8th Occupational Therapy (22.6.07)

22 June 2007

With the end of my 4 months MC, I returned to camp last week. After much rush and a long ride on bus #21, I am 30min late for the session today...

For the past 2 weeks, my left hand is very much overworked. This lead to much stiffness, aching and mild pain at the fracture, knuckles and wrist. There was mild swelling at the fracture; blue-black sensation at my 2nd, 3rd and 4th knuckles and reduced flexibility... Knowing this, Pei Fen noted that today's session will focused on grip strength...

Again, this session commenced with the 15min fluidotheraphy. As I didn't get much sleep in camp, I am really tired and sleepy through the whole session and I nearly fell asleep while doing fluidotheraphy. My tiredness is so obvious that even Pei Fen noticed it...

After fluidotheraphy, I proceeded to the BTE PRIMUS exercise machine in the exercise room, squeezing the grip handle of a higher force level. The increase in force level transformed this exercise into a demanding task. It made my left hand very much redder (it was already red from fluidotheraphy) and blister-like sensation was felt at the centre of my left palm... Concurrently, Pei Fen needs to attend to another patient.

Another therapist requested to use the BTE PRIMUS exercise machine, so Pei Fen brought me to the metal rack and instructed me to shift 4 sand bags of 2+kg up and down the rack for 5min. This exercise was very tedious for my wrist and biceps... Next, I'm back at the BTE PRIMUS machine. Being assisted by a therapist assistant, I would need to turn a knurled knob and a medium screwdriver. For both exercises, weight would be increased gradually. The knurled knob exercise caused mild pain and aching at my mid-joints and at the muscle group between my 4th and 5th metacarpal. The medium screwdriver exercise caused mild aching and tension at my wrist...

In contrast to the previous treatments, today session is among the longest in duration and the most tired. This might be due to physical fatigue and the increase difficulties of the exercises...

Being rather famished, I had an early dinner at TTSH Kopitiam food court, eating lemon chicken rice and a big pau at B2 café before going to Orchard for some shopping...

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8th Occupational Therapy (22.6.07)   © 文彬 2004~2024. All rights reserved.

平成風俗 / Shiina Ringo

11 June 2007

椎名林檎 Shiina Ringo
平成風俗

21.2.07
6th album
TOCT-26210

tracklisting
1 ギャンブル
2 茎
3 錯乱 TERRA ver.
4 ハツコイ娼女
5 パパイヤマンゴー
6 意識
7 浴室
8 迷彩
9 ポルターガイスト
10 カリソメ乙女 TAMEIKESANNOH ver.
11 花魁
12 夢のあと
13 この世の限り

purchase date 10.5.07

review
I have difficulty classifying this album. "平成風俗" is a concept album recorded live by an orchestra of over 70 members. Although labelled as an original album, "平成風俗" actually contained 7 previously released tracks that easily qualified as a best album. But yet these songs are not really enough to conclude her 8 years career. Besides, "平成風俗" also doubles as the soundtrack for movie "さくらん", in which Shiina Ringo took on the role as music director for this manga-inspired film. Shiina Ringo collaborated with reputable conductor Saito Neko, who arranged or rearranged all the included tracks.

The first track "ギャンブル" is extracted from the concept single "絶頂集" released on 13.9.00. The new arrangement features a jazz band and a full orchestra of 15 violins, 6 violas, 6 cellos, 4 double basses, a harp, a piccolo, 2 flutes, an oboe, a clarinet, 3 trumpets, 4 french horns, 3 trombones, a tuba, timpani and percussions. This resulted in a grand big band jazz sound that sets the right mood for the entire album. "茎" is the all-English oricon #1 single and the theme song for her directorial debut "百色眼鏡". The arrangement switched from the traditional Japanese folk sound to a tranquil classical mood that matched the English lyrics better.

