Jonah Man Jazz, performed by Beverly St. Mary's C of E Primary School

This is a song I heard *once* from a pal who was in a choir. Quite unforgettable, but unfortunately, I could find no record or full lyrics.

It was only recently I learned it was from "Jonah Man Jazz" by Michael Hurd.
I'll see if I can get hold of a copy of the music sheet somewhere. So far, this is the only recording I found on the internet.
"Now Ninevah city was a city of sin
The jazzin' and the jivin' made a terrible din
Beat groups playin' a rock an' roll
And the Lord when he heard it said
"Bless my soul"

Now the people wouldn't listen
danced night and day,
No time to work, no time to pray.
They went on dancin' by day and night
Til the Lord he said;
"Now this ain't right"

The Lord he pondered a subtle plan,
He looked around for a righteous man.
Saw Jonah sittin' neath the pineapple tree
And the Lord he said
"That's the man for me"

A righteous man that I can trust
to raise this city out of the dust
The man that's sittin' neath the pineapple tree
I'm certain sure, sure, sure Is the man for me."


http://www.stmarysbeverley.eril.net/updates/updates.shtml
http://www.stmarysbeverley.eril.net/special_events/choir.wmv
1st March, The choir sang Jonah-Man Jazz for the school before performing
at Hull City Hall.

A moment's sleepiness, a hole in the pocket, and lessons hopefully learned

I learned (hopefully, and never to repeat) that

1. Taking a shower after a tiring time is no protection against sleepiness when driving to work at noon.  The tiredness come from taking care of the kids in the morning this week during their term-break, and general fatique from having 2 children in general.

2. A moment of dozing off can cause an accident.  Just because I've been driving the same route for donkey years don't mean my body can drive in autocruise mode without the mind/brain being alert.

3. Despite all the thorns in life, I am still thankful to be alive, to get relatively minor damage in the form of scraping the car to the metal barrier without injuring any person or getting into an accident with other vehicles.

4. Replacement car from insurance plan have terrible smell.  It is not the smell like other cars of my friends, or even a taxi.  Just can't explain how it could have gotten it.  I had a couple of replacement cars years back when my car was knocked from behind by a taxi, and then less than 3 months later, a motorbike.  All had the same funny smell.

5. Subaru Imprezza - I'm not impressed.

6. This is about a lesson learned from previous accidents: whatever happened - always call Snowylady the soonest to tell her in person what happened.

Tree pruning requires consistent effort, but it's worth it.

http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/news/story/0,4136,166717,00.html The New Paper, June 6, 2008 Bedok shopkeeper to estate management: Why cut down a healthy 17-year-old-tree? By Tan May Ping FOR 17 years, the mango tree grew undisturbed. The mango tree in Simpang Bedok that shopowner Gabriel Tan believes should not be chopped down. But now, it is at the centre of a conflict between a shopowner and the Management Corporation (MC) of an estate in Simpang Bedok. Mr Gabriel Tan, 52, is trying to prevent the MC of Bedok Shopping Complex from cutting down the tree. He feels they have not given a good reason to do so. The MC's lawyers recently sent a letter to Mr Tan demanding that he 'immediately cease and desist from hindering or otherwise obstructing' the contractor from felling the tree. The MC is made up of owners - elected at the annual general meeting (AGM) - who run the estate, while Kenwood Property Consultants is the estate's managing agent. On 17 May, Mr Tan said a worker approached him in his shop and asked him to remove his pickup, which was parked under the tree. He said he saw some workers with a chainsaw, and it then dawned on him that they wanted to cut down the tree. 'When I realised what they were going to do, I refused to move my vehicle,' said Mr Tan, who is authorised to speak and act on behalf of his father, who is the owner. Mr Tan has run his audio equipment business there for 12 years. He said he was told by the MC that the owner of the private house next to the tree had complained that the leaves were falling into his backyard. TNP Pictures: JONATHAN CHOO The police were called in, and it was decided that the tree should not be cut down until clarification was sought from the National Parks Board (NParks). The contractors left after an hour, said Mr Tan. He then went on the Internet and found Mr Joseph Lai, who is actively involved in the conservation of trees. He contacted Mr Lai to ask for advice on how to handle the issue. Mr Lai, a trained botanist, told The New Paper he inspected the tree and found that it was 'perfectly healthy' and posed no danger. Mr Tan sent faxes to the managing agent appealing to them not to cut down the tree. Then, on 31 May, he got a shock when he received a lawyer's letter threatening legal action if he continued to hinder the removal of the tree. The letter said the MC had approved the felling of the tree by a majority vote, and had obtained the necessary clearance from NParks. But when contacted, an NParks spokesman said its approval is not required as the tree is in a private compound, and not within a tree conservation area or on vacant land. When contacted by The New Paper, the MC chairman declined comment. The estate, which is also known as Bedok Market Place, consists of shophouses and a central marketplace. The owner of the private house next to the tree said he was surprised that the management had decided to remove the tree. The retiree, who declined to be named, said the tree had not been pruned for three years and was getting 'heavy on top'. He said he had not asked for the tree to be cut down, adding: 'Last October, I asked the MC to prune the tree. That's not the same as felling the tree. 'We have overhead electricity cables and if the branches fall on the cables, we would have no electricity until they are repaired.' Mr Tan said several businesses do not want to get involved, but gave him their support. One of them, a restaurant owner in his 40s who did not want to give his name, said it would be a waste to cut the tree down. He said: 'It gives joy to many people. During our breaks, we like to sit outside under the shade of the tree. 'The tree also bears so much fruit and you can see the smile on people's faces when they pluck the fruits.' Mr Tan said he would bring the matter up at an upcoming AGM.

