Happy Halloween!

In the spirit of Halloween, I’m sharing with you a horror-themed website. Turn down your lights, put on your headphones, and pick a night’s stay at Hotel 626.

I recommend you visit from 6pm to 6am onwards though, because the hotel is closed outside of that time, unless you’re willing to mess around with your computer’s inbuilt time to play the game!

If you’re still with me, or have just come back from exploring the hotel, I’ll gush about the quality of the construction of the interaction interface. It’s slick, with really smooth transitions that keep you in suspense the entire time, enough to make me nervous about going to the toilet in the middle of the night the very first time I played the game.

So, happy Halloween, and enjoy yourself; whether you’re trick-or-treating, or simply just dressing up to scare you friends!

Customer Service Delight Or Disappointment?

I take my hat off to the taxi driver who took the initiative to install wireless modem in his vehicle. One action and he’s able to differentiate himself from the herd. He has transformed himself from a cab driver to a businessman.

He knows his target market well and what this specific group of people needs. He provides that need and hooks them. His customers are happy, and he’s happy.

But how many people can see beyond the investment he’s made? Not long ago we hear many noises complaining about the need to install seat belts that are eating up profits of small bus operators. Yet they fail to see that’s only a one-time investment, but the benefits from longer-term business and more referrals make them the ultimate winners at the end of the day.

Thinking 3 steps ahead of your customers, anticipate what want and provide for that need sounds like common sense and logical, yet in reality, it is not that commonly seen and experienced. That’s why that man has to be saluted for being so proactive and knowing how to tap into this group of business men who are truly time-starved.

If this is such a killer tactic, then why isn’t anyone doing this besides him? Are they only focused on their short-term issue of cost that they either didn’t see the long-term advantage; or they saw it but didn’t dare to do it because they fear that it won’t last and customers will flock away?

Perhaps this all boils down to one question: How hungry for business are they? I’m referring to all businesses and not taxi drivers.

Earlier, I brought my cable TV set-up box to a retailer near my home and was told that they have run out of stock. The shop assistant then offered to check for stocks at another outlet, and I was glad they have what I needed. But, I was to go there to get it myself.

I asked if they can bring it over to this outlet, and they said no because they were short of manpower. The man even told me that there is only one guy manning the shop. I gave him a look of disbelief as I knew there’s usually more than one person in the store. I voiced out my query and he felt that he had no choice but to call them again to request the stock transfer, only to be rejected a second time.

That’s it. I only had one option – go over to that outlet to get the box myself. They aren’t going to entertain a potential customer by providing a service. They’re simply telling me – take it or leave it. I left.

I doubt they’re hungry for business. Or maybe they aren’t earning a penny for extending such a service. Or maybe, they know they have the upper hand as I seem to be the one who’s desperate and not them. If this is the case, they could be right. So it all depends on how unhappy I am with them to decide if I’m going back to get the box when new stocks are in. 

I guess, when it comes to commodities, what wins customers over is customer service. The reason why I choose to buy a handset at a particular retail shop is not because it has a nicer set. It’s all the same, isn’t it? It’s because of their service.

Last night, I took a cab from Novotel Clarke Quay Hotel to Robertson Quay Hotel. Yes, laugh at my stupidity if you want for you’ll be totally forgiven for this. I’d like to hit myself too. It was only after I reached my destination then I knew how “near” these two places were. However, the taxi driver didn’t communicate this to me.

Because my sister and I were having sore feet from all the walking and searching, we decided to take a taxi. We ended up alighting at The Quayside. The taxi driver said he didn’t want to make one round, so he asked if he could drop us there, telling us the hotel is just next to it. I saw the sign reading “Gallery Hotel” and I repeated my destination. He said “yes, the two hotels are beside each other”. Fine, we alighted.

And we were lost.

After a few enquiries with passer-bys, bartenders and what-have-yous, more walking around and perspiration, we finally found the place. To my amazement, it was just across the river facing Novotel hotel. And we had made one big round to a wrong place. In 10 minutes, my wallet was $8 (thanks to the $3 CBD surcharge!) lesser for a trip that didn’t bring me to where I wanted to go.

Did the taxi driver provide a service that is worth that price I paid? In my opinion, absolutely no.

Which leads me to ponder over this question: How close is our PM Lee’s vision to have excellent customer service in this country as one of our unique selling points? Rather should I ask how far?

