Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in nisar keshvani's LiveJournal:

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Monday, September 11th, 2006
5:18 am	MCM ’95 Cohort Meeting Takes Industry Relationships to New Levels: 11 Sept 2006 Slug: MCM ’95 'Cohort Meeting Takes Industry Relationships to New Levels Count: 457 words For Immediate Release © MCM NEWS WIRE SERVICES - 110906 SINGAPORE, 11 September 2006 - Fifteen alumni from the 1995 Mass Communication programme gathered at Marche Heeren on 11 September 2006. Guest of honour, Soh Yew Peng (Ziggy) who was seen having numerous helpings of waffles and red wine said: “It is an honour to be here amongst such important delegates of the MCM Alumni. It is my dream to someday, balloon to the size of Nisar Keshvani. These waffles will hopefully increase my calorie count and increase my girth.” Corporate Communications Manager, Timothy Hou and Editor Esther Lew were seen interviewing film-maker Remi Sali. They discussed the future of Singapore film and funding-raising strategies. “Yes, I am still trying to raise funds for my upcoming horror film, ‘Kum Kum’. I hope it will be a success and put Singapore in the guiness book of scary movies part kazillion and one,” said Remy. Property Consultant Alvin Wang asked: “Hmm … How come I don’t remember this person? Are you sure she was in my Marketing Communications class?” Despite numerous attempts by PR Consultant Juliet Tseng, MFA Officer Joanna Calalang and Hitachi CorpComms Manager Mavis Lim to flick through Consultant Keshvani’s personal photo album to point out his classmates, Alvin said: “Are you testing my memory?” While examining the MCM 1995 yearbook, Ms Lim was heard saying: “Oh my god! We put our age there?” The delegates debated on important life-changing issues such as,“Who has held the most freelance jobs ever?”, “Who has worked in every continent”, “Who has worked in the most number of communication industries?” and “Who has worked in the same company the longest?” At this point, MINDEF spokesperson Jeffrey Sim’s face turned white. Mavis Lim screamed: “Jeffrey, you are STILL at MINDEF. That means we should dedicate an award to you.” After some heavy-duty water sprinkling, the colour returned to Sim’s face. At the OTHER table, MCM 1995 Hon Secretary and Marketing Consultant, Juliana Foo led discussions on, “Who sneaked in the Radio Heatwave Studios at 4am without being caught?” and “How students were traumatised by Ziggy’s Mac Lab-locking techniques.” Music Producer Terence Chan, PR Consultant Teo Siew Choo, Account Director Carolyn Teo and and Engagement Manager Amy Chia said in unison: “Ziggy, we were all locked-out and 11 years later we are still unable to forgive you.” During the official photo-taking session, when concerned press photographers tried to ensure Ziggy Soh was not blocked from view, he said: “Don’t worry about blocking me. I shine! Let’s take a cutesy picture.” In his closing speech, Keshvani emphasised the importance of bi-lateral cooperations amongst the various local and regional mass communication cohorts. “These once-in-a-decade Heeren meetings are very important. They tremendously boost Marche’s annual waffle intake and the Momo Chan Slimming Centre GDP. It keeps our people connected.” -- ENDS -- Meetings photo at: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/julianafoo/album?.dir=/513fscd&.src=ph&.tok=ph9COfFBhxw1vdy_ (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 10th, 2006
5:42 am	Beatty Secondary School Anthem - S Devan: 10 Sept 2006 Faithful & strong here together we stand Building our future with the youth of our land Serving our school with hearts pure & true Sing we our motto that echoes anew ..... [... everybody ... together now! ] 'NON VI SED ARTE' Not with force but with skill All to the task we our duty fullfilled Helping each other where ever there's need Forward to glory out school we shall lead! ... (and the crowd goes WILD ... ) devan (Comment on this)
Thursday, August 31st, 2006
7:27 am	Beatty Boys Get together @ Marche on 31 Aug 2006 Zhenwei, Xueyang, Fushun, Devan, Philip, Xiaowei, Youyi, Suresh, Aidil and me met up on 31st Aug at Marche. We had a good time reminiscing our Beatty days, with Devan's stunnning us with stories, we had all forgotten. It was just like our days at the Beatty canteen bench - Marche's was exactly the same. Though the look, age and IC states we are now 30, or more ... it sure felt like we were 16 once again! For those of you not there, hopefully we see you next time! You can check out what you missed at: http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/nhkeshvani/album?.dir=/138cscd&urlhint=actn,del%3as,1%3af,0 Photos courtesy of Mr SeaWeed (Xiaowei)!! If we missed sending this to anyone, please feel free to forward. cheers n thanks nisar (Comment on this)
