Bigelow snatching the Oscar from the quintessential balding white male director.

So here’s a little test. Name the directors you know and love. Now, name the female ones. Kinda hard eh? With international women’s day just wrapping up, one has to wonder what a day like that means.

I was just listening to the local radio, and I overheard a DJ and a listener conversing about Women’s Day. It went something like this.

DJ: What does Women’s Day mean for you?

Listener: (spangly singaporean nasalness ensues) Oh, weeelll… It means I think I am an independent woman. That women are strong! Happy Women’s Day Singapore.

Earth to ignorant Singaporean woman, International Women’s Day is a day where women in the past rallied, protested and truly fought for their rights. Demonstrations marking International Women’s Day in Russia proved to be the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917. It isn’t just some day where you profess empty words on how you think you’re independent like some mind numbing Destiny’s Child song.

Alright, I’m sorry for raging on your screen. Let’s get back on point here. We wanted a post to celebrate some of the female directors we have adored in the past and Miss Bigelow herself. To all the non-filmmaking related people out there, this applies too. There are still many male dominated fields that could you know, use a little elbow nudge from a lady. And here are the ladies who have made a nudge in mine.

Kathryn Bigelow

When I told Pat Kathryn won, Pat said, “it’s about time”. Unapologetically female, Bigelow once modelled and isn’t ashamed to say so. People question whether it really is a triumph for women that Bigelow won because of the fact that her film was so male oriented. My opinion: Does it matter? To me it doesn’t. She directed well, the performances were strong, it doesn’t matter.

Sofia Coppola

One of my favourite directors ever, and the most well known in this list. I don’t know whether it was seeing her calm and collected presence in the midst of directing a crazy prom scene in the Virgin Suicides DVD extras or the fact that when discussing the topic of her movie, Marie Antoinette, Coppola said, “You’re considered superficial and silly if you are interested in fashion, but I think you can be substantial and still be interested in frivolity.” That and I love her films of course.

Not all great films have to be about deep set social and political change or adversity to be great.

The underrated Adrienne Shelley

I watched Waitress, I loved it. I checked out who made it so I could watch her future work. And I discovered shortly before being picked up for Sundance, someone robbed and murdered her in her apartment. Thanks murderer, there aren’t many female directors around in Hollywood and you axed one for a flat screen tv!

Miranda July

Miranda July comes up in my film classes, my drama classes, writing classes. Perhaps too emotional for New Yorkers claim the Pat, more for Californians claim the Pat. All things considered, NEEDS TO BE KNOWN to Singaporeans, claim the Manda. Lets explore outside the realms of Jack Neo’s cross eyed skanky scandal to the better things in life, shall we?

In the end, it’s a beautiful thing to see change happening and it is. I often struggle through the penis power play going on in the film industry. But being a minority has its perks. I know how it’s like to be on the outside looking in, and I know not to take things for granted. So I leave you with this link and this…

I started out making an oscar lady but it somehow turned into a HOT! TRANNY! MESS! It’s horribleness with a Lost In Translation wig. Booyah, shitbits.

But first, some miscellany!

Morbid comics from ManEggs!

And… Some Gremlin goodness from Designkins (via DesignYouTrust). I’m aware of the fact that I don’t wear caps. But hey, I also own a Hello Kitty Toaster. SO! FUCKYEAHUSELESSSHITBITS.

AND ONWARD!

Which word in the dictionary is most tainted with adolescent shame? Hand’s down, no-doubt, it’s goth.

Anyone outside of the cult of moody knows the goth look is designed to fug everyone. Statistically, chances that any given person looks good with pale face paint, greasy blue hair and a pin-cushion face is next to none. But don’t be harsh, it’s surprisingly hard to resist when you’re an angry tween. I wallow in shame every time I recall all the (now destroyed) evidence of my time as a confused clubbing gothchild.

