hootie's notebook

rest in peace, alexis tioseco

2009-09-07T12:33:00.004+08:00

Alexis was not a film star, though he had the swagger of one.He was not a film maker, though he love film makers.He was a young fella who wrote about films.He wrote with clarity and passion, that love was infectious.I got to know Alexis first in 2005, when he came to Singapore with a selection of Philippine filmsI have never seen or heard of.He made me sit through Sherad Sanchezand explained that

7 things I love about Singapore

2007-08-17T10:51:00.000+08:00

About a week before Singapore's National Day, I gave myself a writing exercise. To come up with 7 things I love about Singapore in time for the nation's 42nd birthday. I will not allow myself the obvious Singapore subjects, like Chicken Rice, or Zouk. I will also treat the nation Singapore as Singapore the lady, a fast approaching middle aged needing something uplifting to look forward now that

number one

2007-08-17T10:23:00.000+08:00

I love music so the first on the list is BaybeatsBaybeats is one of the biggest music festival in the region. Yes. The scene actually travels down to Singapore (hooray for regional budget airlines and local budget hotels) once a year to check out what Singapore bands have to offer.geocities.com/hootie_inc/baybeats/Baybeats is loud,it is massive and best of allit is free.What more could you want?

number two

2007-08-14T15:24:00.000+08:00

ok, number two on the listSingapore made moviesIf there is any doubt that there is a film scene in Singapore, the month of August will erase that notion. For the past coupla years, August has been the traditional harvest month for local filmmakers to showcase their work. Last August saw Gloria Chee's Smell of Rain, Gilbert Chan & Joshua Chiang's S11, Leonard Lai's High Cost of Living and of cos,

number three

2007-08-14T14:15:00.000+08:00

I've been busy unpiercing my ear drums over at Baybeats this weekend, so I will be posting part 3 and part 4 together.Number 3 on the list.Where do you go to cool off on a hot saturday afternoon in Singapore? You can join the hordes at the many many shopping complexes. But wouldn't you be rather be chilling with chicks in bikinis instead?Of cos.And for that, one of the best spots in Singapore

number four

2007-08-14T11:49:00.001+08:00

I've written about singapore made films. But where do singaporean filmmakers get their filmmaking chops? By making short films of cos.Singapore has a vibrant short filmmaking scene. To take a snapshot, this week alone has 2 separate short film events.The Substation's First Takewww.substation.orgFirst Take is a democratic showcase of the newest short films made by local filmmakers. if you have a

number five

2007-08-14T11:20:00.000+08:00

If you wanna go really fast, and you're stuck in Singapore,there are not that many places that you can go to. In fact, totalled up, you can count them down in one hand.But what we make up for quantity, we sure make up for it in quality.One of the best "tracks" Singapore has to offer is our infamous pasir panjang slope.Easily accesible from the AYE, you start off from NUH. Accelerate past the

number six

2007-08-14T11:08:00.000+08:00

2 more days to her birthdayand I have not even touched on lunch.Singaporeans love food. Ask any singaporean what/where their favourite chicken rice/laksa/steak/risotto and get ready for a 500 word full on essay.I'm a Singaporeanand I love foodand of the many many things I love,I love spring rolls.I've tried many many popiah from many outlets.My favourite thus far is Qi Ji PopiahI love that Qi Ji

number seven

2007-08-14T10:29:00.000+08:00

I completely missed her birthday, since I spent italong with hundreds and hundredsof other Singaporeansout of the country.Which is apt, since this final piece is all about transits and transitions.I pay tribute to one of singapore's favourite icon, The Changi AirportThe love hate relationship we have with our biggest airport is symbolic of our love hate relationship with Singapore. Singaporeans