Monday, July 17th, 2006
5:21 pm	Nisar Keshvani: Final Post on the Abuse of FMS Mailing List - 17 July 2006 Hi all: I guess those who know me, will tell you that I am usually super busy and my modus operandi is "work by reflection"! The conversation over the last few days has gone from hot to cold to hot again and I guess all eyes are on me. I feel the presssureeeee :-) I've managed this list since 1998. Eight years on ... and since July 2004, when we migrated to the "tightly-monitored" list exclusive to FMS list, we lost half our subscribers and today: List Members: 574 Highest Traffic - 134 email, June 2006 Lowest Traffic - 37 emails, July 2004 As an individual in the background, its occasionally tiring - FMS List maintenance takes about 12 hours of my time monthly. So kudos to everyone who expressed their gratitude, find this list useful, and support its longevity. Thank you for making me feel appreciated! What's next you ask? I am sworn to secrecy so unfortunately cannot mention names - but i must tell you, there is almost an invisible committee of opinion leaders (from various batches) supporting, advising and making key decisions. So here's our opinion: Many have shared their views and everyone is a voice. So first off, let's acknowledge that this discussion (about keeping emails professional vs "irrelevant" emails) is not new. Its surfaced almost every 2 years in different forms - and its a good debate to have. It sure fills a need. Secondly, have no fear, this list will carry on. We have decided that its almost impossible to come up with "rules" or to monitor or moderate each email. FMS Code or Guidelines We have to accept this is a dynamic community of adults working in the media who are trained professionals, ethical and connected as an alumnus. So lets keep it simple. Our FMS Code/Guidelines will involve three simple rules: 1. Keep subject headers clear and relevant, this way, individuals can decide if they want to read or delete. You can switch to daily digest mode - if you need directions, watch for the next email. 2. Let's not get personal and attack any individual's integrity - if you have an issue that needs resolving, let's be civil. 3. Never share in "private" (ie this group), what you would not reveal in public A few have written to me, worried about posting messages, for fear of being shot down. To them, and everyone else, let's stick to the Code and move on. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GoodLobangs Next - it is a shame, as many have shared, to compartmentalize and to eradicate postings about special deals, useful contacts, or non-media related stuff. So for this purpose, I've set a new list called "GoodLobangs". Over the next two weeks, everyone in this list will automatically be added to the group. You have the option to unsubscribe. This is where you can share your happening sources - the welcome message is below. Please share this list with family, friends and colleagues. Please note this in no way replaces the FMS List. This is another avenue to share your leads and it will *NOT* be exclusive to alumni. In time will give grow and it is open access. With this final posting, lets close this chapter. Life is short, let's move on. cheers nisar keshvani FMS List - Moderator / MCM Alumnus 1995 ------------------- Welcome to GoodLobangs! This list is initiated for Singaporeans by Singaporeans - indulging in our national past-time to look for the best deals ever. - Why pay more when you can pay less? - Why settle for something ordinary when you can have something extraordinary? There are no limits to what you can post and share with the group here. Ranging from best bargains at a store, the latest, wackiest and bestest product to where to get the most happening chicken rice in Singapore. But remember, let's keep it civil. Onward from here, let's share our good lobangs! Thank you Nisar Keshvani Moderator (Comment on this)
12:05 pm	wise words from ruth song very bouncy ... like a smurf cartoon in mandarin we have a saying yeh chang meng duo meaning as long as the night is, the more dreams u have (Comment on this)
Friday, July 14th, 2006
5:35 pm	Serenity: 14 July 2006 God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. (Comment on this)
Friday, July 7th, 2006
