It’s just before the finals of The Dance Floor, Singapore’s first dance reality show and I am utterly psyched up. Marianne’s group, Platinum has made it all the way to the finals and this is definitely the climax of a journey that first began with an excited discussion about the television show “So You Think You Can Dance” in the office in the middle of last year.

Fast forward just about 10 months, and Marianne’s gonna be on that huge stage, dancing her heart out and hoping to win that huge cash prize of a $50,000 dollars.

And I couldn’t be happier for her.

Platinum has proven that they are the real deal when it comes to a dance group by showing just how professional they are when criticised, how versatile they can be when challenged and just how deserving they can be when carried all the way to the top. The fact that they’re all willing to show off their physical side and be sensual when it mattered is simply the icing on the cake. They came into the competition with the simple battle cry of “Girl Power”, and they’ve delivered exactly just that.

Platinum has my vote to become the winners of the inaugural season of The Dance Floor.

Just to sidetrack: from direcow

Photo courtesy of Keith Moss, Singapore Garrison, 501st Legion

The debut of Blood Wars in Singapore was held in February and I had so much fun (that’s me on the left in the picture above), I thought I’d better advertise the second round of Blood Wars.

Essentially, it’s a year-long Blood Donation Drive that pits fans of Star Trek with fans of Star Wars, and so far, it’s no surprise that the Star Wars fans are currently in the lead.

Nonetheless, this is an open invitation to fans of both inclinations to come down and support the upcoming Blood Wars event!

Date: Saturday, 5th May 2007
Time: 9am to 4pm
Venue: HSA Bloodbank (near Outram MRT)

If nothing else, come watch me donate in a Starfleet uniform again! Haha.

I’ve got no time to do up The Dance Floor writeup yet, so here’s a movie meme!

From direcow:

step one: go to imdb.com and look up ten of your favorite movies.
step two: post five official imdb “plot keywords” for these ten picks.
step three: have your friends guess the movie titles.

1. No Opening Credits / Part Of Trilogy / Dysfunctional Family / Bloody Violence / Greed
2. No Opening Credits / Alliance / Fantasy Life / Race Against Time / Ancient Sword
3. No Opening Credits / Cat / Kung Fu / Parallel World / 555 Phone Number
4. Sadness / Greed / Murder Investigation / Jealousy / Gruesome
5. No Opening Credits / Happy Birthday To You / SWAT Team / Corpse / Barefoot
6. Teenage Boy / Comic Hero / Agility / Crime Fighter / Guilt
7. Good Versus Evil / Jack The Ripper / Disturbing / Based On Comic / Biographical
8. Character’s Point Of View Camera Shot / Midget / Anachronistic / Torture / Alienation
9. Invisibility / Plastic / Ray Gun / Punk / Computer
10. Violence / Androgyny / Jidai Geki / Killing / Tap Dance

Looking back, even I couldn’t guess some of them based on the plot keywords. Others are blatantly easy.

HINT: First four are in IMDB’s top #50. In order of appearance.

What an exciting, interesting two days its been for me, filled with new experiences and simply enjoyable moments.

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD!

Tuesday began rather frustratingly, as I woke up too late in the morning to really get any last minute mugging done before my Math paper in the early afternoon. I had been meaning to truly memorise the MacLaurin’s series… but never got a chance to. Fortunately, it didn’t come out in the exam. Unfortunately, other things I failed to study did instead. Guess I’ll never get around to passing Math. Haha.

Seriously, though… it was down to Vivocity after the paper to watch Sunshine, a independent sci-fi flick starring an international cast that included Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans and Michelle Yeoh. In the future, the sun is going to burn itself out, threatening humankind with extinction. The Earth’s only hope is a space mission named Icarus II, that will plant a bomb in the middle of the sun to jumpstart the formation of a new star. I thought it was a pretty decent movie that took itself rather seriously and delivered throughout. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the relative lack of trust each character had for one another. There didn’t seem to be any camaraderie, despite the importance of their mission. I chalk it up to poor characterisation - the audience was thrown into the midst of the plot, with no way to begin empathising with the cast. The other thing I didn’t like about it was that it felt like a mix between ‘Event Horizon’ and ‘2001′ - though, to its credit, it played off both themes rather well.

Sunshine was followed by a quick trip around VivoCity, which had become more lively since I was last there, a foray into Toys’R'US where we played around with pink bunny ears. There’s at least one incriminating photo around… I hope it never sees the light of day. And then it was dinner at Carnivore - a belated birthday treat from direcow.

