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A Morning at the Lee Household, in Third-Person Omniscient

Pa sat at his kitchen counter, sipping on the flat white he just made. As he read the article, his curiosity was piqued. Was it true? Is Gen Z unable or unwilling to read in Third-Person Omniscient anymore?

Just then, his son, Isaac walked by. He looked at Pa curiously.

“Morning, Bruh.”

Pa said his Good Morning back, and muttered something about not being his bruh.

Isaac frowned and grabbed the open Cheetos packet from the fridge.

I will have that as my breakfast for now, he thought. Perhaps some Mee Kia later when I step out.

As he stuffed his face with the messy snack that pretends to be made of real cheese, his thoughts wandered to more important issues of the day. Should I play my Marvel Rivals game first, or should I submit my university application before the appeal window closes?

Iron Man won that round. There was still time to submit the application, he decided.

Just then, the youngest member of the family came downstairs.

Joy saw Pa lost in his thoughts. She wanted her double shot of espresso so badly, though she didn’t want to interrupt his deep thoughts.

Is he thinking about the Third-Person Omniscient thing again, Joy thought. Of course Gen Z can deal with Third-Person Omniscient, why does Pa think we can’t? He can be such a Boomer sometimes. Wait, is Pa a Boomer or Gen X? I cant remember.

Just then, Pa, looking nothing like someone age 56, looked up from his reading, as if instinctively hearing his youngest child’s need for caffeine. That was his Coffee Spider Sense.

“You want some coffee? I make for you now.”

Joy nodded with enthusiasm, and went to get the oat milk from the fridge. She smiled as she took the carton, knowing exactly what her father will say: You should stop drinking that stuff. That’s not milk. That’s just vegetable water with sugar.

Pa looked up from his espresso machine and over the hum of the rotary pump, said, “You should stop drinking that stuff. That’s not milk. That’s just vegetable water with sugar.”

A Rare Power Trip

Don’t assume power never trips in Singapore. 

My block lost power earlier today, around 11.20am, just as I was about to make my second espresso of the day. Neighbours were out and about, checking with each other.

I took the stairs to the first floor to check if other blocks were affected. Seems like the entire area was affected because other blocks lost power too. 

Some were stuck in the lift and were banging the door and pressing the emergency bell. A few of us tried to reassure people stuck inside that help was coming. 

Then before the lift rescue team came, power was restored. 

Downstairs, I met the cleaner who cleans our blocks. He was in his civvies. 

He told me he was going back to Bangladesh. 

“Oh!” I said, “Going back for good?”

“14 days. On leave,” he smiled.

“Ah good, good! Enjoy seeing your family and loved ones!,” I said, shaking his hand. 

He smiled and thanked me. 

The whole power failure thing lasted about 10-15 minutes. 

Later, I climbed the stairs back to my flat, even though power seemed to be back, and the lifts were working. 

A young lady was going down the stairs, as I was climbing up, and we both agreed it was best to use the stairs first, because the power just came back on, and we were not sure if it would trip again. 

With the son’s help, I turned the circuit breakers in the home back on, one at a time.

I heard the power failure affected a wider area than I initially thought. As far as Hougang and Sengkang.

I wonder what happened. But we do take a lot for granted here. I am thankful the power was restored so quickly. Maybe it’s time to get a UPS for the computers and the router. Or more importantly, for my coffee machine.

Shang-Chi and the Forgetful Couple

Family watching Shang-Chi on free-to-air TV. 

Me: “This movie was carried by Leslie Cheung.”

Brother-in-law: “I thought he died already. Tony Leung issit?”

Me: “Oh ya. Tony Leung.”

Halfway into the movie…

Wife: “That’s King Bentley, right?”

Me: “Who???”

Wife: “King… Bentley?”

Me: “…Ben Kingsley lah!”

Wife: “Oh ya. Ben Kingsley. He is The Orange.”

Me: “Orange?!”

Wife: “Ya. He was The Orange in Iron Man.”

Me: “…The Mandarin lah!”

Wife: “Orange… Mandarin. Ya.”

We are all getting old and forgetful. 

 

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