4:17 pm	Time to Move On In the school of life, one important lesson, a teacher or parent offers their student/child is this: You can read all the books there are, understand all there is, and perform all the possible research. At a point, one has to close the book and begin the practical. The final step is to apply all that is learnt, go out to the world, attempt and see what happens. (Comment on this)
Thursday, June 29th, 2006
9:23 pm	Job 52 Gathering at Ling Zhi - 29 June 2006 Today almost ten years after our POP - the group met at Liat Towers. Some things have not changed - no one turned up on time (minimum an hour late). Sham is still the joker, andre is as elusive as ever, juraimi is not a gram heavier. Some things though have - Albert is more prosperous, Guna is the first in group to become a father, Kumar's hair is whiter, and we are now older. From high-end vegetarian food, we moved on to Adam Road, which was too noisy and then on to Al Azeem at Bukit Timah. Stories of today and yesterday were told and re-told. Getting caught in the Academy for things like smoking, sneaking out without permission and sneaking in food too. The highlight of the evening was of course, Kumar sharing his wild adventures as an investigator, and physchological mind games to subdue criminals. if you were not there in person, you missed one helluva show! One thing was clear - let's go was mentioned at least ten times by each of us - but all hesitant to leave. I guess some bonds - perhaps last for longer than we expect. Kumar's moral of the story: - the past is dead and gone, let it go. - the future is yet to come, so don't stress - live for today, enjoy the moment, because it is the present, that's why it is called a gift. The more important message is that Sham (Chairman) and Andre (Vice-Chairman) are organising the next get-together at Kumar's auditorium, so watch for it! Enjoy nisar ps Albert keeps promising to bring squad photos Dzul - do you still have our graduation video? (Comment on this)
Saturday, April 15th, 2006
4:24 pm	Start Afresh - Let it go for 2006 There are people who can walk away from you; and hear me when I tell you this! When people can walk away from you: let them walk . I don't want you to try to talk another person into staying with you, loving you, calling you, caring about you, coming to see you, staying attached to you . I mean hang up the phone! When people can walk away from you let them walk. Your destiny is never tied to anybody that left. The Holy Quran said that, they came out from us that it might be made manifest that they were not for us. For had they been of us, no doubt they would have continued with us. People leave you because they are not joined to you. And if they are not joined to you, you can't make them stay. Let them go!! And it doesn't mean that they are a bad person it just means that their part in the story is over. And you've got to know when people's part in your story is over so that you don't keep trying to raise the dead. You've got to know when it's dead.????? You've got to know when it's over. Let me tell you something my brother/sister. I've got the gift of good-bye. It's the tenth spiritual gift, I believe in good-bye. It's not that I'm hateful, it's that I'm faithful, and I know whatever God means for me to have He'll give it to me. And if it takes too much sweat I don't need it. So Stop begging people to stay. Let them go! ! If you are holding on to something that doesn't belong to you and was never intended for your life, then you need to... LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to past hurts and pains .... LET IT GO!!! If someone can't treat you right, love you back, and see your worth ... LET IT GO!!! If someone has angered you ... LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to some thoughts of evil and revenge... LET IT GO!!! If you are involved in a wrong relationship or addiction ... LET IT GO!!! If you are holding on to a job that no longer meets your needs or talents ... LET IT GO!!! If you have a bad attitude ...Yeeeeaaah! Certainly LET IT GO!!! If you keep judging others to make yourself feel better... LET IT GO!!! If you're stuck in the past and God is trying to take you to a new level in Him ... LET IT GO!!! If you are struggling with the healing of a broken relationship .... LET IT GO!!! If you keep trying to help someone who won't even try to help themselves ... LET IT GO!!! If you're feeling depressed and stressed.... LET IT GO!!! If there is a particular situation that you are so used to handling yourself and God is saying "take your hands off of it," then you need to ... LEEET IT GO!!! Let the past be the past. Forget the former things. GOD is doing a new thing for 2006 !!! LET IT GO!!! Get Right or Get Left... Think about it, and then ????? LET IT GO!!! "The Battle is the Allah's (s.w.t) so no need to worry about a mere man who tries to bring you down. There wicked plans and dirty heart will never come any where near you!" During the next 60 seconds, Stop whatever you are doing, and take this opportunity. (Literally it is only One minute!) All you have to do is the following: You simply say " ALLAH's Prayer" for the person that sent you his message: Yaa ALLAH, who are in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever. Ameen. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 29th, 2006
