Kiddie recreation

With K and C lying under foot this summer, it is starting to be difficult to get any work done. Apart from their general clatter and clamour, I am also faced with the pressures of other super moms with no freelancing work who hie their spawn off to entertainment spots on the island - Wild, Wild Wet; West Coast Park and the go-carts, the Singapore Science Centre. It's true, there have been piano lessons and basketball, we did a jaunt to the National Museum for the Mozart Exhibit and the Singapore History Show, and managed two playdates, but apart from swimming and scootering, it's been pretty quiet. This is mostly to do with C's minor but still troublesome surgical procedure, which has kept us home. Still, I can't say that I have had that many complaints, perhaps because they are voracious readers. Another testimony to their resourcefulness is they are planning a garage sale for "Kids and Yayas" on Sunday at the function room...

But just as hard as it is to find good reading material for aged 8-11 in this day and age, it is perhaps even tougher to find great viewing material. In this over-aware, hyper-stimulated and still politically correct decade, the flicks of my own childhood do not easily translate. The situation is further complicated by the fact that both K and C have imaginations that work on overdrive - [they're nightly prayer is that they have 'no bad dreams'] - and are highly attuned to even the slightest possibility of being frightened. As such, we moved with success but not without struggle, mind you, through the Jurassic Park series, cushioned with comments like, "Spielberg doesn't allow children to die in his movies." We also went through a few James Bond movies which T and I both found to have slightly too much disturbing erotic imagery for our highly impressionables.

Last night, we went through our DVD collection and after dismissing too many films as being too "bastos for kids, we settled on either Men in Black or Mel Brook's Blazing Saddles - talk about bastos. Unfortunately, K balked at the scary alien faces in MIB, and despite some misgivings, we went in for Blazing Saddles, but not before explaining that some of the language they were going to hear was definitely not for school or their friends.

The verdict? Fart jokes transcend the decades. We are now looking for Silent Movie and Young Frankenstein.

Wisdom from Kung Fu Panda

"The past is history. The future is a mystery. Today is a gift - that's why it's called the present."
-Wu Gui

Conversation

Wife: My highschool classmate's father died. In his sleep.
Husband: How does one die in one's sleep.
Wife: I imagine it's very peaceful.It's like a dream or a nightmare, maybe.
Husband: And you can't wake up. That doesn't sound very peaceful.
Wife: Still, you're dead. No pain.
Husband: It's not good for the people at home, either. It would be kind of a shock.
Wife: It's like a heart attack in your sleep.
Husband: A heart attack in your sleep doesn't sound peaceful at all.

Beat.

Wife: You want to go running right now, don't you?

Odd realisation

Great writers are a dime a dozen. It's great storytellers that are rare. One isn't necessarily the other. A great storyteller who is a mediocre writer is just slightly better than a brilliant writer who tells a poor story.

In the meantime...

there were movies. Iron Man was a more than just your usual comic book hero romp. This is because of Robert Downey Junior who infused his Tony Stark with an iron fist full of real world sardonic wit, as well as smarts. And who knew Gwyneth could channel more heat as a red head?

And then there was the breathlessly and long awaited Sex & The City movie, which was intensely pleasurable, when while it was not without flaw. Its authentic moments surpassed its inauthentic ones which were both tolerable and excusable, at least to those well-acquainted with the characters. Noteworthy too is the "Philippines! Philippines!" moment - a small speaking role essayed by Ms Ching Valdes Aran as Big and Carrie's real estate broker.

Last night, we saw Caspian, which I felt surpassed the first Narnia film, particularly in terms of pacing and characterisation. It is also interesting to note the director's choice to make the Telmars Spanish. Why are they Spanish?

Last on the list is the Indiana Jones fourth...which pretty much everyone has panned. This weekend we will see that but take care to bring in our pockets plenty of managed expectations.

March 23 - June 8, 2008

During this period, I started and finished a book. I'm not sure it's a great book, but it is my first book, such as it is and due recognition must be paid, at least by me.

September 1 is the start date of the next full-length project, working title: "The Real Thing."

In the meantime, I dream the little dreams, note the little notes, plan the little plans and do the prep work.