Carnivore is one of the latest in the trend of Brazilian Barbeque outlets sprouting up all around Singapore, but since I haven’t been to one before that night, it was a whole new experience for me. What an absolutely carnal delight it was! No, there was nothing sassy about it, but I use ‘carnal’ in the original sense of the word - meat! From chicken to beef, pork to lamb, slices of shoulder, back, wing coming one after another… it was heaven for this meat-lover. I ate and ate and again, like the time at Kushinbo, felt like throwing up. But this was much more fulfilling for me, compared to Japanese fare. It was hard to say which serving I liked best, but the grilled pineapple was nothing short of a godsend. crapshoot believes the Sixth Avenue outlet is better, so I’m tempted to give it a try one day.

We ended the day by being kids again at one of the outdoor playgrounds outside Mother Garden and Long John Silver’s. By the time we were bored having fun, my stomach had more or less settled and I felt really satisfied. Who said being 25 means you have to grow up permanently? Of the seven of us there, more than half have yet to turn 25, but it’s good to know that nothing’s gonna change yet.

Wednesday morning began rather blandly as Son of the Mask failed to excite even the most die-hard of Mask fans - me. It was an otherwise decent family flick, starring one of my favourite television actresses, Traylor Howard of “Monk” and “Two Guys and A Girl” fame.

After that, it was time to head out and meet up with The Weekend Designer, an old friend whom I just got back in contact with this year. We were supposed to lunch at Marché @ Suntec, only to discover that it had been closed for a while. Instead, we headed down to CityLink Mall and stopped at tcc. I decided on the Smoked Salmon Linguine while she had the Beef Mozza-Tofu and shared the Golden Jubilee mashed potatoes at her recommendation. Best meal ever. According my sister, who works in tcc now, most of the dishes are very well prepared - and I have to agree.

Post-lunch activity was an opportunity to follow TWD around as she did some business-related shopping. We went to Textile Mall, a place I’d never visit otherwise. There, we headed straight for Sungai - a shop that sold loads of items used to make accessories. It was an eye-opener for a guy who always thought that accessories were a elite universe that was beyond him. I found gothic pendants for less than a dollar and though the designs were sometimes rather odd, it was still a haven for the creative spark to be fanned into a flame. TWD bought $150 worth of chains of different colours, shapes and sizes that could be used for bracelets, necklaces, even earrings!

We then headed down to Square 2, the new annex of Novena Square to pick up the bubble envelopes she ordered. These envelops have a layer of bubble-wrap inside to ensure the safety of the products she mails out. Although it really was just a fraction of the business shopping she has to do each month, it was definitely an eye-opener into the intricacies of running a professionally-made accessories shop.

Do visit The Weekend Designer when you’re free and view her many unique and one-of-a-kind designs!

My day didn’t end there, as I was then headed to Mediacorp’s TV Theatre to catch the last episode of The Dance Floor LIVE before the Grand Finals next Sunday. But that, is an entry for itself.

The biggest challenge in writing this post has got to be how to title it. I pondered the need for the title to be representative of what message I got out of the movie, without giving in to the temptation of tacking on to the message the mainstream critic distilled from the 2 hour long drama. In the end, I decided that perhaps it was best to just adopt the movie’s title itself.

The movie’s two main characters also creates the prime dichotomy of the theme - faith and science. Father Richard Moore (Tom Wilkinson) is a devout priest who has an unshakeable belief in what he does. His lawyer Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) is a high-flying career woman who is only looking out for her own welfare. When confronted by things beyond her control, however, Bruner finds that there are some things in life that no amount of success and fame can overcome.

Both Wilkinson and Linney put in marvellous performances, Wilkinson giving empathic depth to the character of the faithful servant of God, while Linney shines as she grabs hold of her character’s pathos in discovering just how selfish human nature can be.

In the middle of these two powerful performers, comes a breathtakingly frightening Jennifer Carpenter, who plays the titular character Emily Rose. Despite her relative lack of screen experience, the Julliard graduate is an amazing presence, both creating a sense of despair and horror as she struggles between her normal self and her ‘possessed’ state.

The movie is also a wonderful study in cinematography. Director and Writer Scott Derrickson explained how he was trying to achieve a ‘marriage of beauty and terror’ in creating the visuals of the movie.

“I think the crucifix itself is like that. It’s a beautiful image that has a beautiful meaning and yet it’s a very violent and horrific image at the same time.”

The cinematographers succeed in creating the effects of horror and suspense without losing the realism of the visual - thus making it all the more frightening.

While most of the story focuses on whether Father Moore is superstitious or not in his unmovable belief in demonic possession causing Emily’s state of mind, I chose to take the opportunity to question my own beliefs and convictions. As a Catholic and as someone who has flirted with the idea of the priesthood, could I have come anywhere close to the character of Father Richard Moore?

After all, it’s hard to really say which scares me more - the fear of the devil and his minions, or the fear of human rejection, of secular cynicism, of sheer unbelief in the things beyond our reality. Father Richard Moore had to face both, and yet, throughout his whole ordeal, he stayed strong, his faith a source of comfort and strength.