12:52 am	Fear (Dune) "I must not fear Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass Over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye To see its path. Where the fear has gone There will be nothing. Only I will remain...." ~ Frank Herbert (Dune) (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 6th, 2005
6:34 pm	Wanderlust and Aging - 6 July 2005 "One has to be brave and love the wanderlust yet put up with the tiredness that will lead to aging" -- Chiu, Jiayan (2005) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, November 25th, 2004
8:49 pm	Behind the Scenes in Little India: 25 Nov 2004 Today, i caught up with a long-lost childhood friend of mine. We've known each other since we were kids. His family used to run a retail business and he's now taken over and turned it into an import-export wholesale enterprise. True businessman to the core, he manages a range of products which are unavailable elsewhere. I happened to be near his beat and rang him to have a coffee, and it turned out to be an interesting experience. He was on his credit collection round in Little India (very popular district in Singapore) with a range of shops selling all sorts of wares, clothes, food items interlaced with restaurants. I saw him in action. Though, the shops we went to were on a slightly seedy area, they sold all sorts of things from rice, to dates, to frozen fish and chicken. We walked from shop to shop, and the routine seemed fairly similar - a friendly chit-chat, niceties about business and some discussion about product purchase and sales. Then it was time to settle invoices - one or two shop owners seemed a little tense but it felt like a script. Naturally times were hard, there was talk about bad times and some negotiation about payment times and a bit of an extension. My friend smoothed in and out of each shop, and comfortably switched from Hindi, to Bengali to Malay to English. I joined in the rounds and posed as his creditor who had stopped by to pick up some payments from him. Of course, my language skills were not as impressive, so i hung out at the back, smiled when necessary and just looked on. Coincidentally, i got 1-2 calls, giving the impression that i was a busy man and on my own rounds. It was quite an experience interacting with these folks whom i would not have been able to in the normal course of the day. Conversations ranged from one young chap's exemption from National Service (mandatory 2 year military service for all Singaporeans above 18) to marital tensions to pricing strategies to topics better left unsaid. Boy, this felt like a scene off a Hindi flick!! Current Mood: awake (Comment on this)
Sunday, November 21st, 2004
12:21 pm	Tribute to Professor Len Granato by Julie Jansen: 19 Nov 2004 It was a wonderful funeral on Friday. I will mail the booklet to you which contained photos of Len as a young man, with his family and on travel. Val French, who created QUT's professionalised journalism school with Len, spoke at length about how he came to QUT in the early 80s and never looked back. She reminded us that he held truth, justice and non-bias as mandatory qualities in human beings. Apparently he went to England and painstakingly studied the Magna Carta in his spare time, and following that experience was left with such a strong moral imprint on his soul, he naturally shared it with all of his students. And after listening to Val now I know where that terrible habit of interrupting people and sharing my ideas comes from - Len. so does that mean I'm being rude or still emulating my professor? $-) Another fellow - an actor from Len's stage company - sang the full verses of The Battle Hymn of the Republic (http://www.law.ou.edu/hist/bathymn.html). It is an amazing tune - again, it typified Len's personal ethics. I could tell people were very confused at first at this hymn being sung at loud volume, particularly lyrics, but I found it very appropriate and in some ways, amusing. It shocked people out of the usual lull