Written completely in English, "錯乱" is the coupling track of the advance single "この世の限り". Recorded by a full jazz band, this album version of "錯乱" also delivers a retro jazz sound similar to "ギャンブル" on track 1. Following next is one of the two lead tracks of this album "ハツコイ娼女". Unlike the previous 3 tracks, "ハツコイ娼女" features an urban dance sound. It generates a significant amount of mystery, created by the strong strings and woodwind sections that are combined with the distorted vocal of Ringo. I like this song.

"パパイヤマンゴー" is actually a cover of jazz standard "MANGOS". Ringo did a modest job for this cover, nothing really outstanding. "意識" is the B-side off the single "茎". Like its A-side, the original eerie arrangement was simplified into an elegant big band sound that is perfect for ballroom functions. The new arrangement of "浴室" is actually a hybrid of the original version from her 2nd album "勝訴ストリップ" and its English alternative "la salle de bain".

Originally included as the B-side of "茎", "迷彩" retains the original jazz sound, but completely removed the eerie atmosphere from it. This made the song more pleasant and enjoyable. "ポルターガイスト" was previously included in her 3rd album "加爾基 精液 栗ノ花". The original train sound at the beginning was removed, resulting in the new arrangement of "ポルターガイスト". This simplified version offers a more tranquil and relaxing sound than the original.

"カリソメ乙女" was first released as a digital single on 11.11.06 and an alternate version was later included in the "この世の限り" single. The album version of "カリソメ乙女" is another simple ballad with all-English lyrics. "花魁" is the other lead track of this album. Like "ハツコイ娼女", "花魁" is another urban dance track atypical of Ringo. However, "花魁" is even more avant-garde, with its trance-like mood and upbeat tempo. "花魁" is my favourite track in this album. Both "ハツコイ娼女" and "花魁" have creative CG PV that perfectly suits the lyrics and mood of the songs.

Originally, "夢のあと" was the jazz ballad finale of "教育". The new arrangement of "夢のあと" is again a simplified version. Released as the advance single for this album on 17.1.07, "この世の限り" is a duet between Ringo and her brother Shiina Junhei. I don't like this song when I first heard it. The disappointment caused by "この世の限り" greatly reduces my anticipation for this album. But luckily, I was proven wrong after listening through the album. "この世の限り" is a very simple ballad, too simple compared to her older works. It took me a very long time to like this song. In fact, it is very common to take ages to appreciate works by Ringo and I'm growing to like "この世の限り".

Featuring a big band & jazz sound typical to the 1960s, "平成風俗" is a very huge departure from her previous 3 solo albums or Tokyo Jihen works. "平成風俗" is quite similar in style to "加爾基 精液 栗ノ花", but "平成風俗" is not eerie. It is much more pop and easier to digest. Ever since making her comeback from her pregnancy, Ringo's sound has been evolving towards jazz music. In fact, she has strayed so much away from standard pop rock that her older fans might not like "加爾基 精液 栗ノ花" and "平成風俗". After hearing this album, it is really hard to imagine that Ringo was actually crowned the Queen of Shinjuku-Rock in her earlier career. Overall, "平成風俗" delivers a high amount of creativity, detailed elements of jazz and big band, great surprises in the rearranged tracks, and the courage in making music of minority genres.

recommending #1 ギャンブル, #4 ハツコイ娼女, #11 花魁
rating 10/10 excellent

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平成風俗 / Shiina Ringo   © 文彬 2004~2024. All rights reserved.

愛 am BEST / Otsuka Ai

大塚愛 Otsuka Ai
愛 am BEST

28.3.07
best album
AVCD-23271/B

tracklisting
CD
1 桃ノ花ビラ
2 さくらんぼ
3 甘えんぼ
4 Happy Days
5 金魚花火
6 大好きだよ。
7 黒毛和牛上塩タン焼６８０円
8 Cherish
9 SMILY
10 ビー玉
11 ネコに風船
12 プラネタリウム
13 LOVE MUSiC
secret track
99 BABASHIのテ―マ
DVD
1 桃ノ花ビラ Music Clip
2 さくらんぼ Music Clip
3 甘えんぼ Music Clip
4 Happy Days Music Clip
5 金魚花火 Music Clip
6 大好きだよ。 Music Clip
7 黒毛和牛上塩タン焼６８０円 Music Clip
8 Cherish Music Clip
9 SMILY Music Clip
10 ビー玉 Music Clip
11 ネコに風船 Music Clip
12 プラネタリウム Music Clip
13 LOVE MUSiC Music Clip

