I’m dreaming of a green Christmas… The only snow we get this time of the year comes in the form of those packing Styrofoam balls when we open some of our gifts. Not surprisingly, with all that gift buying and parties, Christmas is one of those holidays where there is plenty of excess and wastage….
Author: morgaga
Writer for hire. Nothing more poetic than that. Based in Singapore.
Masterminds (Film Review)
Let’s be honest. This is one of those SNL casting heist featuring that anti-hero with an unpronounceable name – Zach Galifianakis. With that out of the way, and in the great tradition of other awkward leading men before him such as Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller and Steve Carell, the hirsute Galifianakis drives this comedic vehicle…
36 Perfect Christmas Gifts Your Mom Will Actually Love To Use
Why stop at Mother’s Day and birthdays to show appreciation for your Mom? Christmas is coming, but we know getting the perfect Christmas gift for your Mom that makes her life easy can be tricky. So this Christmas, we take the stress out of choosing gifts by shortlisting 36 perfect Christmas gifts for Mom that…
The Transcendant Words of Shoko Kanazawa
It happened in a split second. As Shoko Kanazawa received a freshly-dipped brush from her mother Yasuko Kanazawa, she bent over and kissed her mother’s hand. My throat tightened – it was such a moment of spontaneous gratitude. Born with Down Syndrome, Shoko’s story is one of birth and rebirth, inked by a father’s wisdom and…
35 Quick & Easy Ideas For Awesome Christmas Cookies
Fact: Christmas magically makes any cookie calories disappear. And if indulging in them makes us a little thicker around the waist, well, there is always the New Year resolution (ahem)! Jokes aside, there’s nothing that brings a Christmas celebration together like a heartwarming recipe. What can be more fun than baking Christmas cookies with friends…
Salaam
For the price of a stay-cation at Marina Bay Sands, I can now fly to Tehran. Tough call – not. Thank you Thai Airways! ❤
The Disappointments Room (Film Review)
I can’t help but feel like there should be an apostrophe in the title. But that’s not the only thing that is missing in this horror-mystery from director D.J. Caruso and writer Wentworth Miller. Dana (Kate Beckinsale) is an architect with a purpose, led by her well-meaning husband David (Mel Raido) to a recent purchase…
River (Film Review)
River (Gtsngbo) plays out a family’s complex relationship against the panoramic but sequestered mountains of Tibet. Director Sonthar Gyal anchors his film with stunning child acting prodigy Yangchan Lhamu, who takes us on a story arc of a jealous child rejected from her suckling habit as her mother bears a new child in her womb, while being…
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – CONTAIN YOUR EXCITEMENT (HOTEL REVIEW)
It’s a novel enough concept – having designer rooms carved out from containers to accommodate the quirky traveler. The Container Hotel in Kuala Lumpur pitches “sustainable architecture”. Freight containers and concrete pipes are compartmentalised into living quarters for the weary traveler. A small weary traveler preferably. An unexpectedly early bus arrival (4.30am) led me to…
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – COMING FROM BELLO (HOTEL REVIEW)
Boutique hotels have a lot of competition. Just like artisanal and handcrafted, boutique belongs to the family of overused words that occasionally breaks their promise. Bello & Bella Boutique Hotel is situated in the residential segment of Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. Amidst a colourful mix of businesses, the establishment manages to keep said promise as a curated stay in this…
The 9th Life of Louis Drax (Film Review)
Which came first – the over-protective mother or the accident-prone child? Aiden Longworth is the title boy Louis Drax – an intelligent but troubled kid who has an unfortunate annual ritual of getting into near-death experiences. As his mother Natalie, a nostalgic glamour figure played by Sarah Godon, saves him each year, she makes reference…
Sarawak Rising
Emerging from the famous rainforests of Sarawak is a jungle of another kind. Dubbed The Land of the Hornbills, you’ll be hard-pressed to actually sight one of the majestic birds if you ever visit Sarawak, but you might find in its stead, from the other end of the spectrum, a rising destination for MICE events….
Getting Around or Going In Circles?