of life, as Len often did. Len's son David talked about having Len as a dad, and what a fine man he was, as did one of his stage company actors and the MC. We left the hall upon the brass band notes of of instrumental "New York, New York." (http://www.brave.com/bo/lyrics/nyny.htm) How very Len, who was born in NYC 65 years ago, on December 30, and who sometimes had a very corny sense of humour. In case you've forgotten, the lyrics begin, "Start spreading the news.... I"m leaving today..." :-D I wasn't able to make the wake at Indooroopilly as it turned out and I wasn't able to get there from Albany Creek quickly, and John needed the car elsewhere in the afternoon. So I settled for at least paying my respects to a great man whom I loved very much as a professor, and who was instrumental in helping us all live the good life and careers were enjoy today. Nobody else from my year there, but a couple people from previous years attended. A lot of QUT alumni probably couldn't make it on short notice, and many of us are far flung across the country or world now. Leo, Patsy, Stuart and Philip Castle were there of course, and I estimate the total attendance as close to 100 - a mix of family and friends, stage industry and journalism alumni and academics. I thought of you while I was there, Paris and Nisar, and of the other alumni whom I know would have liked to attend. So on your behalf, can I say that Len had a great send off and a very worthy one. Jules Current Mood: sad (Comment on this)
Monday, November 15th, 2004
10:21 pm	Pengerang - a decade on! 15 Nov 2004 Pengerang - a decade on! Life works in strange ways, sometimes ... The older you get, the harder you try to relive past memories so in the spirit of nostalgia (pretexted as a seafood eating trip), the Beatty Scouts (and now their spouses) headed to Pengerang, off Johor Bahru in Malaysia during Hari Raya 2004. Ten years ago, 14 young kids headed to Pengerang, a remote village area, for 4 days of fun, sun and soccer. Presented as a chalet, it was actually kampung living in disguise. A modest attap shack with a kitchen and more importantly, a decent television for us to watch World Cup USA '94. During the day, we'd bask in the sun, pose for really weird jungle-type photos, kick ball and then dive into the sea's huge waves. By night, it was seafood steamboat just in time for an exciting World Cup match. The 2004 experience though shorter was just as memorable. We assembled at Changi Village Food Centre for prata with some token Hari Raya/Deepavali goodies. Organising the ferry was interesting. Initially one boatman disappeared with all eleven of our passports - and we thought he was off to sell them off for 5k a piece. After a 30-minute wait and watching Ah Yang and his mata friend in perfect crescendo, talking without eye contact, observing passerby's and in the exact same position was fun. Finally our turn came. The Customs guy announced our names grandly whilst we walked over to retrieve our passport and head to the boat. This is what the grammy's must feel like. In true Beatty Keng-ster spirit, we cheered as our names were called as the policeman gave us a look of disgust. After riding the high seas for an hour, we were closer to our seafood session. We arrived at the Good Luck aka Lucky Hai Sian Seafood Restaurant. The place was packed, and if you weren't wide awake, it felt like a typical chinese wedding dinner, except everyone was gorging into seafood and oblivious to their surroundings. After some debate, we ordered our food. To our surprise, the waitress was a quirky elderly lady who kept teasing us. She said: "Oh thats out of stock" to quite a few of our demands. After she confirmed the order, she exclaimed "Wah thats alot of seafood - every kind also got!" The food was sumptuous, 'red chicken' (ang kuay) fish, lobster, mussels, oysters, bamboo some kind of seafood, sambal kang kong, battered prawns in cereal and rice. Alas, we were so hungry and so quick in devouring the food, no chance to take photo. We left the place in a hurry, hungry and in search of more food. Zhenwei says: "The lobster was good but the rest so-so. We need more." The other seafood joints were either full or didn't look appetising. So we settled for MarryBrown chicken wings instead. The localised KFC was family-run, except this had loud heavy metal music. When our ears stopped ringing, the kids started - what an experience that was!! Ten years on, Pengerang looks like its barely moved a heart-beat. Another place to add to the list and perhaps return in 2014. Special thanks to organiser - Tan Yoke Yang. Photo Credits: Han Youfu Photos available at: http://photos.yahoo.com/nhkeshvani Current Mood: accomplished (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 3rd, 2004