But strangely, things like Tamagotchi and pokémon die, but Goth RAGES ON! Look, Disney’s finally declaring the moody-moody-slash-wrist market mainstream. Wall Street Journal declares: “Walt Disney Co.’s consumer-products division is aiming its marketing firepower at young women and teenage girls, particularly those who gravitate to darkly romantic entertainment like the Twilight series.”

” [Disney's] zeroing in on Hot Topic with jewelry, shirts, and other baubles while a Los Angeles location is becoming a miniature Wonderland. There will be a mingle-with-the-stars event for fans, and “goth-pop” bands from the soundtrack will provide the tuneage.” (via Cinematical.)

Sure, Disney’s investment in black lipstick isn’t anything new. They’ve always has Burton in their stable, but now, with the King of dark-cute leading the march with Alice in Wonderland, Mickey’s household’s gonna see some changes.

Just a couple of weeks ago, a cute chinese teen girl with a little Avenge Sevenfold backpack showed up at my home (family friends visiting from Sydney) and asked me if I knew where to buy Slipknot tees in Singapore. Man. After much ethical debate on my part, we skipped to Far East Plaza to complete the mission. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt as I let her purchase those horrid, unflattering black t-shirts. How did I ever wear these baggy shirts with tacky band logos emblazoned across both the front and back for maximum fug? But ah, well, she was full of glee and I wasn’t about to rain on her little black parade.

If I could tell her one thing, it’d be that the worst of skank is more forgiving than a goth FAIL, plus you get laid more.

EX-CITIZEN’S REGRET

Missing Singapore

The article made me shudder. Could I end up like this woman, who returns to Singapore 30 years after surrendering citizenship, only to be full of criticism about the country she left Singapore for in the first place? Words like “nostalgia”, “loneliness” and “colossal mistake” jump at me from the page.

The prospect of prancing off to New York in the near future looks pretty good to me. And it is certain that there will be even more prancing, more timezones, more visa-induced-anger, more accent-confusion, more more more in the great beyond. This article stares at me and ask the question I fear to ask myself:

[singlish] “Eh later you regret then how?” [/singlish]

Then, I slapped me to my senses, “Fuck la cheebye anyhow emo”.

The article laments (albeit indirectly) the unreliable public transport, dirty city streets and even work culture of the “foreign land”. Indeed, I won’t even have to name the country because 99 flights out of 100 will land you in a place less clean, less organized, less efficient, less blinged up with shiny infrastructure than Singapore anyway.

99 flights out of 100 will land you in a place less clean, less organized, less efficient, less blinged up with infrastructure than Singapore anyway.

It takes a certain degree of determination to see the only the particular shade of green that is missing from beneath the feet. Sure, learning to appreciate what one has is frequently a process that extends well beyond the fact of having. But leaving, then getting melodramatic over something you forgot to love in the first place, is a different thing.

I’m sure the lady who wrote the article did not mean to take jabs at her current host country deliberately. She did, in the end, declare her “allegiance and loyalty” to her new home. But why then, is she so clearly unhappy?

Let me make my point before the lao sai really pours: There is nothing more pitiful than having the privilege to expand one’s horizons, only to lament it’s burden.

If you wish, change is always knowledge gained. Just as certain as new experiences brings new knowledge, new knowledge in turn, brings new burdens, new fears, new joy and new responsibility. The key decision isn’t about making the right plans, it is about choosing how to be in the present. Make the right choice, and never have to “regret” in grave, bold Garamond.

And perhaps I am harsh. I do, after all, come from a background of (im)migration, plus, I have never really had issues leaving a place behind despite being deeply in love with it. I do get sentimental about friends, family and the quirks of different places, but I never regret.

It’s not unusual to consider migration as an opportunity to achieve something, but perhaps because Migration is a huge kind of change, people often mistake it as a solution to all life’s problems. I’ve seen my parents relocate to different places, and I’ve seen them through disappointment, disconnection and loneliness, but I have also witnessed their ability to find affection for every place they have lived in*. They do, of course, love Singapore, where they chose to bring me up, but they don’t love Hong Kong any less, and never do they complain about being short-changed by whichever Island they’re on at the moment. In fact, back when my mother had the energy to, she flew between the islands every fortnight.

