Let's talk tennis, Real Tennis

I am a Real Tennis convert. I will never, ever be able to watch lawn tennis again without thinking, "Ho hum, what a boring, slow, simplistic game."

My friends took me to the final of the International Real Tennis Professional Association National League 2003-2004 Division One Finals. The games took place at the Royal Tennis Court in Hampton Court, residence of Henry VIII, Bloody Mary, Elizabeth I, and William & Mary. Amongst the players featured in the matches were the third, fourth and fifth ranked players in the world, so the standard was as high as one could expect. The action was extremely intense, and the games were extremely close. What impressed me was the large amount of strategy and quick thinking needed.

Real tennis is scored similar to lawn tennis, and played in a similar (albeit indoor) court. However, there are a few key differences:

Firstly, the court is asymmetrical. One side is the service side, the other is called the 'hazard' side. Both sides offer different advantages and disadvantages.

Secondly, when the ball bounces twice, it's not an automatic point. Instead, it's called a 'chase', and the point where the ball bounces the second time is noted by the referee. Then (but not necessarily immediately), the players will switch sides, and the player who had the ball bounce twice on his side now has a chance to do the same to the other guy. If he can get the ball to bounce twice closer to the back wall then the other guy, then he wins the point. If not, he loses the point. It's like a challenge- for example, HORSE in basketball. Except, instead of making the basket, you try and outdo your opponent.

Thirdly, there are bit of courts (the grille, the dedans, and the winning gallery) where, if you hit the ball into, you get an automatic point.

Those are the basic differences. It's definitely a fantastic game of skill and strategy, requiring lots of fitness and strength as well. The rackets are smaller and the balls a lot harder, which not only makes the ball travel faster than lawn tennis (up to 160 miles an hour) but also makes it much harder to hit- especially since only wooden rackets are allowed. Also, getting hurt by the ball is a real danger. It has a core of cork, like a cricket ball or a baseball, covered in felt, making it look deceptively soft.

I can see why lawn tennis is more popular- it's a simpler, slower game which can be played outdoors, and doesn't require as much effort on the part of the spectators to follow the action, making it much friendlier to the spectators. It's easier to learn, easier to play, and you don't have to be as fit to play it (of course, the top professionals of both sports are all tremendously fit, I'm talking about casual players).

However, the sheer spectacle, challenge and athleticism of real tennis, in my mind, is superior and more enjoyable.

60 views of Singapore

For those of my readers who have never been to Singapore, this site offers some 60 views of interesting Singaporean architecture by a foreign freeland graphics and web designer currently residing in Singapore [N.B.: Requires Flash]. It shows many views of Singapore, presented at unique angles which you don't normally see these buildings at. It also presents certain views of Singapore which you won't find in the glossy promotional brochures and pamphlets put out by the Singapore Tourism Board- crumbling, old buildings with character and distinctiveness, aging buildings from the seventies, ancient pre-restoration shophouses, and so on.

The audio commentary on this site is interesting as well- it is clearly the voice of a man who doesn't know that much about Singapore's history or identity, but rather addresses each photograph as a study in architecture and design. In doing so, he isolates each structure from its historical context. However, his perspective also offers insights which might be otherwise unavailable to the average Singaporean.

(Caveat: I haven't had time to listen to all the commentaries, so YMMV.)

The Bridal Registry

How do people choose what to put on their wedding registry?

One of my closest friends is getting married at the end of May (the same day I have two exams- great timing, Sylvan!) and along with the invitation card they sent a link to their registry at Bed, Bath & Beyond. Feel free to go buy them some stuff.

A brief look through the selection of items leaves me perplexed:

1 "Waterproof Queen Mattress Pad". So no one has to ever sleep in the wet spot, I assume...

1 "Oxo Nylon Square Turner". What's a square turner? It... turns squares?

1 "Grater Rotary Oxo". A rotary grater? It rotates while it grates?

1 "Oxo Good Grips Nut/Seafood Cracker". For whenever he misbehaves, I suppose.

1 "Gourmet Roasting Set " and 1 "8-Piece Cake Decorating Set". Good grief, they are ambitious. Traci sure as hell better be doing a lot of roasting and cake decorating! I'm not going to get them a cake decorating set and find that it's collecting dust in the corner. When I go visit, I sure as hell better find plenty of cakes with extravagant checkerboard patterns and three foot high statues made of frosting on top!

3 "Brown Sugar Bears". Apparently, a Brown Sugar Bear helps keep your brown sugar moist up to three months.

1 "KitchenAid® Silicone Grabber". Who amongst us has never felt the need to grab a handful of silicone?

1 "Leonardo Mug/Bttl Brsh". For painting and sculpting?

1 "Progressive 18" x 24" Pastry Mat". As opposed to the pro-life, pro-guns pastry mat.

