The Cats,Musical...

I went for CATS musical play last Sunday with my parents.It is composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber,Sarah Brightman's ex husband.

The Cats

Cats is a musical in two acts about a tribe of Cats who gather once a year to choose a member of the tribe to be reincarnated. The musical showcases characters from all walks of life who are metaphors of characters from different parts of society. Their stories are told through the poetry of T.S. Eliot and relationships are presented through choreography.

The History of Cats, The Musical

The musical first opened in the West End in 1981 and then on Broadway in 1982, in each case directed by Trevor Nunn and choreographed by Gillian Lynne. It won numerous awards, including both the Laurence Olivier Award and the Tony Award for Best Musical. The London production ran for 21 years and the Broadway production for eighteen years, in both cases setting historical long-run records. Actresses Elaine Paige and Betty Buckley became particularly associated with the musical. There was trouble during the beginning as Judi Dench, cast in the role of Grizabella, snapped a tendon during rehearsals prior to the London opening. The role of Grizabella was subsequently taken over by Elaine Paige; the role was beefed up for Paige and the song 'Memory' (originally to be sung by Geraldine Gardner in the role of the red cat Bombalurina) was given to Paige. It was originally produced onstage by Cameron Mackintosh. It was directed by Trevor Nunn, associate director and choreographer Gillian Lynne, designed by John Napier with lighting by David Hersey. It played a total of 8,949 performances in London. Its final performance in London's West End was on its 21st birthday, May 11, 2002, and broadcast on a large screen in Covent Garden to the delight of fans who could not acquire a ticket for the final performance. It held the record as London's longest running musical until October 8, 2006, when it was surpassed by Les Misérables.

The original 1981 London cast of Cats

The show made its debut on Broadway on October 7, 1982, at the Winter Garden Theatre with the same production team. On June 19, 1997, Cats became the longest-running musical in Broadway history with 6,138 performances. It played a total of 7,485 performances in New York. Its New York record was surpassed on January 2006,by , which was also composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Cats' final performance on Broadway was on September 10, 2000. It remains Broadway's second longest-running show in history.

In 1998, Andrew Lloyd Webber produced a video version of Cats, based upon the stage version, starring Elaine Paige, who originated the role of Grizabella in London; Ken Page, who originated Old Deuteronomy on Broadway; Sir John Mills as Gus; Michael Gruber as Munkustrap; John Partridge as The Rum Tum Tugger; and many other dancers and singers drawn largely from stage productions of the show. It was directed by David Mallet, with choreography and musical staging by the show's respected original creator Gillian Lynne in London's Adelphi Theatre, and was released on VHS and DVD, as well as broadcast on television worldwide.

I dreamt a dream.

I dreamt a dream-Les Miserables

I watched Les Miserables musical play in Broadway, New York City when I was there visiting my grandma and yiyi years back. I don't really like this play compared to the lively Lion King on stage. Les Miserables was too rich for me to digest, at that time.
What reminded me to talk about Les Mis is because of this you tube which I received :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk&feature=related

I learnt something from this SCOTISH SUSAN BOYLE-

-Courage and confidence

-Don't judge the book by its cover

-Everyone has his/her hidden talents and through PERSEVERANCE, success will be on one’s way

I applaud and salute to this 47 years old village mama-SUSAN BOYLE-hope that life WILL NOT
kill her dream as she dreamt.

Ps: I would like to keep this lyrics-I DREAMT OF A DREAM-in my blog

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high and life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted
But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they turn your hope apart
As they turn your dreams to shame
He slept a summer by my side
He filled my dreams with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came
And still I dream he'd come to me
That we would live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather
I had a dream my life would be
So different from the hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed

The need to be responsible

Today,we were lectured by Ms Soh YET AGAIN.It is for the need to be responsible and the need to be punctual...

Firstly,what does "responsibility" mean?? Does it mean :
To be the state, quality, or fact of being responsible?
Or does it mean something for which one is responsible; a duty, obligation, or burden??

In my opinion, I think that it means both definitions because,responsibility means duty.When someone is responsible of something,he has a duty to fulfill but as a blogger, you are responsible for what you write.You are no less responsible than the Washington Post or New York Times. You are no less responsible then AP or Reuters.

Is the quote "I had forgotten to bring" used as a reason or a good excuse?? It is mostly used as an excuse.Although all of us are imperfect and we will make mistakes but we should try to minimise the number of mistakes that we make.We should write down small notes that can help us with remembering what we are supposed to bring or do tomorrow. This is a news article on a blogger's responsibility:

"A blogger has been arrested for posting a racist rant on his website that has stoked an online firestorm.

The 24-year-old was taken into custody on Tuesday evening at his Paya Lebar Way home, said police.

They accused him of making posts which 'may wound the racial feelings of another person'.
A computer, believed to have been used to make the post, was also seized for investigations.
The case came to light following two police reports made on Monday complaining of a virulent online message. It described a man whom the author saw sitting on the floor of an MRT train.

The post, which was made on March 18, described the man as 'smelling like he didnt showered in years' and said he was wearing 'some really scary dirty clothes'. It went on to make racial remarks about the man, and even challenged anyone of that race to refute what he had written."

What does this mean?Does this show that we Singaporeans are irresponsible?? Please comment on this post and answer this question .

Thank You.

Freakishly Funny Videos!

Take a breather while watching these two videos that I have found on youtube.Ha ha ha ha ha!

Golfing and Friendship

My friends from Catholic High School told me that its bit bored to read my blog as it seemed to be a reporting channel and piled with all school work too profound to be digested. Be frank, I felt the same way too, maybe, if time permits, I shall write something based on my life in Hwa Chong Institution and my life while I am still growing up.