3:53 am	The PAD Get-together - From publishing to keng-ing to keris: 3 Nov 2004 It was good to meet up yesterday - for those who did not show though we missed you sorely - all of us agree that you need to hire a secretary to organise your schedules better :) At least, we had a 70% hit rate, yay! The night started out with an evening meeting of the old-timers, sometimes known as old birds or crudely put, 'lao chiaos'. Of course, it was only the retirees who were there early - Nisar K and J Malik aka silat exponent, photography extraordinaire or as some people put it, "there is good, there is excellent and then there is Jamal". Jamal shared tales of his long-awaited retirement and pension, how life suddenly becomes great and you actually have time to do what you love. Then came along Jason Chua - the Honda industrial designer. He has more input on Singapore's road scene then many can imagine - he is the one who ensures bikers enjoy riding glamourous rides, love their bikes to the core and the reason why chicks dig bikers. You gotta thank him - he must have some impact on the local increasing population man. Way better than any SDU campaign. This was followed by almost an hour-long session on the beauty of the Keris (for those not in the know, its the traditional Malay sword used by the Hang Jebat's and Hang Tuah's of the Malay folklore. The sword which ranges from 1 to 9 inches, sometimes longer and is a collector's item. They origin from Sumatra and Java, of Bugis descent and are practically out of production. We learnt that the swords can be about a century old, and one that is 30 - 50 years old, is actually young and new. Anyway, plenty more info at: http://www.st.rim.or.jp/~cycle/MYkerisE.HTML or you can join the upcoming Keris Club sometimes next year - contact J Malik for info. After an overdose of bad pepsi and Kentucky Fried Chicken fries with mayonaise and cheese, we headed to Adam Road to meet with the Kengsters - Juraimi Jumahat and Zainal Abiddin, currently on reservist with the force. Though on office hour, they were working till super late - to prepare for a police exhibition the next day. They brought along the green birds - Juffry Joihani and Effandi Mohamed. What followed was teh ahlia, tame green tea and a whole reminiscing session on life as a police life writer cum photographer cum designer cum putting magazine into the packaging slotter. How times have changed and how old we feel. The current Officer Cadet Trainee and Special Constabulary trainee batch feels like 40 batches on. Just so that we dont feel bad, i wont mention the exact numbers. Juraimi Jumahat, the 'Get Creative' of Creative Technologies fame shared his creative and design mis-adventures with Zainal Abiddin - the hotel maestro who has travelled the world working in the hotel industry - from Switzerland to Adelaide to Atlanta - you name it, he has been there. Juffry and Effandi told us tales of the white horses in the building and new challenges - of Police Life Channel - the upcoming interactive and video channel - exciting days and times indeed. We reminisced the days of constant overtime producing the police life magazine, the production of the book - tribute to our officers, the run-ins with regular officers and our beloved brothers in the office. Some things change - like the high-tech security to get into the office, the fancy macintosh computers, the personnel who manage the magazine (sometimes in diminishing numbers) but i guess some things do not. Like the spirit and enthusiasm, the joy of seeing the publication in print, the battles and the National Serviceman blood, sweat and tears that go into the monthly magazine. In unison, we agree the Police Life Writers were born or destined to 'Constantly try to publish the magazine on time' and attempt to catch up and deliver the magazine within the month and not 1 - 3 months later :) However, what many do not realise is that though this is a service of sorts, you are actually documenting police history and contributing to the making of the past for future generations. Its getting late - better to stop here before we get to nostalgic - and of course, some began receiving calls from their better half's to inquire on their whereabouts. "Yes dear, on the way home now.", whereas at the other end there were probably threats along the veins of: "Better get home now, honey or else your packed bags will be waitin for you near the doorstep". Of course, i am kidding. Hopefully we get to catch up again soon - and the rest can join us. The tall tales above are just a taste of what you have missed :-)" Current Mood: artistic (Comment on this)
