on a poster I was looking at. In this excerpt there is a line with these three words. So I just used these words as the title.

I mentioned the Japanese Occupation in the previous post. Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942. It was not a country then; it was a British colony.

I have read a few books about the Japanese Occupation in Singapore. One of them is Sinister Twilight - The Fall of Singapore by Noel Barber. This book is an account of events leading to the fall of Singapore and of the Occupation period. It was a great setback and embarrassment to the British. The next three years were perhaps the darkest years in our nation's history.

The picture below is from a picture book about the atrocities and other bad things the Japanese did during those years.

I think many of you would have seen a video about the fall of Singapore in your CME or NE lesson when you were in secondary school. And your teachers probably would have discussed with you about the lessons we learned from this.

Rice

In my primary school geography lessons, I remember learning about rice-harvesting, rubber-tapping and tin-mining. All were tedious work. So we knew rice did not grow in Singapore. The rice we ate was the result of toil and sweat by farmers in far-away land.

Our forefathers were a hardworking and thrifty lot. They saved every spare cent and ate every grain of rice. Whatever food that was left was put away for the next day.

Today, the scene is very different. In a restaurant or a food court, you see a lot of wastage of food, including rice.

The hike in the price of rice may not be a bad thing altogether. It reminds people not to waste food. I think the price will go up further.

In future there could be a severe shortage of rice. Rice-producing countries may have to keep the rice for their own people leaving very little or none for export. Rice will be scarce. Although Singapore may have a stockpile of rice for emergencies, that cannot last forever if there are no supplies. Singaporeans will have to include other staples in their meals.

If it were to reach a critical level, the Government would have to impose rice-rationing. I think it was done during the Japanese Occupation.

Meanwhile, don't waste food and at your next meal savour your rice, enjoy its texture, taste and fragrance.

Baffling

A fortnight ago at the street opera at Sims Drive, a group of women were waiting for the opera to start. They looked like the type that watch cantonese opera regularly. They were looking at a flier about a coming show by a HK sheng partnering a SG dan.

"You know this dan? Singapore one."

"Don't know"

"Don't know"

"Don't know"

"Don't know"

This was not first time I heard this. It quite baffles me. Many local Cantonese opera fans don't seem to know local artistes except for their friend performers and a few top names. These people don't watch shows by local artistes? Or they just can't remember?

In this case the dan has been quite active, at least in recent years with a few 'big' shows at Kreta Ayer People's Theatre.

In this respect I am much better. I know the well-known ones as well as many of the less-known ones. Generally I remember artistes who have been performing regularly and new artistes who have performed well. Now I also know some local Xiang Opera artistes, Liyuanxi artistes and Nanyin performers.

Health survey

Last week I was waiting for registration at the polyclinic. A group of youths were looking for people to help them do some health survey. A pleasant girl approached me. I said ok.

She got ready some forms. She said, ' Sir, you volunteer to do this, right? '

' Yes, ' I said. Actually I did not volunteer lah. She asked and I agreed. This is not volunteer, right.

' I also didn't point a gun at you, right? ' She pointed her pencil at me.

Hahaha, very funny I thought. But she kept a straight face.

Then she started asking the survey questions.....

'Why don't you give me the form and I fill up for you,'' I said.

'Cannot, this is special form. You have to shade the answers in pencil,' she said.

And so it went on... quite a detailed survey... finally...

'Thank you, Sir.'

'Finished already? You said got sensitive questions?'

'Asked already.'

'Oh!'

There were no questions on sex or illnesses. I don't know which were the sensitive questions.


Announcement: This blogger is taking time-off from blogging. There will be no new entry in this blog for about 2 weeks.

coming attractions

舞台仙子 - 花旦

This video is about hua dan, the qualities a good hua dan has and the skills a professional hua dan has to learn. It is in Cantonese with Chinese subtitles. There are other episodes about the sheng and other characters and topics in Tudou.

Vocabulary

I was reading a news item in which Ngiam Tong Dow said something about vocabulary. It made me think of what my English teacher in secondary school said. He said that most people have a vocabulary of about 2000 words, which is sufficient for general use. By the way, all my English teachers from sec 1 to sec 4 were males. So were my Maths teachers in secondary school and Pre-U.

He didn't say where the information came from. Has this number changed now?

Actually to increase your vocabulary you need to put in determined effort. For example, when you read an article or a book and you like certain words, write them down and find out their meanings.

Or you can make a resolution to learn some new words every week. You can just flip the dictionary to any page and pick a word that you fancy. Don't be too ambitious. Learning English is a slow process. Start with 3 words. Even with 3 words, after 1 year your vocabulary would have increased by about 8%. Haha, better than any return from other investments like bank deposits.