purchase date 10.5.07

review
It has been a very long time since I'm so pleased with a best album. The reason is because recent best albums were very commercialize and were simply released to make huge profit using the lowest budget. There is little new materials and minimal sincerity. However this problem does not seems to exist in "愛 am BEST". The CD of "愛 am BEST" includes all single A-sides released within 2003-2005, whereas its respective PV were included in the DVD. Plus, the booklet also published the image of the single besides the lyrics of its respective song. This is something simple that provides a thorough review of the artist. While this seems like a necessity, it is ironically rare in many best albums. Furthermore, numerous behind-the-scenes photos are compiled. The making clips of most PV were also edited into a special credit roll.

"愛 am BEST" opens with ai's debut single "桃ノ花ビラ" (literally translated as peach petals). Written as a tribute to her friend, "桃ノ花ビラ" is a high quality debut from a singer/songwriter. The use of traditional Japanese musical instruments reminds me of Namie's evergreen classic "NEVER END". Filmed in a forest (I think it might be the same forest as the PV of globe's "genesis of next" and dream's "Yourself"), "桃ノ花ビラ" has a green PV that is enhanced with CG effects to add an animated peach character, butterfly-like peach petals and many other insects. Notably is Cyndi Wang did a Chinese cover of "桃ノ花ビラ" in her 3rd album.

The second track is ai's breakthrough signature tune "さくらんぼ" (literally translated as cherry). This lively pop-rock has a minimal retro-jazz touch. Similar to many SPEED's euro-pop songs, "さくらんぼ" is capable of brightening up a gloomy day. It has been a very long while since a J-pop artist released a new song from this genre, which brings back fond memories. "さくらんぼ" has a cute PV centring on shades of red complemented by a variety of pastel colours.

Beginning with an Oboe solo, "甘えんぼ" (literally translated as indulgence) is a typical ballad that yields little surprises, especially after hearing 2 great singles. Despite being an Oboe player and my strong love for Oboe, I don't like "甘えんぼ" as I find it boring. But "甘えんぼ" is still a decent ballad of acceptable quality, just not as good as other outstanding ballad by ai. Filmed during winter in a park of Tokyo, "甘えんぼ" do have a beautiful PV starring ai as a cat spirit. Again, a wide range of pastel colours was used to create a cosy ambience.

"Happy Days" is a catchy summer pop-rock much in line with her hit "さくらんぼ". "Happy Days" rocks much tougher through extensive use of bass and drum beat. However, ai distorted vocal and the numerous "um!" in the chorus can get annoying at times. The PV of "Happy Days" is filmed in a pseudo-outdoor set with rolling field and bright blue colour sky. This exaggerating PV fits perfectly for the song, especially with the use of loudspeaker.

"金魚花火" has always been my favourite song from ai since watching her performing this song in "a-nation '04". The arrangement of "金魚花火" consists of an acoustic piano accompanied by numerous types of mallet instruments that truly replicate the style of traditional Japanese music. Fireworks is an essential element of summer in Japan and fireworks play a key role in the lyrics of "金魚花火". The use of bass drum to create the sound of fireworks being ignited enhanced the loneliness and desperation on a summer night. This beautiful ballad with poetic lyrics and creative arrangement fully demonstrated the multiple talents of ai. "金魚花火" has a very beautiful PV and the full story is available in the DVD of her 2nd album "LOVE JAM".

"大好きだよ。" is another of my favourite song from ai. "大好きだよ。" is a ballad performed by a mini orchestra and arranged with a little rock sound added. It is upon hearing the demo of "大好きだよ。" that avex decided to award ai a contract. "大好きだよ。" has a very sad PV showing memories of ai with her dying boyfriend. An alternate pv is included in her 2nd album "LOVE JAM". The animated version features Ai's self-drawn cartoon rabbit character "LOVE" and this is the pv that introduced me to Ai.