Sunday, October 17th, 2004
6:46 pm	The Marina Seafood Brotherhood - 17 Oct 2004 Gosh - life in Singapore is quite interesting. The challenge for me has been to bring a group of people together. Of course, these guys are friends from my scouting escapade days from eons ago. So after only two tries, we managed to gather half the crowd. Of course, the enticer has to be food glorious food. Ten of us - Youfu, Cindy, Weiqi, Kok Fai, Youyi, Zhixiong, Xueyang and Cindy caught up for the all-famous Cheng Fa Marina Bay Seafood Extravaganza. Topic for the night was Youyi's upcoming government-paid holiday to Australia, Kok Fai's company paid holiday to USA/Canada and Ah Yang's last year as a 20 something .... Skills learnt for the day - was how to peel a piping hot prawn without dropping it on the floor - courtesy of youyi. How to reorganise their schedule to catch up with us and yet have a good fill - thanks hor, zhixiong and kok fai. Also some life lessons from Weiqi and Ah Yang on how to mercifully give live prawns their last breath, before buttering them up for a juicy bite. This probably makes no sense to you - the question is will it make sense to me too in a coupla weeks :) Current Mood: accomplished (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 15th, 2003
11:04 am	Places to visit - 15 Oct 2003 * Barcelona - Spain (Alhambra) * Cinqueterre * Annecy * Portugal * Prague / Vienna * Venice * Rome * Florence / Naples * Budapest * Istanbul * Nice * Athens * Greece * Amsterdam * Provence * Belgium / Brussels ---------------- * Montreux * Interlaken * Juangfrau * Zermatt Recommended by world jet-setter, Sarah Bandali. (Comment on this)
Friday, October 3rd, 2003
9:32 pm	All roads lead to Keshvani!!! - 3 Oct 2003 You know of Friendster (http://www.friendster.com), and you’ve heard of the six degrees of separation. They say; “Through just five or six intermediaries, you could be linked to millions of others. It is the notion behind what has been dubbed the small world effect.” If you are keen, check out Robert Matthews’s WorldLink article where he explains this theory: http://backissues.worldlink.co.uk/articles/250100180310/22.htm Well in Singapore they say, if you need anything done and don’t know how to do it. Call a friend who will know another. This person will lead you directly to the solution. Essentially, by the third phone call, its resolved. (And in case it crossed your mind - no I ain’t talking about a hit job – that kind of stuff doesn’t exist in Merlion City!) I’ve been in countless small world effect scenarios. I got an email once two years ago from someone in Paris, who at that time was a new acquaintance. She’d just met an Indian artiste whilst teaching in a French town. Now this Indian artiste - I had only met briefly whilst in an Australian masterclass. Both of them happened to meet in France, and my name came up. (Who knows why?) But this entry title is in fact, sparked by an email from two days ago. After a couple of months of silence, I touched based with a Brisbane-based buddy who related: “Hey Nisar, Jamaica is well, he is submitting in 4-5 months so is working very hard. He recently found a copy of "Cleopatra Wong" (1970s Singapore film) in Trash Videostore and watched it. He told Tatame about it. Tatame did a google search and your name came up!! It was all very funny, All roads lead to Keshvani!!” Of course, the reason my name appeared was because I did a cameo in a media class last year. I presented a perspective on Singapore film with famed characters Cleopatra Wong, and Dynamite Johnson as examples. If interested : http://www.np.edu.sg/~knh/im/lectures/massinafilm_200302.pdf It’s nice to be remembered (in one form or another), after having left the country for almost three years now. As for how and why - go figure! :-) ps all names changed to protect the innocent and brave. Current Mood: amused (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 1st, 2003