I Feel “Burned” After Watching

Stuart stood there waiting for me while I was in the restroom. When I came out, he told me he heard a few people walking past him and commenting that they “felt cheated”. Viola! They had voiced out my opinion. 

“Burn After Reading” should be burnt, really. I thought it was a comedy and was prepared to laugh till I cry, but I hadn’t prepare myself to be “shocked till I want to cry”.

I did have some hysterical moments, although they ended along with Brad Pitt’s premature demise in the movie.

George Clooney’s paranoia gave me the creeps, but his “childishness” probably tickled me more.

But nothing beats how ridiculous the movie ends. Actually I should have got the hint of the crappiness of the movie when the CIA head instructed Brad Pitt’s body to be burnt and disposed of, to the loud gasps of the two girls sitting at the pew next to me, along with mine. Gasp!

My disbelief rose when the two jokers actually drove to the Russian Embassy to trade off some “classified information” for money! I mean, Russian Embassy? Seeing Vladimir Putin’s portrait hanging on the wall is like the “icing on the cake” if I may put it this way. 

By the time the movie ended, I was totally disillusioned.

I had so made up my mind to watch this movie that I went all the way to see which cinema suited our time that day and went forth. At one point, I was slightly swayed by another show “Nights in Rodanthe”, but still I didn’t give up Brad Pitt and George Clooney.

“Burn After Reading” is all about expletives that replace the function of punctuation marks and mid-sentence pauses in most of the conversations, multi-triangle relationships and affairs and bizarre events that somehow found relevance with each other with an ultimate ending – to raise funds for a gym employee Linda Litzke (Frances McDormand) to pay for her extensive cosmetic surgery. So much for self-esteem!

Doing my best to be optimistic about this movie, I found consolation in the actors’ and actresses’ portrayal of those characters. Tilda Swinton has a convincing depiction of a “cold stuck-up bitch” as her lover’s wife describes to be while John Malkovich somehow manages to get me feeling he deserves the demotion more than anyone else does in the movie, not even the useless head of CIA. 

As for Brad Pitt, well, let’s just say he tickles me whenever he’s on-screen. So does George Clooney on certain scenes. As I’m writing this, I recall a movie review that said “Brad Pitt saved the movie”. Guess I see where this person’s coming from now.

I’m not even sure if I would recommend anyone going to watch this movie. But I guess, if it’s purely for entertainment, why not?

Just make sure that you’re prepared to watch something that just doesn’t make any sense at all.

So in a sense, it is a comedy after all. 

FifPro Team of the Year 2007/2008: If only…

The end of 2008 is always the talk about team of the years and players of the years. This time round, lets look at the FifPro awards.

There are always criticisms about teams of the years, especially in football. And I do have some criticisms about this year’s FifPro team of the year. Let me just spare you the trouble of googling what might FifPro mean, and who are the ones voting for this prestigious award.

FifPro is the abbreviation of “Fédération Internationale Des Associations de Footballeurs Professionels”. It is the worldwide representatives of professional footballers. This association is launched in the year 2005, and officially launched three awards for a footballing year. The awards are “World XI Player Awards”, “World Player of the Year” and “Young Player of the Year” awards. The latter award has been divided by two, one chosen by professional players themselves, and one by footballing fans around the world.

Here is the list of past winners of the FifPro awards.

2004/2005 season:
Goalkeeper: Dida (AC Milan)
Defenders: Paolo Maldini (AC Milan), Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan), John Terry (Chelsea), Cafu (AC Milan)
Midfielders: Claude Makelele (Chelsea), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Ronaldinho (Barcelona)
Forwards: Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona), Andriv Shevchenko (AC Milan)

2005/2006 season:
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Defenders: Lilian Thuram (Juventus), John Terry (Chelsea), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Gianluca Zambrotta (Juventus)
Midfielders: Andrea Pirlo (AC Milan), Kaka (AC Milan), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)
Forwards: Samuel Eto’o (Barcelona), Thierry Henry (Arsenal), Ronaldinho (Barcelona)

2006/2007 season:
Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Defenders: Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan), John Terry (Chelsea), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Carles Puyol (Barcelona)
Midfielders: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United), Kaka (AC Milan), Steven Gerard (Liverpool)
Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Ronaldinho (Barcelona)

And for this season, the winners are…
2007/2008 season:

Goalkeeper:
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

Defenders:
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United)
Carles Puyol (Barcelona)
John Terry (Chelsea)

