I go to Vivo City after Moonlight service to meet Ken to discuss the upcoming production of Blue Willow House, whose music I am to arrange. When I arrive Ken is finding a parking lot in the packed car park, so I wander about the mall - the outdoor areas which I have not been able to visit since the mall opened. The pictures are not in order... Blogger has an irritating way of posting the photographs and it's too troublesome to drag them around and re-arrange them in the right order. So I'll just post captions.


OUTDOOR PROMENADE FACING THE HARBOUR AND SENTOSA ISLAND (from 2nd floor of Vivo City)

Sentosa looks as if it blacked out. You used to be able to see the bright lights of the Ferry Terminal - now sadly demolished in its youth, to make way for the future IR. So all the main activities at Sentosa are concentrated on the other side of the island, where the beaches are.

Wading pool atop Vivo City (on the 3rd floor). HarbourFront in the background. Pity the cable cars do not show clearly.


A water feature at the promenade where I take the above 2 photos. I like the contrast between smooth and rocky, warm and cool. Water slides from the marble pool, over the jagged rocks and into the hole (a bit like the dentist's sink)



Keppel Harbour again. Singapore Cruise Centre to the right, with the cable cars (aargh they don't show again) above. The skinny spire on the left is the Carlsbeg Tower. Imposing in the day, almost invisible by night.



Aah, here's a clearer view of the high-speed ferry you saw in the earlier picture.


Brani terminal and the Sentosa Causeway.


FOOD REPUBLIC (3rd floor)

This is one of the most fascinating food courts I've seen (after the one at Suntec Convention Centre - the design of the library of an antique Western house). You'd think you'd walked into some amusement park. Seriously the other nicely-designed foodcourts in the past were at Funworld (Parkway Parade) and Magic Land (Marina Square), both former indoor amusement parks. Funworld had a similar concept as this Food Republic outlet - old Singapore. Magic Land had a medieval castle-like decor - but the whole place was pretty dark and dank. But I LIKE.

Anyway the place is very atmospheric. If only it were less crowded... Ken and I would have discussed our stuff here, because the scenery fits that of Macao Street in Blue Willow House!

The caption reads: "The chair-like sedan lined with colour silk was one of the vehicles used in ancient China. Just like a donkey for the poor, the sedan is mainly used by the rich as a mode of transportation. However, on special occassions such as weddings, the poor would also use it to ferry the bride to the groom's house.

"The use of the sedan for weddings dated back to the Qing dynasty. Emperor Qianlong, the great and powerful emperor at that time travelled far south of China for inspection tours. On one of his trips, he crossed paths with a wedding band and the bride who was travelling to the groom's house on a donkey's back. None of them would give way to the other to pass. So the Emperor got off the sedan to challenge the bride to compose a poem and in return, he would lend her his sedan for her wedding. From then on, the use of the sedan gradually became a customary wedding vehicle."










By the way, the guy standing on the right with arms on hips is the manager (I think, for I notice he wears a name tag as I walk past him) who looks out of place with the times - if you get what I mean.

We are on the taxi, driving past the new Central complex (above Clarke Quay station, along the Singapore River).

So one of my friends wonder: do the tower blocks consist of condominiums?

I remark, "Wah, stay here every night watch people vomit."

(Of course referring to Clarke Quay and Riverside Point which are both filled with pubs)

Another friend adds, "Yeah, then fighting also. Stare a bit then kena hoot."

So here's no better than living in Geylang or Joo Chiat (brothel and nightlife hotspots).

The sleepy hollow drools.

That's what someone looks like slumped on the chair, dead asleep.




*Hollow refers to the mouth.

I have no idea why I have always been unable to post videos from YouTube to this blog. Either the username for the video to access to Blogger has mistakes or something else that I cannot quite figure out… in any case I always get this excuse: “An error has occurred. Message: Unknown. Reason: (110, ‘Connection timed out’).”


Video no. 1

Lesser-Sung Broadway Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiN-jcVtQCE

Our publicity trailer for the upcoming concert, put together from rehearsal shots by Shahdon! For this rehearsal we filmed a run from the beginning till the end, so that we can view how we performed. We rehearsed (and always rehearse) at Hawk’s HDB-cum-studio apartment.