Now, although you know the meanings of these words you may not know how to use them yourself. If you are a student, use them in your compositions whenever you have the opportunities.

Walk
During a class discussion, a lecturer told us ' there are at least a dozen verbs you can use instead of walk '.

I have thought of this before. I was pondering about this again. With the help of a dictionary, I found these words:

limp, stroll, tiptoe, swagger, stagger, march, hobble, wobble, shuffle, stride, strut, hurry, scurry, inch..........
Hahah, thanks to the fugitive JI leader, now I think every Singaporean knows limp.

If you think of more words please add in to share with us.

Recent performance

at Lee Foundation Theatre, NAFA Campus 3.

Pictures: Tung Onn Orchestra and some group photos.....





Nothing much to write about. Just 2 things:

1. There were 2 pairs of artistes from Australia (Chinese ladies) who sang two very looong songs. Surprisingly, they sang very well and with a lot of action, motion and emotion but without song scripts. The compere said that one of them can't understand Chinese. I take this to mean she can't read Chinese but can understand Cantonese which is not very unusual. But if she can't understand cantonese as well but memorized the whole song by heart, then it is really remarkable.

2. One elderly lady said that the theatre is not suitable for Chinese opera. Her reason: Chinese opera audience are old people and they don't like the steep steps in the theatre. I think if older fans have no leg problems it should be ok, but they must walk carefully lah. I didn't see that many old people in the theatre. Haha, but with longer life span, in future you may see fans of 80+ or 90 in the theatre.

But a good thing - the steep ascending rows of seats means that you will not be blocked by the heads in front of you.

Finally, a short clip for your entertainment. Quality not so good. Anyone who wishes to donate me a good video cam please leave a note in the comments.

Pictures

A cute dog... see its rueful look...
" Please don't scold me "


a beautiful fan

fanciful fruit... really got this type of fruit?

English quiz

Remember, some time ago I did a survey about visitors to this blog. About one third of them are 50 or above, and another one-third are 30 or below. The rest are between 30 and 50. So, many of you had left school for a number of years. Unless you work in the education line, I think you would have forgotten some of your English lessons.

Check yourself with this quiz; it has a little of everything - tenses, verb-subject agreement, infinitives, pronouns, nouns, vocabulary, clauses, idioms. Just pick the correct answer:

1. " Is it really true? " she asked, giving him an ___ look.
(a) incredible (b) incredulous

2. It ___ since last night.
(a) has been raining (b) was raining

3. Which sentence is correct?
(a) The principal who everyone respects has been transferred.
(b) The principal, who everyone respects, has been transferred.

4. Yesterday the teacher made him ___ round the field.
(a) run (b) ran

5. I suspect he has sent us on a wild-goose chase.
'on a wild-goose chase' means...
(a) to catch wild geese (b) on a foolish and fruitless search

6. Neither he nor his brothers ___ in school today.
(a) is (b) are

7. I want two ___ apples.
(a) dozen (b) dozens

8. She gave you $200. He also gave you some money. Did he give you more than ___ ?
(a) her (b) she

Beggars

You read about these people from China becoming beggars in our shore. Some have one limb missing, some on wheelchairs and all trying to look pitiful. I doubt all of them beg in their homeland. Remember, not long ago there were fake monks…

Some people still gave although they were not sure if they were real hardship cases or they belonged to a syndicate. They said it was the right thing to do and it made them feel good.

I think I won’t give. You see, these beggars have to get an air ticket to come here and then have to pay for accommodation and food. And their intention? Not to visit our lovely Island but to prey on the kindness of soft-hearted Singaporeans. I just feel it is not right.

Reincarnation

During the CNY some Chinese go to temples to pray. I think some of them are Taoists while others don't have any religion and they just follow traditions or they go to pray for blessings. Buddhists don't do that.

But both Buddhism and Taoism believe in reincarnation. Before being reincarnated you lose memory of your previous life. A lecturer in Buddhist Studies once remarked that it would be good if we could retain some memory of our past life.

I think it depends what you could remember. If people could remember about their previous families, then it would be a rather surreal situation. Everyone would be going to look for his previous parents or children.

But it would be good if we remember things that would help us, like fire can hurt us, smoking is harmful or remember some language and maths skills. People would be wiser and make less mistakes.

Or wouldn't it be nice if we were allowed to choose what we want to be in our next life or where we want to be born - like whether we want to be black, white or brown or we can choose to be born in Pakistan.

