ampulets

The week running up to my returning to work, I have: (1) Fallen sick. A friend cleverly suggested the symptoms were all psychosomatic... (2) Met up with friends every night for conversation and a drink (or two). (3) Bought a new TV to numb the brain after work. (4) Downloaded the super addictive Bejewelled on my iPhone, as suggested by J, for the daily commute. (5) Finally started working proper on My Life as a Magician's Rabbit . My Life as a Magician's Rabbit is a 4-part story (for now) that's been in my head for years. To start with, there are no drawings yet and I'm not sure if the text will inspire images eventually. But if you are interested to follow the story, I'm determined (ah, all gung-ho before reporting for work) to post a new installment once a week at this site for the coming months. Otherwise, life goes on. There'll still be random posts on this blog about art, cinema, design and any domestic tourism we indulge in. J will continue bossing it ...

Ai WeiWei at the Mori Museum, Tokyo - all images by J Three conversations (or rants) about "Why Not?" (1) The "Why Nots" of Old Over a cup of coffee in Katong, a good friend was recalling his years growing up in Toa Payoh. He said, or as I recall him recalling, "everyday I would hear this: don't bother, this is not for you; yes others can do it, but you must understand what you are capable of; you don't have to try so hard, just focus on...When I was much older, I suddenly realise, f*** it, I can do whatever it is I set my mind to do." It's never too late, friends. The devil at the door (2) Art and "Why Not?" After a discussion with some folks about the arts in Singapore and what they want or see in the future, I felt a little depressed but did not know why. Everything I heard was linked, in one way or other, about what we could "realistically hope for". They were not entirely wrong. With limited resources in...

I have three two more weeks till the end of my "sabbatical". I place that word in quotation marks because after listening to Stefan Sagmeister (on TED.com, video embedded above) speaking about his year out in Bali, I think I need to use a far more modest term.

all images by J Notwithstanding this , J and I do try to explore at least one district that we've never been to each time we visit Tokyo. This year, it was Jimbocho . It's a name I almost feel should be an exclamation. Like "Jimbocho!" or "J-I-M-B-O-C-H-O!" Especially if you love books.

The Aosando art fair pairs up artists with shops in the backlanes of Aoyama. A great way to get traffic to the quieter shops, and to get people to notice new artists. On each of our visits to Tokyo, J and I have always ended up going to the same restaurants, museums and retail stores. Today, for instance, we chatted with one of the chefs and walked down our favourite street to the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo. But just as we note how Tokyo has changed (or not) each annual or biennial interval, I think we notice how we, too, have changed (or aged!!!) each time.