Really, it’s not the place, it’s the perspective.

*With the near exception of New York, where my dorky father spent half the 80’s wishing he had witty comebacks to racist jerks, and where my maternal uncle lost his life to work stress. But hey, my Dad just retired, and guess where he’s planning to start his American road trip?

Seldom does the world collectively experience a disappointment so great, it is humorous. Then again, as we sober up from the punchline, we begin to wonder if there is more to the iPad than a flub. Apple is, after all, the industry game-changer. It wouldn’t be wise not to watch closely.

The iPad could shift the rules of advertising, graphic design, blogging, journalism & publishing from right beneath your feet.

Iconic design house, Pentagram, has published a great trend-watch article, “5 Ways the iPad will Change Magazine Design“. Indeed, the iPad will, as an e-reader (as opposed to a half-assed excuse of a smart-phone-laptop hybrid) may revolutionize reading itself.

Magazine content, online and in print, will be influenced by the screen, interface, even processing capabilities of the iPad. Think this is an exaggeration? Just look at how graphic design both on- and off-line has been influence by the mouse and resolution for the past decade:

• Images got smaller and took the form of pop-up slide shows
• Content structure became dominated by overviews, excerpts and short articles while longer pieces sit on a lower hierarchy behind “more” tags or further into the heart of the publication.
• Video content flourishes and demands integration with text and still (often with awkward results).
• Advertising copy and images became miniaturized to integrate into layouts.
• The miscellaneous (archives, categories, similar posts, about-the-authors) became necessary browsing tools, equivalent to running one’s fingers through the pages of a magazine.

And all of the above will be changed, again, with the iPad. People will spend considerably more time, well, reading, than on a laptop or a computer. Trends that came about to adapt to people’s shrinking attention spans and patience will be, again,transformed. The screen real estate also changes when scrolling is eliminated or re-integrated into user interaction, or when reading patterns change.

Come to think about it … the iPad has even influenced the market as we know it before it’s release.

And of course, the iPad might just be the nail in print’s drawn-out descent into it’s coffin – with an iPad on every coffee table, where will print stand?

the iPad might just be the nail in print’s drawn-out descent into it’s coffin

But while the iPad’s potential is formidable, it must first, like every product, be purchased. And even as the kind of consumer who’s willing to part with a little more cheddar for a little more shiny, I must say that the iPad just won’t cut it. Lack of multi-tasking, limited processing power and no usb at that price tag? It’s almost vulgar.

Hopefully, all that speculation about Apple having something more up their sleeves is right…

EDIT: Haha,  Stanford does not heart the iPad.

Inspired by GTD (Getting Things Done), my latest wallpaper:

Download after the jump.

Can it be that it’s already February? Can it be that in 11 weeks, I will not have the numbing comfort of syllabi, academic units and past exam papers? Can it be? In my panic, I have brushed up on my Getting-Things-Done and started brewing double-shot expressos again.

Closer:

Free in Misc. Sizes:

• 1920 x 1080
• 1680 x 1050
• 1600 x 900
• 1344 x 756
• 1280 x 1024
• 1280 x 720
• 1024 x 768
• 800 x 600
• Not

Other GTD wallpaper ideas:

• by SmartProductivity.com
• by Josef Richter

Every time I purchase an Apple product, complications ensue. A battery must be replaced, programs pull houdinis, a charger melts, etc. But this time… all seems well. (Except for that capslock LED that seems to be dead, but that’s trivial compared to finding out your notebook is a fire hazard.)

I don’t quite know what my game plan is, regarding the transportation of my new baby back to Singapore. I don’t quite know. But at least I got the 21.5″ not the 27″. The NYU student discount on Macs make any freight awkwardness worthwhile. In my opinion at least. Cheap is the nu-recession-chic.

Surprisingly, the Magic Mouse is nothing like it’s mildly stunted siblings. It actually does whatever needs to be done, like, well, click, and um, right-click. But, wait, as if to make up for years of mouse inadequacy, Apple pimps this newbie up extras (that finally work)… and the gestures are charm to use.