When Circles was launched earlier this year, I was stoked. Even in the early days, I’ve liked supporting underdogs in monopolised fields. I remember Mr Branson’s Virgin Mobile fondly with their new fangled plans and snazzy stickers. So after being “under the sun” for almost 20 years with nothing to show for it except rising bills and…
The Sound Of A Bomb
Terrorism in Singapore – are we unfazed or unaware? Dominic was a Facebook acquaintance of mine. Well, ex-acquaintance. “Stupid security staff,” he ranted, in a post about his morning’s random bag-check at the MRT. “Can’t even do his job properly. Do I look like a terrorist?” He cursed. To which I asked, “how is a…
Of filters, walks and song
A natural filter comes over us, and disregarding the smell, it brings a surreal quality to the quieter parts of Singapore. Hello Indonesian haze. In between two appointments, I took a 30-minute walk between City Square mall and Shaw Towers, and came across a nice stretch of boardwalk just behind Victoria Street. Extended decks and…
AT CAFE 6 (FILM REVIEW)
It’s strange to leave the cinema with a heavy heart and not know why. Baffled, I went for another screening the next day. I sniffed at the potential cliches but came out choking on my tears. I certainly wasn’t expecting this from At Cafe 6 (六弄咖啡馆). When You Are the Apple of My Eye became a…
Lessons in Foresight & Grace: The Schoolings
It’s not easy being an athlete in Singapore. If you’re lucky, you get some form of public funding. But most will have to fight it out on their own. Such was the case for Joseph Schooling – now Olympic gold medalist in the 100m butterfly event. And already the credit-claimers are circling en masse. Look…
Singapore Is Heading To Space
But it’s not what you think. It happened when I was watching this year’s new National Day music video. As the 6-piece 53A strummed away, singing about “Tomorrow’s here today”, icons of nostalgia like a plastic stool, formica tables, trishaws and now-celebrated dragon playground were paraded with pride across the screen. But remembering how that…
Apprentice (Film Review)
“F**king scholars.” If the chuckles from the audience are anything to go by, Boo Junfeng has once again demonstrated his skill in capturing popular sentiment. And yet he likes to encapsulate these responses in forgotten and unpopular (even controversial) environments. In this case, a prison. Larangan Prison is a maximum security security fortress, and houses “punishments…
Of why I enjoy my bus rides
Because it usually accords me a seat. And because sometimes, moments like these appear, where three strangers get lulled by the bus into a deep sleep, all made lethargic by the beating summer sun of Singapore. I love my bus rides.
SAPA, VIETNAM – GONE SAPA TREKKING (VIDEO)
When one finds enough time to sit and coordinate between social medias, one can finally release a video on his channel. The day before, Mount Fansipan had me. As I struggled to the summit, I was firmly facing downwards quite a bit of the time, focusing on planting one foot in front of the other….
From Köfte to Kopi
Murat Salman shares his induction into Singapore’s lifestyle, with lingo to match. Amidst the bustle of the Starbucks at Change Alley, Mr. Salman chuckles as he recollects his first days here in Singapore. “Now going about 7, 8 years back, now I can smile – those moments.” Born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, Mr. Salman…
Get Your Calm On
Breath in. Breath out. Is it that simple to get rid of stress? It’s amazing how much your average worker repeats the “Monday Blues” mantra, while taking every chance they can get to splurge on therapies of the retail, food or travel kind. And small wonder. In 2012, a poll taken by the Health Promotion…
Ba Yan Ka La – Transforming the Oriental Luxury Experience
One moment I was in the urban confines of Tangs, a multi-brand departmental store in the hub – buzz of Orchard; the next, a wood cabin in the fringe mountains of Tibet, redolent with the musky aromas of hanging herbs, chopped roots and bubbling butter tea. I guess I must be more careful where I…
Acquisition or Retention: Chicken vs Egg
When will we stop looking at numbers that don’t matter? So you, the proud business owner, have everything in place – a shop, a system, and more than enough spirit. You give out flyers, go social on Facebook and Instagram, offer promotions and even had a little dalliance with Groupon (shhh, we won’t tell). But…
The Beginning at The End
It’s the last day of 2015. It feels like something should be observed. But all I’m really doing this last day is to start my blog. I’ve done this several times before. On Blogspot. On Livejournal. On Tumblr. But a lack of focus has always thrown me off. Life has a way with distractions. But…
Cream, Custard & Christmas
Christmas in the tropics is never the same as our pole-inclined neighbours. Visions of white can only be found floating around as soapy foam; or laid out in cotton pillows on sparkly trees during the yuletide season. For bakeries, scenes of unfamiliar snow are fastidiously recreated on fallen logs of sponge and cream. So what…
Adrift
I’m anchored mostly to my pier. One made of weather-worn planks aged 36 years and a little more. I think I hear it creaking these days. It’s not a pretty pier, studded with barnacles and wrapped by strands of watery undergrowth, but it’s my own private dock, shaped from my own hands. I’ve forgotten what…
The Russian Cosmonaut (From “Another Earth”)
Another Earth is a poignant investigation into a person, their life and second chances. We have explored so many “what ifs” that if personified, it might turn out to be Mike Cahill. But this is not a review of his film. I wanted to highlight a moment that left an indelible mark on me, transcribed below. Go watch…
After 35
I was going to prune a flowering plant when a bee flew to it. I then thought, “Okay I’ll leave you be.” Then I chuckled to myself. It has begun.
MORGAN AWYONG 