Midfielders:
Steven Gerard (Liverpool)
Kaka (AC Milan)
Xavi (Barcelona)

Forwards:
Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)

FifPro World Player of the Year :
2004/2005: Ronaldinho (Barcelona) (Brazil)
2005/2006: Ronaldinho (Barcelona) (Brazil)
2007/2008: Kaka (AC Milan)
2008/2009: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) (Portugal)

FifPro Young Player of the Year
Chosen by award committee
2004/2005: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) (England)
2005/2006: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) (Argentina)
2006/2007: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) (Argentina)
2007/2008: Not chosen yet

Chosen by fans
2004/2005: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) (Portugal)
2005/2006: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) (Portugal)
2006/2007: Lionel Messi (Barcelona) (Argentina)
2007/2008: Not chosen yet

There you go! The awards this season. I truly applaud most the names of the team, especially the names of Iker Casillas, Rio Ferdinand, Carles Puyol, Xavi, and Fernando Torres.

And now for the criticisms.

Goalkeeper
Iker Casillas. No arguments. Casillas truly deserves it! Edwin van der Sar and Petr Czeh should have a shout as well. But both are prone to mistakes at club level (van der Sar) and international level (Czeh). Casillas is consistently brilliant at both levels.

Defense:
I believe John Terry should be replaced by Patrice Evra. Moreover, Terry is hardly a left back! There should be only two centre backs chosen for the team, and they should be Ferdinand and Puyol. Terry should be replaced by Evra for the left back position while Ramos will take the right back. I see no other right backs in contention with Ramos. Do remember, Terry is the one the missed the decisive penalty in the Champions League finals in Moscow. Nemanja Vidic should have a shout as well. He has been nothing but outstanding for Manchester United’s double triumph.

Midfield:
The midfield bothers me the most! Why on earth is Steven Gerald in the team? Though I agree he is one the great midfielders of the world today, he has not won any trophies with Liverpool the entire season, and he is only there because the other Liverpool players are not up to standards (apart from Fernando Torres). The lousier your team mates, the better you look on the pitch?

AC Milan had an abysmal season, forcing them to play in the UEFA Cup this season, and hence I wonder why Kaka is in the chosen midfield as well. Is it because the players “feel” that he is still a good player after the previous year which he deservingly won the FIFA Player of the Year? Is it because AC Milan’s star studded midfield of Pirlo and Gattuso are playing so badly that Kaka is the only one playing normally? Is it because that there is a rule that every year, there must be a Brazilian Representative? Rubbish! There are so many other players that can take up his place! Take Cesc Fabregas for instance. Arsenal and AC Milan is two completely different team! AC Milan have Gattuso and Pirlo to boost the midfield strength, while Arsenal have no one to boost their midfield other than Fabregas. He single handedly brought Arsenal to the same level, if not better, than AC Milan. Not forgetting his influence for the Spanish National Team, who won the Euro 2008.

Cesc Fabregas: He should be in the team

Other worthy replacements for Kaka’s place in the team is Guti from Real Madrid and Marco Senna from Villarreal. There are players in a top quality team that is often silent and kept away from the limelight of soccer journalists around the world. These two players are such players! They are not mentioned in newspapers or websites, but their playing ability is so much more professional and so much more influencing for their respective teams. Guti kept so many past Madrid Galaticos away from the team and Senna played like Zidane in Euro 2008 for Spain. If Makelele can be in the FifPro team three years ago, I don’t see why Guti and Senna can’t.

Guti

Forward:
The choice of Fernando Torres and Lionel Messi is almost guaranteed. Torres is the match winner of the Euro 2008 finals and Messi is the reason why Barcelona is still a threatened team. Messi’s understanding with Xavi at club level can be compared to the understanding of Gerard and Torres in Liverpool.

Other players deserving a shout will be David Villa of Valencia, Raul and Ruud van Nistelrooy from Real Madrid, Karim Benzema of Lyon, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic from Inter Milan. Villa is the Golden Boot winner in Euro 2008, and because of that, he warrants a shot at the FifPro team. He even dislodged the then untouchable Raul from the Spain national team! Moreover, Raul is in fine form the entire season with Real Madrid, landing him the top scorer at club and La Liga level! If Raul is chosen for Spain in Euro 2008, he is a sure in for the FifPro team.

