your urban guide to dweebiness

Zipping up about buttons already

Turns out that someone had already summarized the entire synopsis of TCCOBB - in a single paragraph of prose, no less.

Moreover, from a remarkably optimistic perspective

Original’s in Italian (i think??), here’s the translated version:

Life should be lived in reverse.

Beginning in your dying moments on a hospital bed and recovering backwards day after day.

You’re released from hospital because you’re better and before anything else you draw out your entire pension and enjoy it.

As time passes your strength grows, your physique skyrockets and the lines on your face disappear.

You start working and on the very first day you’re given a gold watch as a gift.

You work for the next 40 years for as long as you’re young and are capable of enjoying the fruit of your labour.

You hop from party to party, drink, play, make love and then prepare to start school.

At school, you live a life of play with absolutely nil obligations and responsibilities until you become a baby.

When you’re tiny enough, you’re placed - inserted - into a place you would henceforth know only too well.

The last 9 months you spend floating in absolute serenity, kept warm with room service and plenty affection without anyone bugging your ass off.

And finally, you leave this world in an orgasm.

Button’s Up! (Con’t)

The poignancy of the show stayed with me long after I trudged back home and into bed.

In fact TCCOBB turned out to be so affecting I spent much of the night being ruminant and contemplative about life and love, and I’m really not that type.

Pitt’s performance was disarming in the sense of how much of an anti-protagonist his portrayal of Benjamin Button was, considering the title of the movie.

I recall the adage –

“(a) some people make things happen,

(b) some people watch things happen and

(c) some people wonder what happened.”

While we are used to our lead characters playing the role of (a), Benjamin was really more of (b) and that’s why I was kinda like, (c).

That being said, some of the filmwork in TCCOBB is simply astounding and captures some of the most memorable scenes I’ve witnessed in my entire (albeit short) career as a cinematographic-voyeur (for you non-industry types out there, that translates to “movie-goer”).

Benjamin’s regeneration and subsequent regression from a withered crinkly old man into a doe-eyed infant is not the only thing in reverse; the 146min-long adaption bucks the novel-to-screen trend of slicing and dicing the narrative and actually expands on Scott Fizgerald’s six-page short story.

From a dorky geek trapped alarmingly in a frail and dwarfish frame, Benjamin grows increasingly assured as he reaches his prime (circa real Pitt’s era) and it is there when he sweeps childhood sweetheart Daisy (played resplendently by an ageless Cate Blanchett) off her feet in a whirlwind but ultimately ephemeral romance.

Fact is, the histrionics of TCCOB is not found in any particular scene or setpiece a la Forrest Gump but rather surfaces as a permeating sense of heartbreak for the inevitable end.

This will probably be a polarizing film for most critics, but I think we’ve got a keeper here and I’m thinking, Casablanca of the 21^st century.

Button’s Up!

As the credits rolled, i was decidedly undecided about TCCOBB.

My immediate thoughts were how flatlined the narrative appeared to be for what was meant to be a soaring, inspirational epic (or so i thought it was meant to be..).

This one could be a slow-burner. More on this later.

Freedom of Nespression

Officially, the singular item on my 2009 wish list this year.Was having a casual walk at the Mall with the Family when we were drawn by the greatest smell on planet earth - the aroma of freshly brewed coffee - to a little unassuming booth/space. Seeing that we were already baited, what with the glazed nespression (there you go!) on our faces, the sales person proceeded to make two cuppas of cappucino as a sampler.

After quickly downing the smooth, frothy Heaven-essence that it was, I was ready for the sales dude to make the “alternate-choice” sales closing technique - “Would you like the black one with the cup-warmer or the white one which goes nicely with your Macbook?”

Thankfully enough he didn’t ever pop the question and some research online quickly revealed that it would have been significantly cheaper getting it outside of the Country.

Regardless, I am so getting it. There is no NESCAPE!

I’m crazy like the rest of us.

not sure if he’s going to perform in this garb at the SIS but..

JASON MRAZ IS COMING TO TOWN!

His Mosaic visit in 06’ was a stripped-down (yes, pun absolutely intended), acoustic performance at the Esplanade with just him and Toca, and it worked well in the dreamy, intimate setting with Jason showcasing his soaring pipes (I’m a rocket maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnn…….).

Singfest 08’ was quite different  - with the full backing of a (7-piece??) band/orchestra, it turned into a groovy, ground-stomping party with throngs of people handing out high fives and low doughs to one another. Fun fun fun.

Which brings us to his gig here in 2009. Honestly i did have my reservations splashing out $100 bucks for terrace seats at SIS what with its less-than-stellar acoustics, but there’s probably not a better live solo act in the scene right now IMO.

Plus, 10,000 tics sold out within 3 days and I actually regret not profiteering - I was one of those crazy ones (like the rest of us) sitting at my computer terminal at 9.00a.m waiting for ticket sales to go live.

March is looking to be so awesome!

Out with a bang and a sloggy splash

Now I’m not a big fan of gruesome health warnings on cigarette boxes, but  ladies and genteel man, i think we have found the definitive proof that smoking does make you age.

BEFORE - Need a shave but looking sharp

AFTER: 10 years and 65,731 fags later…

Oh, about the game. First off, it certainly demonstrates the gargantuan storage capacity of the Blue-Ray disc (and its compression capabilities). Thousands of hours (or so it seemed) of insufferable die-a-logue permeate the drama-mama, guffaw-inducing moments that are unpacked during Old Snake’s three-min smoking breaks.

Hideo, Hideo, for being the legend and visionary that you are, you still should have exercised some restraint! The original Metal Gear was perhaps ahead of its time in terms of the sheer interactivity and immersive experience it provided, but I’m not sure how this game is going to hold up 10 years from now.  A full hour’s worth of old farts commiserating is not my idea of Before Sunset’s “interactive” version!

Ah, but when you get to play it, its actually pretty good. Gameplay’s about the only part which benefits from MGS4’s overblown approach. The action is fast and visceral, set-pieces are tight and well driven, the bells and whistles are in place (ooh, i can eviscerate friggin Geckos with mah’ Ray gun!).

Still love ya, Snake. But perhaps your resting place should have been Shadow Moses.

#@@(*@#zenit! Give me my Gooners jersey already.

Come on, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Arshavin. Nomenclature wise, it already makes sense.

Don’t make me kick your Ars.

Hullo, hullo

Its apt that U2, the prehistoric “rock band of the ages” should attempt to make history with an album title that essentially proclaims their dominance not just in eons past but in futures yet to come. No Line on The Horizon, set to launch worldwide in 03 March, comes laden with expectations that U2 can never leave behind with every album release.

Producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno have once again taken great pains to declare NLOTH’s innovation and reinvention of rock music; perhaps U2 would have been better off remaining as the Hype, for the irony that Bono loves.

Having heard the beach clips (yes, bono singing amidst ambient sounds of slushing waves and chittering french dudes) and read tonnes of sneak reviews, previews, interviews - myview (ok, bad one) is this: the quality of u2 albums the past 30 years is analogous to the financial cycle.

This is how it works- Stocks rise exponentially (Boy, War, Unforgettable Fire) with slight but short-lived corrections (October) eventually hitting a peak (Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby) before slowly declining and bottoming out (Zooropa, Passengers, Pop). The market picks up again at a considerably measured rate (All that you can leave Behind, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb) compared to its beginning and ultimately end up at a peak higher than the previous one.

Which brings us to No Line On the Horizon.

What did I say about the hype again?