mrbrown.com

See What Show: Wonderland

I watched Director Chai Yee-Wei’s latest film, Wonderland, very early on, alone in his company’s mixing studio.
By the end of the film, I sat there in the darkness, a tear in my eye, a lump in my throat, trying to process my feelings, and reflecting on my own family histories and stories.

I have to say, this is one of the best Singapore films I have watched in a while.

The performances by Mark Lee, Peter Yu and Xenia Tan were authentic and moving. The ensemble cast of neighbours were also very entertaining and real.

And Yee-Wei really captured the vibe of Singapore in the 1980s.

Go watch it. It deserves all the awards it has won so far. It deserves your time.

Japan All to Ourselves: a Photo Essay

Two years after we went to Japan at the tail end of the pandemic, I finally got around to developing and sharing my film photos from that trip with my wife.

(Read the full post and see more photographs at https://brown.exposure.co/japan-all-to-ourselves or view the embedded version below.)

Japan All to Ourselves by Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure href="https://exposure.co" style="text-transform:uppercase">Exposure

Saying Farewell (for now) to Marc Nair

I was honoured to perform at Marc Nair’s farewell event, WEAVE.

Just like him to do a live show with so many moving parts, days before his departure for Canada, with his wife, Carolyn.

You can take the artist out of the country, but you can’t take the artist out of Marc.

So, together with many talented friends of his, we did our bits in song, spoken word, poetry, improv, movement, and performance art.

We hope we did him proud. We will miss the two of them as they pursue new adventures, beyond our shores.

And I hope to reunite with my longtime partner-in-crime, partner-in-music, and partner-in-comedy, when he returns.

いってらっしゃい, my old friend!

[First 10 photos by me, with my Nikon ZF and Voigtlander 50mm F1.0 Nokton aspherical Z.
Last photo of me by Daniel Tan, with his Fujifilm X-T5 and Fujinon XF 50mm F1.0 R WR.]

Asia-Pacific Number One Voice Artist too

The Golden Lady is mine!

I am this year’s Asia-Pacific winner for Best Voice Artist 2023 at the Asian Academy Creative Awards, for playing Uncle Dong in Downstairs (IG: @meetdownstairs) Season 3.

I am honoured to be in the same category with esteemed talents like Japan’s 2023 National Winner, Yoko Shimada, and Malaysia’s 2023 National Winner, Rob Middleton.

Thank you for the trophy, Asian Academy Creative Awards.

Thanks to Mediacorp, and Ervin and Bern of Robot Playground for the opportunity to be part of this animated comedy series with an awesome comedic cast, for three whole seasons!

It is awesome to get Downstairs the recognition it deserves!

And thanks to my family and loved ones who believed in me.

Above all, to God be the glory.

(Photo of me on stage kindly taken by the sister of Ms Yoko Shimada, IG: @yokoshimada_voicedemo)

Singapore Number One Voice Artist wor

I just found out I am the National Winner for Best Voice Artist 2023 at the Asian Academy Creative Awards, for my work on Downstairs Season 3.

And I am also in the nominated list for the Asia-wide grand final in December 2023. Thank you for the honour, Asian Academy Creative Awards!

(Now I can add Award-Winning Voice Artist to my bio hahaha!)

the mrbrown WFH Show Season 7 #1

I resumed the podcast after a long hiatus. We are now in Season 7.

Season 7, Episode 1. In a new year, in a new home, in a new endemic phase of the pandemic. Sunday, 5th March 2023.

Listen to my daily podcast at:

Anchor: https://anchor.fm/mrbrown/

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mrbrown-show/id1257186706?mt=2

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4to1LaQmDX2ffXJRmTEjEb

This old tee

Yes. I still have this tee. How many of you bought it back then and still have it?

I couldn’t fit into it for a long time but I can fit into it again.

Wow, 2006 felt like just yesterday.

#IYKYK

Twitter Refugees, I am now on Mastodon

I am now on Mastodon as @[email protected].

Use my Invite link below to join this server and follow me.

kopiti.am/invite/6C5wjqMr

Signs you are not in Japan on holiday anymore but back in Singapore

Signs you are not in Japan on holiday anymore but back in Singapore, post-2020/2021 edition:

 

1. You can use dustbins everywhere instead of your pocket.

 

2. You aren’t spraying disinfectant on your hands every time you enter a store or restaurant.

 

3. You aren’t given a “Mask Envelope” to put your mask in, when you’re dining.

 

4. People talking loudly on trains.

 

5. A public bus doesn’t come once every hour in the rural areas. Addendum: There is no such thing as a rural area in Singapore either.

 

6. You get up the bus from the front door where the driver is, instead of the rear door.

 

7. You don’t check the weather before going out anymore.

 

8. A bottle of Shōchū costs five to ten times more.

 

9. There isn’t a vending machine at every corner. 

10. The restaurant staff don’t shout their greetings and don’t shout their thanks when you go in to eat or go out after eating. 