Praises

Just came across a blog post praising our country. So must let you all know also. Here it is:

Monday, February 11, 2008
Singapore

Here are a few pictures I took of Singapore while driving around. Pretty quiet there as you can see, most folks must have been busy visiting relatives at their homes as it was the Chinese New Year festival. I noted that Singapore is really clean, and their roads are mostly very well kept indeed. Greens are abundant there, something I really would like to see more in Kuala Lumpur. Despite Singapore being scarce for land, I am impressed at how much space they allocate for their parks and greens instead of turning it into a huge concrete jungle alone. Very generous planning really, and if you have experienced their public transportation especially the MRT, you will know just how efficient they are. This is why Singapore is where they are now, and other Asian countries except for Japan, are still lagging behind them despite having longer histories. Singapore's orderly planning never ceases to amaze me...

CNY childhood joys

According to reports the average amount in the ang pow youngsters get this year is $10. That was the maximum I got when I was a child and that was from my poor parents. Friends, relatives and neighbours gave much less. Sometimes I also received coins, usually 10-cent and 20-cent, wrapped in red paper. 20 cents was quite a lot of money then. It could buy you a bowl of mee in the school canteen.

I think even up to the early seventies there were still people who wrapped coins in red papers and gave them as ang pows. I don't think the banks gave out ang pow envelopes at that time. You have to buy them. I remember my father once bought those with our Chinese surname on it.

The joys of CNY during my childhood: wearing new clothes and shoes, eating sweets and drinking soft drinks, playing with fire crackers and counting ang pow money.

Discipline

Today's news:
"Never take the risk. Always be around to watch over them" - This is the advice given by the aunt of a 13-year old girl who was almost drowned in a condo swimming pool.

But in this case the girl and her friends sneaked out in the early morning to go swimming in the pool. So how would the adults know and be around to watch them?

Nowadays it is not uncommon to see kids running around and not obeying their parents. I would say parents should discipline their young children. Tell them they cannot go swimming alone and must get permission from their parents or the person taking care of them. If they disobey, punish them.

Junk Bin

Occasionally my emails go to to the Junk Bin instead of the Inbox. My habit is to empty the bin without opening it. Today there was only one in the JB, so I just took a look. It was not junk; it was a poster of a coming opera performance sent by Mr Yeo.

So friends, if you have sent me such information and I still have not put them up, it means your mails have been sent to the JB and I have discarded them. If that happened to your mail, sorry for my carelessness. Please do send them again. Thank You.

CNY Greetings

I copied these greetings from Victor's blog (Taking up the Challenge) to wish you all. Sure got one that suits you. He did not make them up except for the last one. They were published in the Business Times 5 years ago.

1. Wish Happy Be Rich (恭喜发财)

2. Horse Arrive Work Done (马到工成)

3. Step Step High Rise (步步高升)

4. Year Year Got Fish (年年有余)

5. One Road Smooth Wind (一路顺风)

6. Heart Think Work Done (心想事成)

7. Dragon Horse Sperm God (龙马精神)

8. Early Born Expensive Son (早生贵子)

Email from an opera fan

Thanks to all of you who have sent me CNY greetings and very interesting cards.

Share with you an email I received a day ago from Jodie.....

"I wanted to post this mail to your blog but being a computer idiot, I do not know how to do so.

Well, last December, my aunt and I had a short break in Guangzhou. Fortunately, we managed to catch "Hua Yue Ying" there as we had missed this performance in Singapore as both of us were in Vietnam then; this is a good show and we thoroughly enjoyed the stage performance.

Anyway, that is just a side track. The purpose of writing this email is solely to share with you and the fans of Mr Ow Kai Meng, our experience while we were in GZ.

As avid fans, the first thing we did was to find out the dates for the opera performances. Not only we did that, we also went to the extent of visiting the Hong Dou and Guangtong troupe at their respective sites. We chanced upon Mr Ow and his Manager, Mr Su Hua.

We must say that we are indeed impressed by Mr Ow's humble hospitality and well-behaved manners which nevertheless gained our respect - no air at all! We saw two of his performances while we were there - to our surprise, he could pick us up from his crowd of both local and overseas fans - came straight to shake our hands and on the last night, expressed his well wishes to us for a safe journey back.

I am certainly looking forward to watch his performances in Singapore which I understand should be soon....."


Transport woes

Another one.....

Another example (yesterday's papers) that Islamic laws can affect non-Muslims - A Hindu mother cannot claim the insurance money her son left her because her son has converted to Islam. Islamic law says a non-Muslim cannot claim inheritance from a Muslim.