1 week, 15 films

2007-07-20T21:55:00.000+08:00

off to bangkok for my very first bangkok international film festivalactually off to bangkok for the very first timebeen doing abit of reading upDiscovered that google has got some pretty nifty tools. Google Maps is especially awesome. I'm using their My Maps tool to mark out my hotel and the Festival venue. Oklah, the image is alittle old, but all the BTS stations are there.I'm syncing this along

teh, satay, and stayin together

2007-05-08T18:23:00.000+08:00

Who would have thought you can blog 1500 metres above sea level?I'm sitting here with a borrowed ibook (thanks matt), typing this out on the cool lounge of Daniel's Lodge (info here). It's been a perfect afternoon. Was at the teh plantation tourist trap teh shop having my overpriced fresh teh and not so fresh scones, but wat saved the day was reading up on the new issue of Off The Edge magazine I

let's drive to Brighton on the weekend

2007-03-09T17:49:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone, Wow, it has been a while since the last update. Today is as good as any for a posting, so let's go. It is two weeks into the lunar year of the golden pig, and already i'm listening to alot of Bloc Party. A Weekend in the City, specifically, their new second album after Silent Alarm, which I still love dearly.I love that the album sounds as great in my

so long trev. i'll miss your soul nation

2006-09-26T14:35:00.000+08:00

hi everyone, a quick update for some big newswhen you count all the big soul dawgs dats out thereyou'll end up with a very very short listyou'll have dj jazzy jeffyou'll have giles petersonand of cos you will have the great trevor nelsonthis week, trevor nelson does his verylast Soul Nation episode over at bbc radio1http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/soulnation/as usual the selection is smooth

How now Mr Brown?

2006-07-10T10:56:00.000+08:00

Strategic opportunities for contentious journalism on the internetHi everyone, The world cup final is a coupla hours away, and since I have yet to watch a single WC match this year, I figured I should watch this one since the next one is 4 years away. Since I have time to kill, I figured I should drop a few words on THE hottest topic on the inter-net; Mr Brown getting dropped by Today.http://

road to guantanamo

2006-06-21T09:44:00.000+08:00

its my first movie in a cinema since SIFF(hey I finally saw king kong last month), so I though that that deserved a mini review.hootie mini movie reviewRoad to Guantanamo is the new romantic comedy from UK director Michael Winterbottom. Follow the madcap misadventures of a bunch of English punks as they travel from Pakistan to Afghanistan in search of the biggest naan in Asia. Set against the

SIFF 2006: Singapore Shorts - my list

2006-04-17T17:46:00.000+08:00

hi everyoneim back. for my report for the first quarter of 2006, I think i'll write about short films.yeah.after 3 days of back to back SIFF shorts, after watching all the finalists, and as much of the non-finalists as I could, here's my 2 cents recommend list for 2006. as usual, the best shorts are not always in the official finalist list. these are, for various reasons, the short films that

a blog update

2005-12-29T21:47:00.000+08:00

hi everyoneyep. looking at the dates, its been a while since there's been an update on this blog. i've been busy living life. its been good and i've been documenting it in several other ways. its 2 days before the year 2005 ends, so i figured, its a good time for some words.at the start of the year, i remembered asking some people what their favourite moments of the previous year were. some

F1 Hungarian: revenge of the mike

2005-08-06T15:34:00.000+08:00

its been days since the race last weekend, but i've been busy getting the grease on sam, who got hung at dawn. the gig was loud but the tshirt was sweet. its 12 bucks a pop, you can get it at the next one on the 18th.ok back to the race and what a race it was! first lap, first turn and the famous jacques attacks yet again. poor christian klein. when they said red bull gives you wings, they werent

where have i been?

2005-07-18T09:54:00.000+08:00

hello allits been, right about 2 months since the last entry. yeah. much has happened. lots of ups, some downs, and lots of coffee in between. let me itemize- went to a conference. met a beautiful girl with a distant voice and soulful eyes - had a gallery opening and khai ate gold- got the magazine in time for the arts marts audience- saw hamlet in arabian with machine guns on stage- young guns

my dodol week (24 - 30 may)

2005-05-26T01:18:00.000+08:00

hello everyoneits a super short last week of the month (hint hint, pay day)if that is not enuff reason to celebrate, then take a peek at three very important events happening this week1) the great singapore sale starts this weekclick here for the deals and offers//www.greatsingaporesale.com.sgthe deals and offers is only activated on the friday, hoh. so wait long long firstpersonally, i need

F1 monaco : what it means to be a ferrari fan now

2005-05-23T11:01:00.000+08:00

back in the world of brand name sport entertainment, interesting things are happening to the marquee brands. in soccer, brandname manchester united not only has to suffer the indignity of not winning any championship titles this season, but angering their fan base by getting a rich tycoon to become the new manchester united boss. it is a brand loyalty disaster at so many levels. and now in F1

singapore movies are oh so melancholic

2005-05-22T21:22:00.000+08:00

the moments before she left. let me see if i can recapi left the office early right after six to have porridge at home with the mum and the sis, then a quick shower and a rush to kaki lima cafe. it was really good to see adi, wahyu and adi's fantastically sinful oreo-revolution.jeannette was there. yt arrived. we sink into bliss. then dropped by straits records down the lane. i bought a slim

F1 barcelona : uncle mike. tyre puncture, 2 times ahh!