It was important to me that the director not depict Father Moore as some religious superhero, and Derrickson avoided just that by including a scene where his fears overcome him and he later admits in court, “It scared the hell out of me”. Ironically, of course, by making him more human, the character of Father Moore challenges me, indeed all of us, towards the level of faith he examplified.

And that, is a faith I can only begin to desire for myself.

Just thought I’d share this story since it’s Good Friday. It’s long, but a good read. Have a blessed day, people.

There was a certain Professor of Religion named Dr. Christianson, a studious man who taught at a small college in the Western United States. Dr. Christianson taught the required survey course in Christianity at this particular institution. Every student was required to take this course his or her freshman year regardless of his or her major. Although Dr. Christianson tried hard to communicate the essence of the gospel in his class, he found that most of his students looked upon the course as nothing but required drudgery. Despite his best efforts, most students refused to take Christianity seriously.

This year, Dr. Christianson had a special student named Steve. Steve was only a freshman, but was studying with the intent of going onto seminary for the ministry. Steve was popular, he was well liked, and he was an imposing physical specimen. He was now the starting center on the school football team, and was the best student in the professor’s class.

One day, Dr. Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. “How many push-ups can you do?”
Steve said, “I do about 200 every night.”
“200. That’s pretty good, Steve,” Dr. Christianson said. “Do you think you could do 300?”
Steve replied, “I don’t know… I’ve never done 300 at a time.”
“Do you think you could ” again asked Dr. Christianson.
“Well, I can try,” said Steve.
“Can you do 300 in sets of 10 I have a class project in mind and I need you to do about 300 push-ups in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it I need you to tell me you can do it,” said the professor.
Steve said, “Well… I think I can…yeah, I can do it.”
Dr. Christianson said, “Good! I need you to do this on Friday. Let me explain what I have in mind.”

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, the professor pulled out a big box of donuts. No these weren’t the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend with a party in Dr. Christianson’ s class.

Dr. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked, “Cynthia, do you want to have one of these donuts?” Cynthia said, “Yes.”
Dr. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?”
“Sure.” Steve jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Dr. Christianson put a donut on Cynthia’s desk.
Dr. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, “Joe, do you want a donut ”
Joe said, “Yes.” Dr. Christianson asked, “Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut ” Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went, down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, till Dr. Christianson came to Scott.

Scott was on the basketball team, and in as good condition as Steve. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When the professor asked, “Scott do you want a donut?” Scott’s reply was, “Well, can I do my own pushups ”
Dr. Christianson said, “No, Steve has to do them.”
Then Scott said, “Well, I don’t want one then.”

Dr. Christianson shrugged and then turned to Steve and asked, “Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn’t want ” With perfect obedience Steve started to do ten pushups.

Scott said, “HEY! I said I didn’t want one!”
Dr. Christianson said, “Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and these are my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don’t want it.” And he put a donut on Scott’s desk.

Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Dr. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.

Dr. Christianson asked Jenny, “Jenny, do you want a donut?” Sternly, Jenny said, “No.”
Then Dr. Christianson asked Steve, “Steve, would you do ten more push-ups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn’t want ” Steve did ten….Jenny got a donut.

By now, a growing sense of uneasiness filled the room. The students were beginning to say “No” and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks.

Steve also had to really put forth a lot of extra effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved.

Dr. Christianson asked Robert, who was the most vocal unbeliever in the class, to watch Steve do each push up to make sure he did the full ten pushups in a set because he couldn’t bear to watch all of Steve’s work for all of those uneaten donuts. He sent Robert over to where Steve was so Robert could count the set and watch Steve closely. Dr. Christianson started down the fourth row.

During his class, however, some students from other classes had wandered in and sat down on the steps along the radiators that ran down the sides of the room. When the professor realized this, he did a quick count and saw that now there were 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it. Dr. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set.

Steve asked Dr. Christianson, “Do I have to make my nose touch on each one ”

Dr. Christianson thought for a moment, “Well, they’re your pushups. You are in charge now. You can do them any way that you want.” And Dr. Christianson went on.

A few moments later, Jason, a recent transfer student, came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled in one voice, “NO! Don’t come in! Stay out!” Jason didn’t know what was going on.

Steve picked up his head and said, “No, let him come.”

Professor Christianson said, “You realize that if Jason comes in you will have to do ten pushups for him?”

Steve said, “Yes, let him come in. Give him a donut” Dr. Christianson said, “Okay, Steve, I’ll let you get Jason’s out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?”

Jason, new to the room hardly knew what was going on. “Yes,” he said, “give me a donut.”

“Steve, will you do ten push-ups so that Jason can have a donut?” Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered, was handed a donut and sat down.