Video no. 2

Si Ying singing “Maybe This Time” from Cabaret – one of the numbers that she is performing on the concert.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHylqapH4GI


Video no. 3

Weird Al Yankovic doing a song parody of “You Don’t Love Me Anymore” parodying the music video of Extreme’s “More Than Words”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4L1_nGqths

If you’re not familiar with Extreme’s music video, it’s best to view it first so that it’s funnier when you view the Weird Al Yankovic one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kt7L4X4li_k

Enjoy!!!

This afternoon we head to Ikea to seek out a new office chair to replace the one I have been using for about four years. Dad says the way I sit is atrocious – I like to lean such that my buttocks are at the edge of my seat while I’m leaning against the backrest. Ergonomically the perimeter of my body ought to follow the curve of the chair. So we decide to get one that helps.

So I pick this chair that is the exact type that my brother uses. It has a rather large range of tilt, and you can lock it at any position within its tilt range. Unfortunately the model - full black, full cotton – that I want is completely out of stock. So we decided to place an order for a green one that has a different fabric, which I am not too keen about because I’m just afraid I might get rashes and other discomforts on my skin especially during hot weather. But then I can always swap chairs with my brother, as they are the of the same make, only different colour and fabric.
We place an order for the chair, then proceed to the goods collection counter to wait for the packaging to be shipped over from the upstairs storeroom. There’s this terrific lift machine – a humongous version of a dumbwaiter. Think of an automated cargo elevator. When the lift arrives on our floor, the caged door slides up, and then a huge metal tray lying on rollers directly in front of the lift door is pushed into a slot in the lift, very much like how you will push a drawer back into a cupboard. Then the lift descends slightly, and another tray from the lift – this one with goods on it – slides out where the empty tray had been standing. The goods are placed on trolleys for quick and easy transport to the customers, and less strenuous work for the staff as well. The counter is manned only by two people, who take stock orders, call for them, roll trolleys of goods to waiting customers, and press the button that commands the lift back up. Passengers are given a call number – they sit about the waiting area for their goods to arrive.

While I’m one of these customers waiting for their stock, dad goes exploring. Suddenly he calls me to leave the waiting area and follow him. We backtrack to the gardening section – and further on into a corner of the store that is easily missed from the main route. This place is called “As Is”. Rejected goods are placed here at discounted prices for customers to take them if desired. Even if they are rejected that does not mean that the goods are in shipwrecked conditions.

And I find my chair here.

It is placed in the foreground of this department, visible the moment we approach. Black, fully cotton. The very model of the chair that I want. And guess what? It’s there because of “torn packaging” – the chair is as good as new! And it’s only been there today. Its price tag has been depreciated to $100 – down from $169. So the last thing to do is to place an order for the arm rests, a set which costs $30. Yet we save $69, as the original cost (including the armrest) come up to $199.

After our purchase, upon reflection we realise we might not actually need the armrest after all. My brother doesn’t use it, so we can swap chairs. I can take his which already has the armrest, while he can take the new one which has none at all. Hopefully we can get a refund, and then it will really be value for money.

Sub-post no. 1

An interesting blog I come across: http://public-artroar.blogspot.com/

This site contains a lot of interesting street art around Singapore - some are just amazing.


Sub-post no. 2

Ray McNiece's blog: a very insightful post about living in Singapore. Ray's from the States, and he's living in the HDB estate while he's here. I am always interested in reading about foreigner's - note, not just Caucasians - comments about HDB living.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=151992265&MyToken=d607b452-3aea-4b59-a4c6-f094f786cca2ML


Ray was one of the hosts of Musical Slam which I recently attended (okay, maybe not so recently) on 29 May 2007 at Velvet Underground (my second time there after the first Musical Slam last September). He, with Alison Lester (coincidentally I realised that she was the author of a book about aspects of Singapore life from which I have quoted excerpts and posted up on this blog, and she was very nice to leave a comment expressing pleasure that I put up her article) were the livewires of the evening - they did improvisation, were the gracious hosts who kindly put everybody into the fun mood. So enraptured by their performance was I that I was keen to find out who they were outside of being the hosts of Musical Slam. And so I stumble upon Ray's MySpace site, and this interesting blog entry.