2005-05-08T23:03:00.000+08:00

After all that build up, the race itself turned out to be a dull showcase of technology. kimi won so convincingly, i have to make amends on all the mercedes jokes i've been making the past 12 months. kimi was so fast, so fast it looked like he was a red car painted black. big up to the mercedes team for finally getting it right and delivering a car that could stand up to full race length without1

hootie's picks of the week 050505

2005-05-06T00:16:00.000+08:00

i crashed a mac today. feeling quite depressed. soaint nuthing like music to make it all work againso its been a while. lets get it started Sexy Sadie - Moonage Daydreamno idea who's more sexy, but mac aint so sexy right now. this is all right tho. taken from Copy, rightMemphis Bleek feat. Jay-Z - Dear Summeris jay z retired? yeah right. dude is as busy as ever doing all this collabostaken from

i heart mimi!

2005-05-02T15:34:00.000+08:00

its been a while since my last post. well, much has happened. let me itemize them in chronological order1) went to see spell#7 duets. its been a week. its still playing in my mind. thank you paul and kaylene2) mr yashub rocks in his raoul shirt. dude, all you need now are the bling bling cuff links3) things are looking up in the formula one world. ferrari got beaten by renault, yet again. spanish

F1 bahrain : oh, ferrari got beaten by a toyota

2005-04-04T21:09:00.000+08:00

at the end of every formula 1 race on tv, the race analysis show will come on, its opening computer graphics being 3 racing cars going through the paces. ironically, the car that gets first place happens to be in red. oh. thats not right. michael schumacher did not win the bahrain race. his brand new engine fell apart.it must be dissapointing for ferrari, esp after rushing the new car through

ode to carnegies

2005-03-25T19:24:00.000+08:00

so much has happened in the past weeki did went to catch the grandmasterflash in zouk. the man was an incorrigble wanker.no doubt the zoukers lapped it all up.the next day, my man alonso got pole position on the grid in the malaysian F1 race, and he did went on to win the race . it was a triumph of guts, engine and awesome tyres.on wednesday, i attended a gut wrenching performance which is still

we are so

2005-03-19T15:04:00.000+08:00

this is so aptdullneon.combig up to the jaff manand in other news, big up to ma man alonso, i have faith in ya'all when the fireworks display pop off over bandar kl tonight,when the party people over at the Menara be shaking their booties,when the boys2men are left wondering wat the faq they are doingwith the backstreetboys in the departure hall of KLIA,i hope the boys in ferrari have a good

happiness is really good fish curry

2005-03-17T23:54:00.000+08:00

smell is that unfair advantage. did you know that the olfactory nerve supplying your nose is the First Cranial Nerve? there's only 12 cranial nerves coming out from your brain, and our brain has the good sense to give top honours to the sense of smell. smell is so important, our brain interlinks it in processes to produce and store memories. smell is like a neurochemical bookmark to catalog our

parking lot pimps

2005-03-15T00:11:00.000+08:00

"someone once told me, when you guys come back, come back with both guns blazing"and with those words, the parking lot pimps blazed on stage. G-ed up in matching G2000 blazers and unmatching adidas trainers, the pimps quickly filled the esplanade outdoor theatre with their latest reincarnation of their Urban sound, Exchanging straight club grooves for a funkier tone. breakin with a note perfect

why do i love F1? let me count the tshirts

2005-03-13T00:53:00.000+08:00

there are many different reasons to love formula 1 racing. the cars that run faster than a US launched tomahawk cruise missile headed to baghdad. the brakes made of pure pencil lead that glow red when the drivers body slam them on corners. the phenomenal G force so strong the driver's helmet need to slashed to the driver's shoulders. and of cos the hot pit ladies in dresses tighter than the