Merry Christmas!

Edit: And by the power of St. Jobs, my caplocks LED blinks to life… but a USB port wavers. Oh well.

I warned them that they were gonna get breathed on by pasty white dudes holding crossaints.

How glad am I to be home. This blog serves as an answer to spg blogs, you know which I am talking about. Let’s keep Pat out of this equation, her white boy can fry dumplings and is chinese at heart, despite being well… jewish. Moving along. What is it about being in an asian country that makes white guys think they’re the shit? And how do we fend them off if we just happen to feel like dropping by Attica for a bottle of free champagne!

There are many reasons they think they own your panties… and those reasons are dull (eg. better pizza, stronger currencies, absurd tailgate machinery). More interesting is how one can baygon the next white kid who tries to pick you up in fluent Ebonics.

How to Baygon pesky Ang Mohs (with effectiveness rating):

1. Offer them your misc-man-bits. — effectiveness level:
   But some Ang Mohs pay good money for chick with dicks.
2. Ask them if they want to know Allah better. — effectiveness level:
   Terrorism is not Allah. But some Ang Mohs don’t know any better.
3. Tell them you have Mono. – effectiveness level:
   If you live in Singapore, chances are, you’ve never heard of Mono (Mononucleosis). Actually, it’s not fun. Just be glad this common college virus it’s not too common on our island, because we have universities instead.
4. Tell them you’re a transgender muslim with mono. — effectiveness level: 
   Combined effectiveness = 2.5+5+4, however -10 considering they might not believe this.
5. Bring actual baygon. — not going to rate this because you might get arrested.

How not to Baygon pesky Ang Mohs:

1. Tell them to leave you alone. (They won’t.)
2. Move to another part of the dance floor. (They’ll trail.)
3. Ignore them. (They never get tired of their own voice, really.)
4. Be sarcastic. (Sarcasm is how insecure white people flirt.)
5. Tell them you want a giant steak dinner. (See no. 4:- I did this once and it ended in much regret.)

Honestly, it was awfully difficult to think of ways to baygon ang mohs. The effectiveness level on all the above is quite questionable. But if you wanna baygon off local men, just don’t have long straight black hair, and you’re set. I guess the one thing you can appreciate about a Singaporean man is that one rejection is enough for them to run away like a fly on fire. Thanks for that guys.

Disclaimer: This is a joke.

So with all the quality acts coming, I ask, WHERE IS THE TRASH!?

I know we all orgasm at the thought of Muse, 65daysofstatic, Kings of Convenience, Cat Power, Indie Beginners’ Ting Tings and Death Cab. But where is the high Q trash pls!?

This is the list of people that should come along to balance of the… nice stuff.

1) Britney Spears

Just because it’s been a long time coming hello. Plus, who doesn’t miss nipple tassles.

2) Peaches

To shock and perturb local men by asking them to impeach her bush while looking like a butter factory ape.

3) Roisin Murphy

A better (but lower-budget) version of lady gaga as CHARINE MISCELLANEOUS PIE would say. She makes songs about someone loving to stuff their face and needing to give their mouths a rest sound kinda sweet in a electronic, drunk kinda way.

4) Gossip

Okay, the trashiness of Gossip is questionable. But the awesomeness of Beth Ditto makes up for it. With all the close-minded, long-straight-black hair, silver-hoop earring, mini-dress loving, pasty chinese boys out there, someone needs to mindfuck them with Beth Ditto’s image.

5) Major Lazer

The first time I saw the Pon The Floor Video, all I could think was What the flying Fuck? But it turns out that Major Lazer are two pasty white boys! Even better. The shit bit got bigger.

Okay, I’m getting tired. There’s a lot more trash out there but I’m tired of resizing images. So I’ll leave you with this. When I asked Charine for her favourite trashy music, she passed me this link. Albeit saying it was her least favourite thing of all time but I’m going to give her credit for this find anyway.