Who will get the money then?
Can Islamic laws override any other law or any agreement you have made?

Islamic laws

I was thinking a bit about two news items last week:

1. A 70+ Malaysian man who had been paralysed for the past 2 years died. He was buried as a Muslim, against the wish of his wife and family who are Buddhists, because the Court overseeing Muslim affairs said he had converted to Islam before his death.

So you see, non-Muslims can also be affected by Islamic laws.

2. The PAS (the opposition Islamic party in Malaysia which rules the state of Kelantan) said non-Muslims would benefit if Islamic laws (which includes cutting off limbs and stoning) are implemented in the state because these laws will only be applied to Muslims.

I say it is not so simple. The PAS wants people to believe that just have 2 sets of laws and everything will be fine. As if there are 2 distinct groups that don't mix - one group of Muslim criminals/offenders and victims and the other group of non-Muslims.

If a case involves both Muslim and non-Muslims, wouldn't it be very messy.

Then, Islamic laws are bias against women. I remember reading some news that in a rape case, the woman has to produce four male witnesses. I wonder how any rape victim would be able to do that. Again If it involves Muslims and non-Muslims.....

All this can cause resentment and racial tension.


新春好戏在粵劇情懷

Fond memories

Here are 2 nice pictures

This one was taken in Tokyo. Not Mt Fuji, just a scenic serene place near the hotel where we stayed in. It gives you inspirations to be a Su Dong Po.


A signboard...anyone could see the crab a km away. This seafood restaurant was in Thailand.....along the beach of Pattaya. I don't know whether it is still there or not.

Performance at Kolam Ayer CC

Some of the performers:

六月雪之大审 - 邝荃荃, 陈惠婵

黃莉莉, 钟丽容, 黄安妮, 黃兆平

Dirty money

After reading MD's adventures in Guangzhou, I also got something to say...

When I visited Guangzhou many years ago, most of the paper currency I got from transactions were old, tattered, worn, or soiled. The people there also preferred you to give them such notes as they were scared that new notes could be counterfeits. If you gave the cashier a new note, especially a 100-yuan note, she would peer at it from every angle before deciding whether to accept it or not.

Last year when I revisited GZ, there were more new notes but some small sales and food outlets still preferred you to give them small or old notes. I wonder if they use new notes in their ang pows.


The picture below was taken during my first visit. It shows the 'Journey-to-the-West Park' inside Yue Xiu Park. During the second visit, I went to Yue Xiu Park again but the other Park was gone.

The Xi You Ji Park was an interesting place. You could see the mythological characters from the famous classic folklore Journey to the West - bull demon-king, iron-fan princess, spider spirits.... There were also the torture chambers in Hell. Pity they didn't keep it. I think it was because of the high cost of maintenance.

Recent happenings

Someone made a comment at one of my videos - How...How...How...
For a moment I thought it was a question. Then I realized what she meant - Good...Good...Good...
I think it is Hao, right?

Sometimes students need to be pushed to work harder, to be told the harsh realities or to be given a good scolding. No need for parents to worry or think their children's confidence will crumble. If a sec 5 student loses confidence just because the principal tells him some unpleasant facts, I doubt he will do well in the O level.

Overheard this at a food-court.
A 30 something China lady telling his 20-years-older Singaporean male companion - Singapore has no poor people. True or not?

Consider these recent news:
China has 300 million people living in poverty, many subsisting on less than US$1 a day.
Singaporeans shun unglamorous jobs. This means they are not so desperate for jobs or money, right?

So Singapore does not have people living in poverty in the absolute sense of the word. It means no Singaporean needs to sleep on the street, go hungry or has to eat grass. But there are poor people too. This is relative to our cost of living.

Actually hungry is also relative. In Singapore you say you are hungry when you miss one meal. In another place it could mean no food for a few days.


福建省芳华越剧团

紅線女八十不言休

MM Lee Kuan Yew is 84. She just turned 80 last month. He is a brilliant statesman and she is an outstanding opera artiste. Both have a zest for life and a passion for work.

She is Hong Xian Nu or Hong Seen Lui in cantonese, one of the most distinguished cantonese opera artistes of all time. She first stepped onto the opera stage when she was 12, performing the role of a lantern-carrying palace maid in Liu Guo, the traditional opera performed during Lunar New Year. Since then, thousands have become her fans, entranced by her, her acting and her singing. One of them was Aw Yeong Peng Mun (Singapore's nan hua dan) who became her pupil.

In the later years she seldom performed, spending more time grooming the young ones. Nowadays she does not perform anymore but she stays interested in opera and remains engaged in opera activities.