Sub-post no. 3

Why does the media like to quote "hottest bachelor" but nobody writes "hottest spinster"?

My own speculation is that "spinster" as a word doesn't sound very nice and lyrical compared to "bachelor". As an ignorant school kid many, many years ago I used to think that the word had something to do with spiders, because they spin webs. Maybe somebody should invent another word to replace "spinster"?

Okay maybe it's not as drastic as "nobody", but sound out if you come across instances.

Crystal Ball, which Mum buys back from her business trip to Paris.

We step out into the open from the air-conditioned basement, and instead of the cool night air we expected we suddenly feel somebody turned on the radiator in summer.

That kind of warmth.

Jayson remarks the effects of global warming are beginning to show themselves physically. I wonder aloud how true awareness of global warming has only recently surfaced with greater enthusiasm as Al Gore goes on film to warn the world about the “Inconvenient Truth”; countries are urging their people to bring their own shopping bags as to cut down on the number of plastic bags used as they do not degrade easily when dumped; governments are pledging to reduce emissions by a certain yada-yada time… and years back we have been talking about CFCs (chlorofluorocarbon) and a thinning ozone layer – then people acknowledged the fact but no concrete actions were taken. Although the gap in the ozone is irreparable, we can still substitute felled trees to reduce greenhouse emissions, one of which is carbon dioxide, which plants intake for photosynthesis (where they nourish themselves) emitting oxygen in the process. And so this is also a cycle to replenish oxygen for the humans too.

Coming to the topic of felling trees… a computerised world has not reduced the usage of paper but increased it. People prefer to read their documents from paper to the computer screen, which tires their eyes. Furthermore they can scribble much more easily on paper, and they can carry it with them wherever they go. Printers have not helped either – few have the capability to print on double sides of the paper. And we are discouraged from printing on a sheet of paper where one side has been used because the heat from the printer will cause the ink to melt and damage the roller as the sheet of paper passes through the machine. Myself I keep documents that have been printed on one side to be used for rough work, or even writing notes. Some friends and classmates have thought amusingly that I am crazy to collect their documents that they are about to throw away – why not, since I can use the other side of the paper? Let’s not waste it.

Some... erm... bizarre instances while surfing on the net.



#1: Rabbits and hares overrun the runway at the Milan Airport. Operations were then shut for 3 hours so that staff could capture the hares and rabbits. They eventually caught about 57 of them and thereafter release them into the nearby nature reserve.

Source: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/world/airport-closes-for-rabbit-hunt/2007/06/18/1182018971303.html


#2: Apple's new store at Fifth Avenue, New York City, where the cylindrical glass hydrualic elevator malfunctioned in a very embarrassing manner, as described on the blog whose URL is provided below.

Source: http://ranex.blogspot.com/2006/05/stuck-at-apple.html

LESSER SUNG BROADWAY CONCERT
HAWK CONCERT SERIES


I will be playing piano for the following concert. We'll be putting up not-so-often-sung musical numbers from musicals both well-known and not-so-well-known. We're not just going to stand on stage to sing - there will be ACTION!!! So come and catch us if you can. :-)

Another night of creative dryness... 5 hours on YouTube and MSN but to naught.

Spotted at Citylink Mall. Anything wrong with it???

In the recent accident involving the Ngong Ping 360 cable car, it is fortunate that the gondola was late by several seconds, or it would have ended in the water. (The tower where it dislodged was close to the shoreline)

Also it was lucky that it fell in a relatively accessible location - if it had been on Lantau Island itself, good luck.

We are happy to announce the Abbey Road Keyboards ReFill. This ReFill is the result of a partnership between Abbey Road Studios and Propellerheads Software. It brings the sound of this legendary recording studio into your Reason rack. Recorded on location using Abbey Road's recording rooms and vintage equipment, this ReFill gives you access to seven time-honoured Abbey Road instruments - these are the keyboards heard on all those immortal Abbey Road recordings.

Recorded using Propellerhead Software's hypersampling technique, these instruments have been faithfully reproduced using a wide range of carefully selected microphones and pre-amps. With a hypersampled instrument, you are free to pick the combination of mics that fit your sound.