"黒毛和牛上塩タン焼６８０円" was recut from "黒毛和牛上塩タン焼７３５円", the lead song of her 2nd album "LOVE JAM". It was rearranged from an acoustic jazz song into a ballad-rock number and renamed "黒毛和牛上塩タン焼６８０円". The strange title of this love song originated from Ai's favourite dish from a restaurant in her hometown Osaka. Both versions have its strength and weakness, so it is hard to decide which is better. The hilarious PV of "黒毛和牛上塩タン焼６８０円" features ai in gothic rock-chic image barbequing pieces of beef for the actor. For the cover art, bull horns are even added to complement this dark image. I really like this concept.

Being a huge fan of manga "NANA", ai participated in the tribute album for the comic by contributing "Cherish". "Cherish" is a ballad-rock performed under the image of REIRA, the vocalist of TRAPNEST, one of the band featured in the comic. Being a fan of "NANA" myself, I like "Cherish" because this ballad-rock fits the image of TRAPNEST more closely than Ito Yuna's songs. The PV of "Cherish" creates the exact gothic ambience of Scotland where TRAPNEST likes to record their album in the comic.

"SMILY / ビー玉" is ai's first single to debut #1 on oricon. Like "さくらんぼ", "pretty voice" and "Happy Days", "SMILY" is ai's typical cheerful happy-go-lucky pop-rock tune with a cheeky PV. "ビー玉" (literally translated as marble) is a medium tempo cute pop song with a colourful PV. I personally think that "ビー玉" is the worst song in this best album.

"ネコに風船" (literally translated as cat and balloon) shows ai venture into country-rock. I don't really like "ネコに風船" initially, but after watching the PV, I am instantly hooked to this acoustic guitar piece. "ネコに風船" has very creative lyrics that is written from a cat's perception on the human world and ai's writing style is very similar to literature of the Showa period. The lyrics are complemented with a retro Showa-style image and a PV that perfectly suits the theme.

"プラネタリウム" (literally translated as planetarium) is my 3rd favourite song after "金魚花火" and "大好きだよ。". Featuring acoustic piano and alto flute, "プラネタリウム" delivers a traditional Japanese music vibe similar to "金魚花火", but the overall ballad-rock arrangement creates a more modern sound. Despite being a great song, "プラネタリウム" has the most boring PV in this collection, with only very few scenes that can be considered beautiful.

"フレンズ -サバカン ver.-" was initially planned to be included in this best album. However, the confirmed tracklisting replaced it with "LOVE MUSiC". "LOVE MUSiC" is extracted from her 3rd album "LOVE COOK". It is a country-rock, but unlike "ネコに風船", it has a more varied arrangement that is enhanced with a Bassoon. Quoted from her "LOVE IS BORN" premium live, "LOVE MUSiC" is ai's message to her fans. The PV of "LOVE MUSiC" is specially filmed for this best album. A heart is placed in the centre throughout the PV.

Creativity can be found throughout "愛 am BEST". Even the title has double meaning of 'I am BEST' and 'Ai is the best'. Creativity is most notable by having the secret track recorded on track 99, a reference to her birthday (9 September). In order to do so, tracks 14 to 98 were deliberately left blank. The secret track, believed to be titled "BABASHI" is ai's typical whacky track that keeps repeating the only lyrics "BABASHI" throughout.

Like the CD, the DVD also contains a secret track and it is even trickier to find it. To watch this secret track, user have to process a set of command in between the skydiver opening and the menu. User needs to press the DVD Player Remote Control ↑ button 9 times, → button 9 times, ↓ button 9 times, ← button 9 times and finally pressing the enter button. Immediately after the execution of this command, the PV of "BABASHI", titled "BEST OF BABASHI" will start. The menu will appear after "BEST OF BABASHI" ended. This command also works for overseas (OS) version, so there is no need to buy the much more expensive japan (JP) version for this secret PV.

