Now That's What I Call CHANCE!

What do you know of chance? I've often wondered why, even though I know so many people, that I rarely (almost never) meet anyone in public coincidentally. True the chances are mathematically improbable, and there's also the time factor involved, not to mention the social justifications and demographics, but somehow don't you feel that you should be bumping into more people you know?

And of course, Lady Luck has that knack of dumping a whole lot on you at one time.

So yesterday I went out to Plaza Singapura to catch A-List with a bunch of friends (it was an okay movie; not spectacularly awesome, but entertaining nonetheless). So as I'm walking around I notice Nadia singing on the stage for some Great Eastern Kids' Performance competition thing. Cool. I went over to talk to her mom and wish Nadia good luck, then went to buy snacks (for the movie, obviously). And in the supermarket I met Kathy's mom. So we chat for a while, and I rush off to catch my movie. I'm walking past the stage again, and the previous team had just finished performing The Emperor's New Clothes and are being interviewed by the host. And who do I spot at the front of the group but Elena. I didn't get the chance to talk to her, but I did wave at her, and she kinda waved back, so I guess it's cool.

So ladies and gentlemen, that's not one, not two, but THREE OM-related people I met in one day.

Seriously, what are the chances?
The Edna Man

Break Into Song

Okay, so I've been watching Improv Everywhere's musicals again, and I had this idea, see. This really awesome idea, which borders on the "how-the-hell-are-we-supposed-to-pull-this-off". But it's still really awesome.

Improv Everywhere has done quite a few spontaneous musicals, which, if you want to argue about it not being actually "spontaneous" when the performers rehearse beforehand, are technically spontaneous to the people who are watching. And it's a really great idea, both playing on the fact that in musicals (Broadway, movies, whatever) people can suddenly just break into song and dance, just like that. It's a very magical thing to observe.

The only problem is that the songs are mostly one-offs, that don't connect to a broader picture. It sure is entertaining, but it isn't part of a bigger story. But maybe we can change that.

So what my idea was is that we can have a whole musical, performed in public places all over a city or town. The ultimate combination of public art and Improv Everywhere-ness. I was thinking of having a story which requires people to travel all over the city looking for something, maybe within a day, and so at different times in that one day, the next song of the musical would be performed, according to a story. The people at each spot would be entertained by that single number, but only get a fragment of the story.

Maybe that's good, maybe not. So I'm thinking again, what if the producers had hidden cameras at each of the locations, and at the end of the whole thing, tied everything together into a single movie musical? A whole story of spontaneous musicals erupting across the concrete jungle.

That my friends, would be epic.
The Edna Man

AUTO TECH(TRAINEE)

You know why it's so inefficient? Let's look at it from the economic perspective. You've got a constant influx of surplus labour who are guaranteed job security and a minimum wage for at least a year and a half with no drawbacks unless you get caught, and how often do they police? Add this to the cultural mentality of "it's not my problem anymore" and "don't give me trouble" and you get an inefficient workforace which gets the job half done and cannot respond to quick changes within the system.

Sigh. Why doesn't MDC want me?
The Edna Man