Raul : What a waste he is not chosen

And lastly, since when is Cristiano Ronaldo a forward?

Let’s see who will win the other two awards soon…

Carousel

Many hotels in Singapore have restaurants that offer international buffets for their equally international clientele. With peak-hour prices for these buffets usually in the S$30-S$40 range per pax, international buffets that offer a bit of everything have long been a staple for both visitors as well as locals looking for that special splurge.

Despite similar price ranges and selections, however, different hotel restaurants often have drastically different standards in both food and service, with some garnering rave reviews while others being a complete waste of hard-earned dough. Priced slightly higher than some of its peers, Carousel is one of the former, justifying its cost and giving a bang for the buck.

Located at the lobby level of Royal Plaza On Scotts (on swanky Orchard Road, opposite Far East Plaza), Carousel is a elegantly designed restaurant where the food looks as good as the decor. The last time I was there for dinner (which had set me back almost S$50), I was pretty impressed by their quality of food as well as the friendly service. A second visit today, this time for high tea, proved no different.

Admittedly, the range of foods available isn’t groundbreaking, with a mixture of some buffet standards like sushi, sashimi and local delights as well as some creative new dishes like durian prata and kebabs, which isn’t oft seen at international buffets. Still, as the old adage goes, it isn’t the quantity that counts, but the quality, and here’s where Carousel shines.

The salmon sashimi, despite it being mid-afternoon, were fresh and tasty, the fried shrimps were chewy and thick, the laksa was fragrant and overwhelmingly fantastic, the pizza slices were crispy and jam-packed with ingredients, and the afore-mentioned durian prata was just divine, a blending of two local favourites where the durian, surprisingly, didn’t overwhelm the prata.

True, there were the occasional misses (the fried chicken wings were pretty iffy while the kueh pie tee, making a rare appearance at local buffets, were decidedly underwhelming and slightly odd tasting) but overall the food were terrific, earning praise all around from my table.

The true stars of Carousel’s menu, however, are the pastries and desserts.

Ranging from British favourites like muffins and scones, to French tarts and little random slices of cakes, to an impressive chocolate fountain to fondue mush mallows and fruits with, to local favourites like ice-cream and ice kachang (with the most subdued red and green colourings and also the softest, most fantastic ice shavings I have ever seen), the dessert section had something for any and everyone.

While the muffins and scones were slightly flour-ish and heavy for my tastes, the French delights were simply lip-smacking. All of these little bite-sized pastries (none of them had signs so I have no idea what some of them are) were rich in taste and yet light on the palate. Despite having had lunch just a few hours before and already having wolfed down several courses of buffet food, I was still devouring these little gastronomic wonders by the mouthful. In fact, there was this particular thin-slice of cake with a Danish cookie base that had me so enamoured I forced myself to finish an additional slice.

Another recommendation is the bread and butter pudding which, combined with a generous helping of vanilla sauce, is cloyingly sweet and a definite treat for the taste buds.

With its price (even for a high tea session which lasts two hours, my meal cost me over S$30), Carousel might seem a tad too expensive for some. Still, for those willing to fork out the spare cash, a definite treat awaits. Just remember to save lots of space for dessert!

Statistics

One of my modules in University is called Statistical Laboratory, where students are given various amounts of statistical data, and we have to analyze it, comment on the data, and give our constructive criticisms.

It comprises a fair bit of A level Further Mathematics, and some higher level mathematics as well, but there is substantial weightage for constructive criticisms as well.

Coming to think of it, it is the questions you ask and the way you formulate criticisms which leads to understanding statistics as a tool. Otherwise, statistics can easily confound and fool you. As Claude Levi-Strauss puts it, Le savant n’est pas l’homme qui fournit les vrais réponses; c’est celui qui poses les vraies questions. (Translation: The scientist isn’t the one who provides the right answers; he is the one who asks the right questions.) What more so for statisticians to ask the correct questions, in order for statistics to make sense?

There are certain intuitive questions to ask when faced with statistical data. Here are some quick ones.

Who commissioned this study?

How were the results measured / gathered?

Can there be any bias?
Where did the data come from?

For example, if one of the major stockholders of a cigarette company commissioned a study and shows statistics that the effect of smoking is negligible, it might be a good idea to take a closer look at the statistics and see if they could be misrepresented.

Coincidentally, (or perhaps not), I have been given the task of distributing surveys for a certain module to assess certain qualities of the lecturer (which is an easy task), and then compiling the results (which is not an easy a task).