Where can I order and get a nice 2kg cake by Friday morning ...

Forgot I was supposed to order it for my daughter's b'day celebration with her childcare ...

Print-To-Screen: The Chronicles of Narnia

Have yet to seen any of the movies, but I do seriously wonder how far could they stick to the original stories.

I read an article recently from Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine about the thoughts from mystery writers on their works transformed from print-to-screen.  Basically, one of them summed it up when he said to the effect of, "The novel is what belongs to you, your vision.  The film does not, it is the vision and creative work of someone else."

I guess that really settles the issue of "faithfulness" of print-to-screen.

Back to Narnia, its dramatization by major producers has no shortage of criticism, not least by Philip Pullman who himself received a lot of criticism from "Christian extremists".

I read the original Narnian novels and I have no doubt that I do not agree with some of his views.  What is more pertinent though was I recognise that some of the passages in the novels targetted the symptoms rather than the underlying causes.

As Mike Myers put it in his first movie as Austin Powers, "if we had known ... we'd have done it differently but the spirit remains the same."

So what to make of the Narnian series?

First of all, I have no apologies about it, I don't see myself as an apologist in the first place.  It is Lewis' story, not mine.  He's not around to defend himself, and I don't presume to speak for him.

But certain criticisms, like what Philip Pullman said of Susan, were simply untrue representation of the novel.  I had nothing against Pullman or his Golden Compass, but what he did here was disappointing and a lack of integrity.

What is a more significant issue though is the portrayal of the Calormen, with the original novels indicating descriptions with unmistakable inspirations from the Near/Middle East.

The moviemakers of LOTR basically glossed through this challenge when they portrayed the Easterlings and Southrons.

As human beings, nobody likes their culture or society to be stereotyped, though descriptions of smelly masses in marketplaces by portcities could well be factual (and applicable to just about any bustling port/trading city around the world).

Of course, in the first place, the Calormens were fictional, and just as fictional as Ming the Merciless who had traditionally been portrayed like a sinister Mandarin, a la Fu Manchu.

Well, I don't see the point of avoiding portrayals just for the sake of not offending people, but again, the first question is to ask what is the original message saying.

Stage and films are just interpretations of the original story, and each adaptation is almost a different story on its own from the original - that's why there's endless remakes of Shakespeare and all.

First translation published

Saturday, 31 May 2008 - Met up with two high school pals & families for dinner.  Found out that the Chinese book fair is on @ Suntec.  That reminded me that my translation was supposed to debut at the fair.

Sunday, 1 June 2008 - Visited the fair just to confirm it.  Sure enough, it was.

http://www.asiapacbooks.com/product.asp?pid=783

I also drafted the blurb on the website which was found at the backcover.

The final decision on the title to be translated from Di Zi Gui to "The Student's Code of Conduct" though was not my idea, nor was I part of the decision making.

Snowylady asked me if I felt proud of the book.

Well, proud isn't the word.  After all, I'm not the original author, nor illustrator nor extrapolator.

But it does feel good that I felt I contributed something towards setting a standard towards translating ancient Chinese teachings that might be difficult to understand or appreciate in English in today's society.  And also towards putting in references in such publications, something which was not a strong point in many Chinese publications, not just Asiapac's.

I do hope they will offer me another assignment, though Snowylady does not.

I also hope to be able to come up with my own work for publication, starting with something similar along the lines of their current product range (mainly introducing Chinese culture and history to the general public).

Anyway, I was given a few complimentary copies, so Moon, I'll keep one for you in you're still interested.  I really won't want you to buy it just because of my involvement in it, and after you're done with it, feel free to pass it off to someone else or donate it.

I do of course, welcome any feedback, comments and criticism if anyone has any to make.  It's the only way to help me improve.