save sex. drug support 'em

2005-03-10T15:55:00.000+08:00

readers to the straits times must have choked over their pratas with this morning front page news. Dr Balaji revealed this hypothesis that the recent sharp spike in local HIV infection was from exposure to gay parties like Nation 04. mr brown has a good write up over here. as always, i have never been interested in adding my 2 cents to this hot topic.i am however more interested in solutions,

prayers for unfaithful women

2005-03-09T16:38:00.000+08:00

got a ton of pictures from this artist's weekend gigits been a while, but her performance is still stickin in my brain(yep, its that good)(actually got a ton of other snaps to uploadlet me get this connection proper first)laterhootie

F1 australia : ahhh, renault

2005-03-09T12:10:00.000+08:00

freaky rain halfway throu the qualifiers on saturday meant that the big dawgs (schumi, kimi, bari, sato) were racing wet, wild and all over the melbourne track. all that drama however did not translate into an exciting race on sunday. i was struggling to stay awake past the first round of pit stops. wat happened on the track? exactly nothing. all the drivers were basically going round and round

hootie's picks of the week 050304

2005-03-04T15:25:00.000+08:00

i've been hanging around chicks half my age and its been making me feel melancholically paternal. have you eaten dinner... make sure you drink more, its been so hot... dont stay back so late...john legend - ordinary people videos hereif norah jones grew a goatee, she will be john legend. i must be getting so damn old to be diggin such class 95 mush like this. but like i said, johnny boy has a

furious five or spinning alonso

2005-02-27T14:05:00.000+08:00

this is one of those things that gives me tooth decayon saturday 19th march, the reticent grand master flash will be finally getting up off his ass, into an airplane and do a tour of SEA. he will be spinning the night at a very very crowded zouk main room.on the same night, 500 km away in kuala lumpur, a very relaxed fernando alonso will be turning in for an early night in his plush hotel room,

oh dear

2005-02-23T22:29:00.000+08:00

its called the Otolith Repositioning Procedure of Semont and Epleyhelp!update 26/02/05it rained. and the room stopped spinning.all is good. no longer crashing my head on the kitchen table.now time for some radioclash

operated restorated

2005-02-22T13:37:00.000+08:00

music for good did a gig last weekend. it was very good.the poster and the gig clicksthe y auditorium turned out to be a perfect venue for a mega event like this. it was big, much bigger than the substation guiness theatre. it had proper sound (no doubt due to the swanky Line amps). the smoking corner is breezy. Macs is jus next door, so one can get greasy fries on tap. the wooden floor is ideal

i have lost friends and ear drums

2005-02-18T12:31:00.000+08:00

ow! last night's gig, i have lost friends, by the rascally chee wai was an exercise in volume control and sad brutality. i was dumb enough to place my ass 2 metres away from the main speakers and got the full brunt of the beautiful noise. it was so loud, sorry, it was so LOUD, my jeans were flapping.the posters for the gig was deceivingly peaceful. and chee wai's apple looked deceptively puny.

hootie pick's of the week 050217

2005-02-17T09:12:00.000+08:00

hootie picks of the weekim in the mood for lust, so let begin with my favourite pied piperR Kelly - Sex in the kitchen (single) mr kelly has been in repentance mode lately, doing pseudogospel schtick (U Saved Me, Happy People), so it is refreshing to hear some quality raunch for once.kelly have been doing the acapella versions of it on drop spots last year, the audience was lapping it up. im

100% happiness

2005-02-06T12:19:00.000+08:00

its great to wake up on a sunday morning and see this wonderful piece of newsGroup of 7 Agrees to Ease Debt Burden of the PoorNew York Timeslets do morehootie

hootie's pick of the week 050202

2005-02-02T15:56:00.000+08:00

hootie's pick of the week: 02 feb 2005Common feat Kanye West N Last Poets - Cornersoooh more good sheets from k west and his fav muse, Common.Common has a gift of stringing and streaming sylabbles, making them flow with little effort. and that good old k west production. dude still has wack delivery but his raps aintmp3 taken from the excellent http://www.cocaineblunts.com/Girlyman - MaoriFirst

2003-12-27T20:53:00.000+08:00

hello world