Uncle Brownie and Ah Girls Go Army: a Photo Essay

Behind the scenes of Ah Girls Go Army, shot on my secret film camera.

(Read the full post and see more photographs at https://brown.exposure.co/uncle-brownie-and-ah-girls-go-army or view the embedded version below.)

Uncle Brownie and Ah Girls Go Army by Kin Mun "mrbrown" Lee on Exposure href="https://exposure.co" style="text-transform:uppercase">Exposure

WWDC 2022: Back on the road again

It has been more than two years since my last overseas trip. And my last WWDC was June 2019. So this trip to San Jose was very special. Flights were full and it took some finessing to get me there. My journey to Cupertino involved an SQ flight from SIN to NRT to LAX and then an Alaska Air flight to SJC.

The return leg was easier, SJC to LAX by American Airlines (who delayed my check-in luggage on the way home) and LAX to SIN by SQ. I love my National Airline.

San Jose downtown was quiet and you can see many shops and business closed due to the pandemic. The big Muji store next to my hotel was closed, sadly.

This is my room at the Signia by Hilton, which used to be the Fairmont San Jose (it went bust during the pandemic).

I had my coffee setup nicely in the room, my first time traveling with a drip coffee setup. I packed some Ethiopian Kilenso beans, a MUNIEQ Tetra collapsible flat and compact coffee dripper, some filter papers, a Timemore Black Mirror Nano, and a Timemore Chestnut Nano grinder for this trip, It worked beautifully.

The WWDC badges this year were cute and I pinned them on my Tom Bihn Paragon.

This was the first in-person event Apple held since 2019, I believe. We were very happy to be back after years of online events.

Tim Cook made an appearance after the keynote and he was swarmed. I am glad they enforced mask wearing at the event. Because the rest of the US had already become loosey goosey with the mask wearing since there was mostly no mask mandate anymore.

This is a row of the new 2022 MacBook Air with the M2 chip, obviously the star of the show. I got to play with it a bit, and I think it will sell like hot cakes.

So happy to see the Singapore gang again!

The best part of in-person WWDC is meeting up with my Apple Event BFFs like @Young-cho (서영초이) from South Korea.

This is my first time inside Apple Park. The event is outdoors this time! First time!

It was a sunny day in Cupertino. And a lovely way to spend my time in the US.

I went on to stay till Sunday, and visited friends. No hardcore touring or sightseeing, just good company and good food.

What a great way to ease back to my travels again.

(A rare photo of me, shared by Greg Joswiak SVP of Apple @gregjoz, on his Twitter account. You can also see Evelyn of Channel 8 with me.)

Kim Huat in the hills of San Jose

Kim Huat gives you a look from the top of the world. Ok maybe just a hill in San Jose.

YouTube link: youtu.be/CvfJXa8ZAMs

Kim Huat at WWDC 2022

Kim Huat reports from WWDC 2022 from Cupertino! Check out the new M2 MacBook Air and 13-inch MBP!

YouTube link: youtu.be/BZiDuZHoaN4

mrbrown’s Inflight Movie mini-reviews: June 2022

My journey to and from the US was long. So I watched a TON of movies. Some on the way to San Jose, some on the way back, some in the hotel.

Here is mrbrown’s Inflight Movie mini-reviews:

Blacklight: Liam Neeson should just stop making movies.

The Outfit: Slow burn but so satisfying. A cut above the rest.

Clean: Almost zero story and filled with caricatures, but Adrien Brody is great as an avenging garbage man. The violence is almost poetic.

The Lost City: A surprisingly not-lame rework of Romancing the Stone. Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum are hilarious together.

The Contractor: I’m a Chris Pine fan but the ending disappointed. Some nice action here and there though.

Everything Everywhere All at Once: Everything Dr Strange 2 tried to be. This is the real Multiverse movie this year. Mind-screwing sci-fi with heart. Michelle Yeoh shows you what a massive star she is.

mrbrown’s Inflight Movie mini-reviews, Japanese edition:

First Gentleman 総理の夫: Cute movie about a guy whose wife becomes the first female PM of Japan. Could have done more with the subject matter. But this is patriarchal Japan so don’t expect feminist ideas.

Time Trip App 幕末高校生: It had Satomi Ishihara in it. That’s it. Teacher and her students time travel to Edo-period Japan and try not to change history.

Masquerade Night: A somewhat convoluted murder mystery movie. Sequel to Masquerade Hotel. Takuya Kimura and Masami Nagasawa reprise their role as detective and concierge in yet another mystery in Hotel Cortesia Tokyo. The two actors are a pleasure to watch.

Kim Huat in Care What You Share

Not say don’t share, but care what you share!

A PSA from the Privacy Awareness Week 2022

To find out more: https://www.pdpc.gov.sg/paw2022

YouTube link: youtu.be/ILa9tmn7f-A