And yet taking a close look at the overall results, one’s first impression is that the lecturer is terrible, with so many negative comments and ratings.


Eager to show off what I learnt in Statistical Laboratory, I re-looked at the comments and answers given to questions asked in the survey, and I came off with a different opinion.


I had the impression that the lecturer didn’t encourage spoon-feeding, and hence a sizable amount of students disliked the way how the module is taught, preferring being given copious amounts of notes instead of listening during the lecture. But then, university should NOT be about spoon feeding at all. The lecturer is there to assist, not to be a baby sitter. Though, a factor could also be that the lecturer speaks with a Chinese accent, and hence non-Chinese people would find it harder to understand the lecturer.  Furthermore, some of the comments written down give me the impression that the survey wasn’t taken seriously (are surveys in Uni taken seriously though?), so can the data even be trusted?

And as I have to submit the compiled results by this week, I shall probably attach a page behind the summarized reports, detailing my observations, even though it is highly probable that the page will get discarded and not looked at. For after all (and I’m probably being biased here), I like this lecturer’s style of teaching, and this module happens to be one of my most favourite ones at University.

Boundaries From Dad

My dad should be given the “Meritorious Award”.

That day he was pestering me to teach him how to leave comments in a forum. My dad? Leaving comments? Only months ago I was showing him how to use the wireless modem to go online and check his email. But now, he was asking for directions on saying his piece on the internet.

Okay, this isn’t a big deal. Why the award?

He wasn’t learning about how to put smileys on a forum, but he wanted to voice out his opinion about current affairs on the Straits Times portal. The particular issue he was reading pertained to the news on a man who was fined for sleeping on the bench in a park.

I looked at him in astonishment, which seemed to please him tremendously. He prided on the fact that I was amazed with what he was about to do, as if he had found something that I hadn’t already known. I asked him what he wanted to say, but he chose to keep mum. Fine with it, because I knew fully well how “courageous” he is when it comes to such things.

He always prefers to err on the safe side of things. That is a nice way to put it actually. I don’t think he will like to be labelled as someone who is afraid to step on the toes of anyone with authority.

He can recite the names of all our Ministers and what their portfolios are by memory. He knows who our MPs in our neighbourhood are.

He’s the one who pesters us to put up the national flag during in August for our nation’s birthday celebration. He’s the one who reminds us to follow the traffic rules and “use the zebra crossing, girl”. I know it’s for our safety, but what he said later made me think twice: “Don’t let the police catch you. They’ll fine you.” OK, Dad, I got you.

When I was young, I love to tease him that the government should confer a “General” title on him and give him all the “stripes and crabs” to decorate his shirt. Guess what was his reaction? He merely laughed and waved my suggestion off, but his body language told me that he was actually considering that to be feasible! Gosh!

Looking back, I guess my character was somewhat influenced by him. I realised that I’m someone who will also draw boundaries quite clearly. I hold myself responsible for what I say online, and due to this, I seldom engage in words that are of an attacking nature. There are pros and cons to this I observed.

The advantages that come with it are articles that are more neutral based and hold more objectivity. The downside is probably the lack of controversy, which as we all know, tend to sell.

Well, I guess there are no two ways about it. Though I’d love to have the cake and eat it too, I can only wish for readers who appreciate my style of writing and sharing of my opinions! Which, fortunately, gauging by some emails sent to me, were still encouraging!

Thank you all for reading! Please feel free to leave some comments and let me hear you too. 

ESPN Soccernet Fantasy Game – UEFA Champions League (I am number one!)

For those who watch the UEFA Champions League, I am sure you have heard about the ESPN Soccernet Fantasy game. And guess what fellows.... I am the top points earner in Singapore! Ha! Need proof? Check out the picture below. Its print screened from my computer.

So, from that point of view, I shall now give you my pick on the semi finalists of this year’s UEFA Champions League. I gotta be honest, I scored three out of four correct last season. I chose Liverpool, Man Utd, Barcelona and Sevilla from the last campaign. And I picked them after the group stages! This time round, I am going to pick my final four as early as October. We will see. Those who are interested, please do give me your views and your personal chosen final four. This blog entry will be saved till then!

My Proof! And I accidentically typed in the wrong team name during registration!

I reckon this time round, it will be an English domination just like last year, but with a little distraction from the Italians and Spanish oppositions.