Isn't that what the elderly here are encouraged to do - stay interested, be active. Haha, so don't think of stop working once you cross 55 and rot away at home.

I have not seen any of her live opera performances. The first time I saw her in person was many years ago. It was one evening outside the Kreta Ayer People's Theatre. The occasion I think was the showcase performance by Aw Yeong Peng Mun. I guess she should be around 70 then. Despite her age, she was captivating - a slim elegant figure in a striking red cheongsam. No wonder I thought. No wonder the audience were mesmerized by her in those days. If I were one of those in the audience, who knows, I might have decided to take up opera. Hahaha...

Great artistes like Hong Seen Lui, But Suet Sin, Sun Ma Chai, Lum Kar Sing and Yam Kim Fai are life-long idols of a lot of people, unlike those transitory idol-worship craze.

Answers to hua dan quiz

These photos are original, no distortion. Click on photo to see larger version. Anyway I guess you all are not keen on quizzes.

1. 南鳳

2. 鄧美玲

3. 麥文潔

4. 蔣文端

5. 黄美玲

6. 張淑蓮

Hua dan quiz

See the dans (in cantonese opera) below..... I've distorted or camouflaged the photos a bit. Can you recognize them? The HK and China dans are well-known artistes. If you often watch local shows, you would know the Singapore dans. The photos were quite recent. All were taken within the last two years, not 10 or 20 years ago. One was taken in HK and rest in Singapore.

1. HK dan

2. HK

3. China
4. China

5. Singapore

6. Singapore

Misconduct

I'm not very interested in ministers' sex scandals. But this one by a Malaysian minister has the ingredients of a good political thriller. To make it more exciting, we can involve foreign hostile elements out to blackmail him to obtain state secrets. Get the spy agencies in the US, China and Iran involved too. Link it to terrorism as well. And you have a super thriller!.

A bit about the scandal. Whether it was an entrapment or not is one thing and whether he should resign is another issue. Even if it was an entrapment, it doesn't make him less guilty, for example, of being unfaithful to his wife.

My view is that a minister involved in sexual misconduct should resign. Likewise, we also don't want to see our ministers frequenting casinos or getting drunk at parties or karaoke sessions.

It is not that we are holier or we expect ministers to be saints. These may be small things, personal weaknesses you say. But a person holding high office in Government should have a good image. If not people will not respect him and how can he give advice to his fellow citizens or face ministers from other countries. Being a minister, he is also involved in policy-making. Will these small things affect his thinking. Then, doesn't these things also reflect personal values and lack of self-discipline.

A wife could accept her husband's apologies but she might not forgive him so readily and surely, she will not forget.


南音, 三六, 周璇, 再世红梅, 吉兆粵韵, 真情戏曲

Ambition

Many of us have written composition on this topic when we were in school. At that time we did not really know what we wanted or know much about the occupations. I think most of us chose a noble profession, teaching for example, or something that was easy to write.

According to the zodiac horoscope, people under the same sign as I am can be good teachers, explorers and.....bra, bra, bra.

I am thinking of 2 jobs I won't be good at.

1. Politician
I won't be able to put on a smiling face all the time, especially with unreasonable people. I can't stand people coming late for my functions and wearing slippers, or people talk when I am speaking.

In this respect, my MP is very good. He doesn't mind they are late and listens patiently to their complaints with a placid face.

I think some people just want people to listen to their complaints. You only have to listen to them and nod your head at times and they will be satisfied.

2. Accountant
Sometimes I don't even understand my own bills. I am also not sure whether an item is credit or debit and I can't make the 2 sides in the 'balance sheet' equal.

Haha, I think accountants must be very balanced people. They don't feel very very happy or very very sad. They don't over-spend or over-save.


Quiz
2 quiz questions for you to try, if you have not heard them before. These quiz questions are from Chinese shows I watched. I translated them into English but you must think in Chinese.

1. What horse (ma) no one would ride and which is served by a lot of people?
2. How come the fishballs and the prawns don't talk to each other in the steamboat?

Excuses

You saw this news about huge crowds at the CPF Board on 31 December - last day to register for GST offset package.

Reporter: Why you come on the last day, why you don't come earlier?

X: No time, today I take day off.
As if you can't get leave on any other day..

Y: Don't know leh.
You live in a cave or what. How come now you know. Didn't you receive the letter informing you of this.

Wouldn't it be refreshing to hear something different and more honest, like
This is my bad habit, I kept procrastinating.
I didn't realize time run so fast.
At first I was not interested in the help package.


再世红梅记