Contents:
- Steinway Upright - the Mrs. Mills piano
- Challen Studio Piano
- Hammond RT-3
- Mannborg Harmonium
- Schiedmayer Celeste
- Mellotron M400
- Premier Tubular Bells

- Preset patches
Combinator patches for various mic blends.

- Style patches
Processed combinator patches.

- Template patches
Empty, pre-wired user patches.

- 40-page full colour booklet
Enclosed in the Abbey Road Keyboards ReFill box is Guide to Abbey Road Keyboards, a 40-page. full color booklet by author by Mark Vail. Jam-packed with full color pictures and descriptive session diagrams, this book gives you in-depth info on the featured instruments and the Abbey Road technology used to record them.

The ReFill ships on two DVD disks with both 16-bit and 24-bit versions.

The Abbey Road Keyboards ReFill will be available June 13th from the PropShop and CD-rom music retailers world-wide. The price is USD229 / EUR199.

For more info, go to http://www.propellerheads.se/abbeyroad/

I am riding the bus to an unknown location. Fearing that I'd miss the stop, I sit right at the front of the bus, where the old Transitlink validator used to be. In other words, above where the emergency apparatus is stored. I have a good excuse for being there initially when I board the bus, because the bus is pretty crowded and passengers have to stand. So I thought I'd make myself comfortable on the front perch (thank goodness the driver didn't mind at all) so that I can stare out front through the windscreen and look out for my stop.

So we're travelling under pretty dim lighting conditions. And I realise how difficult it is for the bus driver to look out for passengers. Especially when the marking for the bus-stop is just a three-sided yellow box painted onto the road, and the bus-stop itself, though lit, is camouflaged amongst the vegetation overgrowing from a residential compound and from the grass patch on the curb. And it's even harder to realise that commuters are flagging for the bus when they are dressed in dark colours! Imagine having to be alert under such trying conditions.

I received the following notes from my tutor. Although it’s geared towards writing History papers, I think the format of putting forth a paper is applicable for other essays. Hope this will be helpful to all those writing papers out there.

WRITING HISTORY PAPERS ‘WORKSHOP’
By Daniel Jew

Overall goal / first principles:

To present a reasonable / logical argument in a coherent and convincing manner

1. Introduction

(a) State your thesis (what you agree / disagree / set out to prove)

(b) Define key terms and limit the scope / focus if necessary

(c) Outline the theoretical framework that you are going to ‘measure’ your answer against, if any.

(d) Outline your main points of argument

(e) Two methods:

(i) The ‘murder mystery’ method
· One should be cautious not to lose the interest of the reader halfway through the paper
· Hint in the introduction, but only flesh out the point of view at the end

(ii) The ‘male-unable-to-multitask’ method
· Preferred academic method
· State concern in the introduction and justify why it is worth raising the concern

2. Body – Logic and Arguments

(a) Elements of arguments

(b) Fundamental Argument (Thesis)

(c) Supporting Arguments

(d) Topic sentences (supplemented with examples)

(e) Counter-argument

(f) Premises and assumptions

(g) Historical Facts and Data

(h) Illustrations, examples and anecdotes

3. Referencing

Rationale / first principles
(a) Credit / honesty
(b) Substantiate
(c) Reflect your readings

4. Conclusion

What is it for? Some ideas:

(a) To reiterate / summarise the argument and show that the thesis has been proven

(b) To consider / evaluate wider implications of the thesis

(c) To make relations with other topics – or even other subjects

Some other random tips:

(a) Write the bibliography first

(b) Don’t indent the first paragraph; indent all other paragraphs

(c) Proof read your work!

Source: http://www.rajahinn.com.sg/our_menu_l.html

The Rajah Inn

302 Tiong Bahru Road, #02-13/14/15
Tiong Bahru Plaza, S(168732)
Tel: 6835 0080
Fax: 6897 1763

I am arranging the music for a jingle for OCBC.

OCBC wants this piece of music to be played in the morning when they first open the door to their bank branches. Something cheery, happy, to welcome customers. So Mike's friend got the job of writing the jingle, while I would do the arrangements and then we would record it in Mike's studio.

We're currently awaiting approval for the track. If all goes well you can hear it when you're one of the first few customers to wait as the door of the branches are being opened.