Just two days ago, I received my dream club - a loft wedge. It was from my dad’s old friend, David, from Los Angeles. I met Uncle David two years ago during our visit in California. I learnt golf at the age of 6. Due to parental support, I am fortunate enough to golf in many beautiful and scenic golf courses all around the world. However this year onwards, sad to say, I have to sacrifice my golf to play more squash and to master this racket game. Not only golf, coach told me to stop playing tennis too-another favorite sport of mine-as the positioning is totally different from squash.

In life, we always face choices. The hardest to do is to decide on which to own and which to sacrifice due to certain constraints. Now, staring at this new loft wedge which I long to have, I asked myself: “When can I swing my golf club again? And where are my golf buddies to share the precious moments together on the golf course? May I urge now---Anyone in my class plays golf? Can we swing together on the golf course? Please let me know and I shall arrange a flight to tee off.

Another issue I want to voice out is—The Los Angeles friend-Uncle David-was my dad’s primary school friend and they have been bosom buddies for more than 35 years. The amazing thing is this group of friends, separated in all parts of the world, will meet up twice yearly for golf and good food in any countries so long as there are nice golf courses. What keeps them together? Simply because they were childhood pals and they share the same hobbies-golfing and travelling. Most importantly, they treasure their friendship and enjoy one another’s company.

I am proud to be a Hwa Chong student and an ex-Catholic High boy. I hope my friendship with all my old and new friends, will last and one day I can proudly tell my children the same story that my dad told me about him, his friends and his golf trips!

New things to introduce!!

Haven't been blogging for a while due to preparing for French test and Maths test. I regretted of studying French instead of listening to mum, and to study Bahasa Indonesia. The reason is because I came to contact with some Indonesians who came over to my class for exchange programs and realized that if I were to study Bahasa Indonesia, I would be given a chance to go back to Jakarta and stay in the boarding school there. I really feel at home when I am back to Indonesia, be it in Jakarta or Bandung. This is so probably because I am holidaying and I am far away from all the stress back in Singapore, be it school , family ... etc. Another reason for me to study Bahasa Indonesia is because I feel so handicap during the last interaction with the Indonesian students. I simply understood what they meant in Bahasa and yet, due to my limited vocabulary, I could hardly relate my messages to the Indonesian students!

Maybe I should act fast - drop French and pick up Bahasa Indonesia?! Will HCI allow me the switch?

Another thing that I would want to introduce to you:
There is a very interesting Youtube video which I really want to share with you . It is done by my paternal cousin, Aaron Fu, who stays and works in Prague. He is not only an IT freak but also a well-informed young chap. He is really a very detailed guy, I have to learn from him! Take a look at his ‘STARBUCKS” production, you will know what I mean!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn1O-1OSo6w

Adolf Hitler- Good Leader or Great Leader?

As the title shows, I will be talking about the aspects of being a great leader, a good leader and what Adolf Hitler was.


Characteristics Of A Good Leader-

1. Good Values-
A good leader is someone who can be trusted to lead others. They have good character and is honest with integrity. They lead by example and earns the right to be a leader. This is especially obvious in the military where high ranking generals have lead from platoon level all the way up to division level.A good leader strives to be the best and not second or third in their group.

2. Confidence-
A good leader is confident about his own abilities. In order to lead a group, the leader needs to show he or she is confident and able to set directions. He/she instills confidence in others which in turns excels them to do the best for the team.

3. Passionate-
A good leader is passionate about his/her work. Leaders are often asked to be motivators and enthusiastic. Without passion for their work, it is difficult to motivate others to do the same. A good leader will lead by example and be willing to do the dirty work.

4. Assurance-
A good leader needs to display order in chaos. Many times, people look to leaders for directions and instructions in times of uncertainty. They look to seek assurance and security and the leader needs to display decisiveness and positive attitude.

5. Persuasion-
A good leader is able to speak in front of the public confidently and these speeches must be persuasive so that the public will be able to build a trust in this person that he has good hopes for this school or country and that he will be able to do well if he is the leader.

6. Visionary-
A good leader is able to think analytically keeping the end result in mind. A good leader needs to keep in mind the big picture while at the same time, breaks it down into actionable steps for others to follow or perform. He also needs to be able to gauge the progress being made and think about the consequences of every action that he does.

7. Gain Respect-
A good leader also needs to remain calm and composed in the face of uncertainty. Other people will look to him for assurance during times of difficulty. He needs to be decisive and follow through on his decisions.

From all these points that I have mentioned above , can you already see and know which type of leader Adolf Hitler is??

He is a great leader, motivating the Germans to fight and take revenge against the 'allies', who defeated them during the World War 1. His motive was to take revenge and to wipe out the Jews.Not only that ,he also had a vision ,that was to raise German to be a global superpower.He had much more visions and also good communication skills , able to motivate and encourage the German army to move forward when they were facing great difficulties and not just fall back and give up easily.

He was a decorated veteran of World War I, Hitler joined the Nazi Party in 1920 and became its leader in 1921. Following his imprisonment after a failed coup in 1923, he gained support by promoting nationalism , antisemitism and anti-communism with charismatic oratory and propaganda.

He was appointed chancellor in 1933, and quickly established a totalitarian and fascist dictatorship. Hitler pursued a foreign policy with the declared goal of seizing Lebensraum ("living space") for Germany, directing the resources of the state toward this goal. His rebuilt Wehrmacht invaded Poland in 1939, leading to the outbreak of World War II in Europe.

Within three years, Germany and the Axis powers occupied most of Europe and large parts of Africa , East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean. However, the Allies gained the upper hand from 1942 onward and in 1945 Allied armies invaded Germany from all sides. His forces committed numerous atrocities during the war, including the systematic killing of as many as 17 million civilians including the genocide of an estimated six million Jews, a crime known as the Holocaust.

Thank You for reading my blogpost.