From our #LunarNewYear family gathering weekend. Our first one without my Dad. More ceremonies tomorrow for him & our ancestors.
Please don't expect responses til I feel better. I'm still recovering from my worst PTSD crash in years. Pure hell to experience & it takes time to recover from. My heart/soul/spirit is unable to withstand rampant, blatant abuses of power & exploitation, without losing my shit. I don't trust folks who are OK watching others die/suffer, daily & remain calm.
I was tech support for my old neighbors yesterday when they asked me to help them set an alarm for 4am, so they could travel to San Jose with 15 other elderly Vietnamese people for this tét event
It’s the third day of the #LunarNewYear! For me, this means attending the annual luncheon of #Singapore’s Old Left. This year, I’ve been assigned to read out a speech by Dr Poh Soo Kai, a founding member of the People’s Action Party, back when they were still leftist, anti-colonial activists. Dr Poh was later detained during Operation Coldstore and kept behind bars, without trial, as a political prisoner for many years.
Sometimes it feels like I gush about every #NeuralCloud event but damn if the #LunarNewYear one wasn't well told. I'm not a huge fan of the mechanics of the event but the polish in the story was next level for a gacha game.
The basic framework is that we are following three pairs of characters around in interweaving stories. They do a solid job of having hooks in each that are intriguing enough to want to watch but other pairs but they still make sense regardless of what order you watch them in. That's really hard to effectively pull off. Cliffhangers and mysteries tend to need more linearity. But they pull it off consistently. Moreover, you are supposed to get distracted by the interweaving parts so you don't fully notice some of the Chekov's guns they're laying out to use later. That narrative sleight of hand makes the come together team up at the end more satisfying.
The other thing that makes it great is the strong character focus. It's a bit more hit or miss (notably, Aki and Sakuya are more functional than fleshed out) but Jiangyu, Kuro, Florence, and Croque have motivations for their actions both within the event and connected to broader character stories. Those motivations drive actions in ways that are sometimes mistakes to the reader who has more information but make sense for them.
The flashy finale is satisfyingly epic and silly but full of heart. Croque "fails" her mission but in doing so succeeds at her bigger goal, unintentionally. Kuro is the exact opposite, succeeding in her nominal goal but she didn't really succeed at her real goal of being a secret troublemaker.
They also check in with other characters to remind us that the event touches all of the Oasis. Which is important for a New Year's celebration.
"Thich Nhat Hanh has established a tradition, on the eve of the Lunar New Year, of offering the sangha a simple poetic couplet in calligraphy that can inspire and nurture our mindfulness practice throughout the year.
#HongKong rang in the Year of the Dragon on Saturday, as colourful, festive floats and 29 performing groups paraded in Tsim Sha Tsui for #LunarNewYear. Photos: HKTB.
#HongKong rang in the Year of the Dragon on Saturday, as colourful, festive floats and 29 performing groups paraded in Tsim Sha Tsui for #LunarNewYear. Photos: HKTB. #HongKong rang in the Year of the Dragon on Saturday, as colourful, festive floats and 29 performing groups paraded in Tsim Sha Tsui for #LunarNewYear. Photos: HKTB. #HongKong rang in the Year of the Dragon on Saturday, as colourful, festive floats and 29 performing groups paraded in Tsim Sha Tsui for #LunarNewYear. Photos: HKTB.