12:56 am	The only constant is change (maybe not?) - 1 Oct 2003 This one I have to admit, is written in frustration! Isn’t life just so weird? You can be in a similar situation, plenty of times, work on a project that many times, and though the challenges are different. There are some things that just don’t change. They just hit you in that exact spot each time. What I am working on right now – involves coordinating the production of two websites. We are in touch with 15 schools & 7 hospitals (at least 45 individual contacts) in four different countries (no activity where I am based, of course). It doesn’t feel any different from running a publication or working in academia at all. Chasing people for information, clarifying facts, getting feedback, constant phone calls, emails etc. Same recipe – different ingredients! Its funny how you can be there, have done that, foresee and expect what’s coming up. But no matter what, you can end up feeling the exact same way. Frustration!!! A feeling no one else will understand. As they say, hang in there, breathe and be strong. It will all fall into place eventually. When these things are over and done, it will be something you won’t even bat an eyelid about. An adventure to tell your grand kiddos about. Leave you to it then, while I seriously explore farming as my next career option :-) C’est la vie! Current Mood: awake (Comment on this)
Sunday, September 21st, 2003
8:58 pm	DogVille - Kudos to Lars Von Trier: 21 Sept 2003 Dogville, 2003 Director: Lars Von Trier Genre: Drama / Thriller http://www.tvropa.com/Dogville/ Synopsis: The beautiful fugitive, Grace (Nicole Kidman), arrives in the isolated township of Dogville on the run from a team of gangsters. With some encouragement from Tom (Paul Bettany), the self-appointed town spokesman, the little community agrees to hide her and in return, Grace agrees to work for them. However, when a search sets in, the people of Dogville demand a better deal in exchange for the risk of harbouring poor Grace and she learns the hard way that in this town, goodness is relative. But Grace has a secret and it is a dangerous one. Dogville may regret it ever began to bare its teeth... Nisar Keshvani: This has got to be one of the best films I have seen! From the word go, Lars throws you off-balance, with his theatre like set (fantastic way to save the moolar on expensive costume design). The first 20 minutes is probably intentionally slow – the director is giving you time to adjust to the quirky narration and the offbeat camera style. I’ll leave the rest of the film for you to watch. BUT think about the following: Von Triers describes his inspiration as: “Two things inspired me to write ¨Dogville”. First of all, I went to Cannes with “Dancer in the Dark” and I was criticized by some American journalists for making a film about the USA without ever having been there. This provoked me because, as far as I can recall, they never went to Casablanca when they made “Casablanca”. I thought that was unfair so I decided then and there that I would make more films that take place in America.” Whilst watching the film – and after the first thirty minutes observe how the lack of physical structures actually allows you to zoom in on the characters, their emotions and how they develop. Tom Edison after writing his first book chapter tells Grace why should I call it Dogville – that's the mistake all authors make. You need to make your film universal. Perhaps this is Von Trier’s voice “Dogville” takes place in America but it’s only America as seen from my point of view. I haven’t restricted myself in the sense that I said, ‘Now I have to research this and this and this’. It’s not a scientific film and it’s not a historical film. It’s an emotional film. Yes, it’s about the United States but it’s also about any small town anywhere in the world. Watch for the black and white photographs in the end credits – representing common townfolk in post-depression America. Observe how each character in the film is fleshed from the real people in the photographs. Observe Grace’s coming of age, as the mafia daughter. It begins when she says “Nobody in this town is going to sleep tonight” and how her father convinces her that she is destined to take over. She needs to judge people as she would herself and not be unnecessarily sympathetic. As for why she is subdued and takes all that comes her way without a word. Perhaps for her, heading back is just as bad. Think about that one. Last point, observe how the film’s main characters could actually be a parody of today’s state of affairs. Tom representing America influencing decisions made by the common folk, Grace as United Kingdom who supports Tom but in the end takes responsibility (Tom stealing money from his father, Tom suggesting she work twice as hard, Tom ringing the mob, planning things out for them). Trivia: The famed introductory scene of Dogville seen from above was in fact generated by a computer from 156 individual shots. The ceiling of the filming studio was actually not tall enough to make one single, wide shot from above possible. (1 Comment |Comment on this)