Dr. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those visitors seated by the heaters. Steve’s arms were now shaking with each push-up in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was profusely dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was no sound except his heavy breathing, there was not a dry eye in the room.

The very last two students in the room were two young women, both cheerleaders, and very popular. Dr. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, “Linda, do you want a doughnut?”

Linda said, very sadly, “No, thank you.”

Professor Christianson quietly asked, “Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn’t want ” Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda.

Then Dr. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. “Susan, do you want a donut ”

Susan, with tears flowing down her face, began to cry. “Dr. Christianson, why can’t I help him?”

Dr. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, “No, Steve has to do it alone, I have given him this task and he is in charge of seeing that everyone has an opportunity for a donut whether they want it or not. When I decided to have a party this last day of class, I looked at my grade book. Steve, here is the only student with a perfect grade. Everyone else has failed a test, skipped class, or offered me inferior work. Steve told me that in football practice, when a player messes up he must do push-ups. I told Steve that none of you could come to my party unless he paid the price by doing your push ups. He and I made a deal for your sakes. Steve, would you do ten push-ups so Susan can have a donut ” As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understanding that he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Dr. Christianson turned to the room and said. “And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross, plead to the Father, ‘into thy hands I commend my spirit.’ With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he yielded up His life. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten.” Two students helped Steve up off the floor and to a seat, physically exhausted, but wearing a thin smile. “Well done, good and faithful servant,” said the professor, adding “Not all sermons are preached in words.”

Turning to his class the professor said, “My wish is that you might understand and fully comprehend all the riches of grace and mercy that have been given to you through the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He spared not only His Begotten Son, but gave Him up for us all for the whole Church, now and forever. Whether or not we choose to accept His gift to us, the price has been paid. Wouldn’t you be foolish and ungrateful to leave it laying on the desk ”

Share this with someone. It’s bound to touch their heart and demonstrate Salvation in a very special way. HAPPY EASTER.

I think Singapore’s fascination with reality television is starting to stink. Viewers of The Dance Floor are now starting to get extremely ugly in their criticisms and it’s especially painful when you realise that it’s the youngest team still in the competition who’s bearing the brunt of it.

Evelyn and Esther, also known as E Squared, are a pair of teenage girls who have been given several chances by the judges to advance this far in the competition. With each opportunity, they have given their all, performing with nothing but raw uncensored passion. Yet, now that they’re among the finalists, dancing alongside professionals and other award-winning performers, several vocal critics online are choosing instead to bash them and verbally attack their friends and supporters.

It was once made clear to me that if I believed in something or someone, I should set out to defend it as best I can. This post then, is my less than objective support for the girls of E Squared.

A lot of flak has come from the fact that E Squared are studying at the Singapore American School (SAS). It appears that the primary complaint of naysayers is that SAS students are filthy rich and can afford to splurge copious amounts of cash to support their schoolmates. The fact that E Squared continue to avoid being among the bottom three each week seems to fuel this rather inane belief. Constant references to the fact that other teams are being eliminated or threatened with elimination despite supposedly performing much better than the girls seem to be the catchword for those who take the opportunity to leave anonymous comments on the official blogs and forums.

This turn of events is ironic in so many ways. In previous years, The Dance Floor’s singing counterpart, Singapore Idol, saw both seasons resulting in a male Malay singer claiming the title. Both contestants were underdogs among the finalists, but consistently survived each week due to the support of their many fans. Back then, the grapevine suggested it was the Malay community who were voting furiously for their pop idols, and that is how Taufik Batisah and Hady Mirzah became household names.

If the rumours are true, then that same Malay community seems to be rather divided in their support for the finalists this time around. Of the three eliminated groups so far, two (Break Force Crew and Styles From Beyond) consist of Malay dancers who specialise in hip hop. Still representing the community are J.D.I. and Fantastic Four, also Malay dancers who specialise in hip hop. See a trend here? I do. It is also no secret that BFC and SFB were the judges’ picks to reach the finals. Hello, people, this is a POPULARITY contest as much as it is a DANCE competition. If the teams can’t win votes by their dancing, then they should expect to make a quick exit. In fact, of the four teams, only J.D.I. is in the finals by a popularity vote. I won’t be too surprised that when Fantastic Four leaves the competition, it is J.D.I. who will win it because the whole Malay community will eventually be behind them.

So where does that leave E Squared? Fighting for their right to remain in the competition despite all the hurtful things that have been said about them, I hope. These girls represent what The Dance Floor is all about. The other groups have won accolades from more established contests in their speciality genres, but E Squared are just… young! This is their chance to establish themselves, to set themselves apart and prove that they have the right combination of showmanship, technique and pure heart. After all, isn’t that how you survive a reality television show?