The season has come, once again, for the students of a grass-topped school in tropical Singapore to enroll in the next semester’s classes.

In the School of Art, Design & Media (ADM, see fig. 1a, b), this bi-annual ritual is no easy task (see fig. KNN).

This enraging/ enthralling/ enlightening experience recurs about 3 weeks before the start of every semester, and is well-documented on twitter & facebook (see fig. 2a, b).

This time around, yours truly was greeted by fig. 3. Yes, complications must ensue, it insists. And this is before the semester even begins. It is unfortunate that ADM, like any other young establishment, is ridden with many other similar & annoying little administrative kinks. In my four years in ADM, I have seen:

• my GPA get wrecked by a failing grade, which was later revoked,
• the school operate somewhat dean/chair-less,
• brilliant, brilliant teachers be dismissed due to petty admin & students raging about the lack of staff,
• core classes be canceled at weeks’ notice,
• mad-expensive facilities get carelessly demolished and refurbished, abused and restored,
• miscellaneous chaos.

But you know, I would be lying if I didn’t say that it is with great affection that I wrestle the absurdities that come my way semester after semester. The truth is, design kids will always have a special bond with their Alma Matter. And even more so ADM students. Why?

1. ADM is in Singapore
   The very unlikeliness of an institution dedicated to the creative arts on a stern island dedicated to efficiency is, in itself, a reason to find ADM charming. And God bless the person who had the notion to place it in Nanyang Technological University. Till today, I believe that this was done solely to culture-fuck with the general population of engineering students. There are some things that will always only fly in art school. Like an arches of grass for roofs. Like sleeves of tattoos on a top student. Or transgenderism. When ladyboy & freshman, Marla Bendini, struts across campus, I am never sure whether to feel awkward for her or those poor kids who scamper away in apprehension. Point is, ADM persists, like almost blissfully oblivious to it’s odd circumstances. In ADM, a great kinship is forged simply on the basis of our collective improbability.
2. Foundation Year
   Every ADM kid is initiated with a year of arguably fine-art-biased training. This will the the key bonding experience of all ADM kids, pre-declaration-of-Majors. There is something about all that freshman energy, channeled into two semesters of pre-assigned studio-based craft classes. For most students, this will be their first exposure to “Art School” – crit sessions,  stereotypes, late night deadline rushes, guzzling coffee, arguing about paper weight and all that. Friendships are as inevitable as gossip and crushes on those creative-type professors in their mid-30’s.It is easy to get lost in the whimsical charm of Foundation Year, but this romantic scenario will come to a rude halt. Suddenly it will be time to choose from a list of strictly design-based majors. How is all that dabbling in fine art going to help? Who knows?! But, you’d better choose wisely, because this decision will define your professional training for the next three years, and, oh, you are not allowed to change your mind further down the road. Everyone gets swept away in freshman year, no exceptions. It is the common ground and will always be.
3. Boon-fucking-lay
   Every art school is a communal pit of creative sweat, shit and tears. But ADM is in Boon Lay. Which really means, “Don’t even think about catching a train home after 11.15pm.” Like a blackhole, ADM has a certain kind of inescapable gravity that warrants respect, awe and those showerheads installed in the bathrooms. Perhaps the school should install some toothpaste dispensers soon? ADM nightlife reminds students of every major that, FCP, Maya, Rhino, MSP, Psd or InDesign, we’re all still in it together.
4. Loony diversity
   When I was very young, I attended an international school. There is something about ADM’s crazy mix of professors and students that invokes that same feeling. Classes are always small enough to know everyone by name and some handy gossip them. Students come from all over and the professors all seem like they’re poached from exotic places across the planet… a class in ADM never really quite feels like one in a typical local institution, yet, it’s undeniably Singaporean. What does that mean? Only ADM students will know.

In about 2 hour’s time, I will (attempt to) register for subjects via STARS* for the last time, ever. And honestly, I can’t help but sprinkle a lil’ misc. emo-ness over it.