1 " Jumbo Stainless Steel Spoonrest". Okay, this is getting ridiculous. Why can't they put their spoon down on the table? Or on a plate?

1 "Invit Grddl Dbl Brnr Set". Vanna, I'd like to buy a vowel.

It is rather revealing. Their items fall into two groups: nice stuff for the bed, and nice stuff for the kitchen. It shows their priorities: cooking, and a comfortable bed. Food, sex, sleep: my friends have their priorities right!

So, what will I get? Same thing I do with all my other friends who have gotten married: I'm going to send them a nice card.

My Huckleberry Friend

Breakfast at Tiffany's is a beautiful movie. Every time I see it I walk away feeling bittersweet and wistful. It's such a popular and well-loved movie that I feel no need to recap any of it here, or to give any background. Actually, if you haven't seen it, then do yourself a favour and go watch it with someone you love, or want to love. It's that sort of movie. However, as with any movie, try to watch it on a big screen, as I did tonight. It adds a whole new dimension to the film. I never noticed before that Holly's sofa was actually a bathtub with one side sawn off- you can still see the legs and the taps on one side.

While Audrey complete dominates this movie, I believe that the essential blandness of George Peppard contributes to this movie, by making his character more of an everyman, not only a strong contrast to Audrey's incredible caricature but also as a canvas on which we can project our own emotions and feelings as we watch Holly flit her way across the screen. The fact that Paul Varjack also has a questionable past and has had to make moral compromises in order to survive and prosper adds to his appeal.

First and foremost, Breakfast at Tiffany's is a fantasy, a movie that follows Hollywood conventions and presents a glamourous look at a three act storybook romance, complete with happy ending and moving theme music. But oh, what a fantasy. And even if we get to inhabit this beautiful world for just a short while, we are so much better off for having been able to go there, breathe its intoxicating fumes, and believe that dreams really do come true.

True Singaporeans, Part II

The cutting edge of Singaporean political satirical humour can be found at Brown Town. Mr Brown writes with an extremely observant eye on the latest happenings in Singapore, sparing nothing as he writes scathingly and wittily (in a Singaporean way, of course). Most popular is his Singapore National Education series, in which he takes recent news and draws lessons from them. Often, he looks at what the government is doing, which alone provides a wealth of material. It would be side-achingly hilarious, except that it's all painfully true. He's been doing this only since 1997, and originally on an irregular schedule, but easily accumulates so much material that he's up to part 98 now and has made his SNE series biweekly.

Mr Brown is also a columnist for the newspaper Today and while he is equally scathing and funny in his columns, he also has shown a thoughtful and tender side. In one of his recent columns, about the government policy on 'responsible breeding', he questioned the moral implications of such a policy. He wrote touchingly and lovingly about his autistic daughter, a girl who does not fit into the government's vision but who is a human being who is loved and cherished by her parents. The piece is moving and thought-provoking, and reminds us that in the government's obsession with efficiency, economy and equality, all too often they lose sight of our humanity.

Quote of the Day

"This is one person who, rather than allow democracy to flourish , has decided to exercise force. We can't allow that to stand."

- George W. Bush on Moktada al-Sadr

Yes. One person's decision to use force is a terrible way to create a democracy...

Change Is Good

I have just decided that from now on, instead of saying "yes", I will say "aye".

Just because it's my life and I can do whatever I want.

Aye!

Zatoichi

What an incredible film. Best movie I've seen this year. It combines awesome and mesmerising martial arts, zany humour, varying types of beautifully performed Japanese dance, rhythms from everyday sounds, violent buffoonery, cross-dressing, beautifully depicted classical Japanese culture, wonderful cinematography and artery-popping gore.

Seriously, how can you not love a movie which features a completely random full length tapdance number? Every movie should have one!

Thoughts on The Passion of The Christ

The Passion of the Christ is a deeply moving and thought provoking movie. It lived up to everything people have been saying about it- its scope, its effect, its violence, its portrayals of the characters, and its controversy.

It also left me feeling slightly ill as I left the cinema. There came a point in the extremely lengthly crucifiction scene when, as Jesus fell for the umpteenth time, I thought, with mild annoyance, All right, I get the point already. He's suffering. I know he's suffering. Do you really have to belabour the point?

Which I feel is the chief weakness of the movie. That in striving for maximum visual and emotional impact, Mel Gibson has reduced what is a moving and affecting story of sacrifice and redemption into a comic book caricature, full of violence and gore and melodrama but lacking the dignity which Jesus conducted himself with.

My other impression is how much it resembles Monty Python's Life of Brian (soon to be re-released in a cinema near you). It's as if Gibson studied the movie's mise en scene, cinematography, costumes, and various characterisations (especially of the Romans) and based Passion closely on that!