It is a deliberate decision that the 4 newer singles released after "LOVE COOK" were excluded from this best album. It is likely due to limited storage to record 18 songs in a CD or because ai's 4th album is in the pipeline. "愛 am BEST" would have been better if Ai had included the lead song of her first album "しゃぼん玉" into the tracklisting and printed her full discography in the booklet. Otherwise I'm really very satisfied with this best album. Those interested with the DVD should watch the animated PV of "ユメクイ", as it is created with reference to all PV prior to it.

recommending #5 "金魚花火", #6 "大好きだよ。", #12 "プラネタリウム"
rating 10/10 excellent

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愛 am BEST / Otsuka Ai   © 文彬 2004~2024. All rights reserved.

7th Occupational Therapy (6.6.07)

06 June 2007

Today is the 6th time I'm taking bus #21 to TTSH and the 70min long bus ride has slowly evolved into an enjoyable experience... On the way, bus #21 would bypass Bedok Reservoir, Eunos, Geylang, Kallang and Jalan Besar before reaching Novena. Something unforgettable along the way would be the morning buzz at major bus stops, scenic Bedok Reservoir in the cool morning, busy traffic at Eunos, bustling Geylang Serai, Circle Line Stage 2 construction, funeral in a corner shophouse at Geylang Lorong 36, flats besides Kallang River that are due for demolition, hardware shops at Jalan Besar, City Square under construction, charcoal workers loading charcoals along Serangoon Road and the quiet Mcnair estate...

Besides admiring the roadside scenery, I would listen to my beloved discman playing the tunes of Yaida Hitomi "Single collection" (1st ride 22.3.07), Ito Yuna "HEART" (2nd ride 19.4.07), Every Little Thing "Crispy Park" (3rd ride 27.4.07), Shiina Ringo "平成風俗" (5th ride 23.5.07) and Ito Yuna "HEART" (6th ride 6.6.07) to kill time and prevent motion sickness...

Upon reaching my destination bus stop at St Michael's School, I would need to cross the overhead bridge and zebra crossing, before walking up Sinaran Drive to arrive at TTSH. This brisk stroll up the gentle slope act as an adjustment interval after the long ride on bus #21...

Today's session began with the routine Q&A and measurements by Pei Fen. For the past 2 weeks, there is still stiffness and aching at the joints when I wake up in the morning. Pei Fen explained that it is very common for many patients. I incidentally found out that pain can still be felt at the fracture while doing the wrist exercises to form a fist. I also told Pei Fen about the blue-black sensation felt at my 3rd knuckles, which Pei Fen said that massaging might help reduce that feeling. Above all, Pei Fen told me that my left palm is suffering from muscle atrophy...

Unlike previous session, we have a young secondary school teacher Ms Norshida (phonetic) as observer today. Ms Norshida is here at TTSH as part of MOE's effort to enhance Pastoral Care syllabus...

Again, the 15min fluidotheraphy made my left hand red instantaneously. Next, I am back at the BTE PRIMUS exercise machine, where I trained turning the knurled knob, squeezing the grip handle and turning the medium screwdriver...

Today treatment is a shorter one compared to previous sessions. After the treatment, I had lunch at TTSH Kopitiam food court, eating cai fan, before going to the pharmacy to buy a pink Stitch soft toy for myself... As usual, I go to Orchard for some light shopping...

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7th Occupational Therapy (6.6.07)   © 文彬 2004~2024. All rights reserved.

Jim Jim 22nd Birthday

01 June 2007

Jim Jim is my baby bolster.

Jim Jim is among the first gift that Mumy gave to me, because Jim Jim was made in June 1985, when Mumy was 3 months pregnant with me. Jim Jim becomes my transitional object. Besides accompany me to sleep, Jim Jim will follow me to wherever I go and whatever I do at home.

Happy Birthday Jim Jim. Thank you Jim Jim for accompany me all the while.


jim jim, my baby bolster

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Jim Jim 22nd Birthday   © 文彬 2004~2024. All rights reserved.