I am still rooting for my beloved Manchester United to be in the running to secure the first ever back to back Champions League victories, and I think Sir Alex Ferguson will end off his management career in a high. No other manager has ever succeeded retaining the title of being Europe’s best football club, and if there is one person to bet on, it will be Sir Alex. He is not knighted for nothing. Looking at the two Champions League titles he won with Manchester United, I would definitely say luck plays a really important role in these world class tournaments. We all know how United snatch victory against Bayern Munich a decade ago, and how Chelsea’s luck ran out last year when the goal post denied them victory in two occasions during normal time. And of course John Terry’s slip at the decisive final penalty kick. Lady Luck is surely taking care of the team in red last season. Many of my friends (especially Chelsea and Liverpool fans) has been telling me that this time round, the luck will shine on someone else! And most of them picked their favoured team(DUH!). I am likewise going to pick on mine. I think Man Utd will win the Champions League this time round as well, creating history. I will justify my picks in the coming weeks of blog entries.

The other English team I would pick would be Liverpool, simply because of the winners they have in their team. Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso, Steven Gerard, Pepe Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa etc.. Ha! By now you will be cursing at me for being biased. But I am a Spanish Supporter! And 2008 can’t be a better year for me! United winning the Double, and Spain winning the European Championships. Anyway, I do believe Liverpool got what it takes to bring the Kop high up in the Champions League. Do not forget about Rafa Benitez, the master of Champions League. As long as Rafa plays Torres and Kuyt, the Kop stand a chance. Oh yah, and if Robbie Keane do break a leg and retire from football, Liverpool is guaranteed at least a final spot! Ha!

The other two teams will be one representing the Spanish La Liga, and one representing the Italian Serie A. Barcelona will NOT be in the final four this year, looking at Josep Guardiola’s experience. This time round, I believe Champions League record holder Real Madrid to fight for a place in the finals. Iker Casillas is hitting the form, and Raul is slowly regaining his scoring abilities(not forgetting that he is the current record top scorer of the Champions League), and goal scoring machine Ruud van Nistelrooy is back and free from injuries! I will speak of this in detail soon as well.

Who will be kissing the title this year?

The Italian rep will be Juventus. Although Roma has been in the Champions League for the last three seasons, as long as Francesco Totti is there, there will be no way the arrogant lads will make it. The botak manager has no clue whatsoever! Looking at Juventus, I will predict they meet Chelsea in the knock out stages and Ranieri will kick Scolari’s butt (as well as Roman Abramovich’s) and proving that he is the “Special One”. I am so hoping for that so I can make fun of all my Chelsea friends.

So here it is! My final four! Manchester United, Liverpool, Juventus, Real Madrid. Let me know YOUR final four, and we will make this entry interesting.

Creation Cafe

Everyone knows that the swankiest (and arguably the best) eating joints are the ones in town, serving great food made from fresh premium ingredients along with fantastic service and ambience. Of course, these gastronomical delights always come at equally astronomical prices and let’s face it - as young servicemen drawing minimal monthly salaries, we can’t really head down to one of these restaurants everytime we want to throw a get-together right?

That’s when we need to step out of town area to find decent food joints that offer good food and, more importantly, good prices. Located in the first floor of slightly off-the-road Shaw Towers at Beach Road, Creation Cafe is one of those.

Hidden in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it corner of the Shaw Leisure Gallery, Creation Cafe has an unassuming shopfront that belies an enjoyable dining experience.

While I was there for a birthday party and was seated outside the actual cafe, peeks inside as well as customer feedback from online sources indicate that, while the decor is simple, the ambience is cosy and unobtrusive, which is perfect for small groups of friends who just want a place to chillout and grab some grub.

The food, too, is decent. While the marinara fusilli pasta I had was pretty standard fare (prawns were pretty chewy but the dish could have had more pasta sauce), my friend couldn’t stop praising her linguine carbonara, which apparently is one of the cafe’s signature dishes. The wedges that came along with another friend’s chicken cutlet, too, were pretty good. While the food, just like the cafe itself, looks unassuming and perfunctory, it does provide a bang for the buck.

Speaking of buck, the food at Creation Cafe comes pretty cheap, with set meals offering competitive packages. The set lunch that I had, for instance, costs around S$10 (and without any pluses) and came with a soup starter and a slice of garlic bread (both of which were pretty good), the main course as well as a large drink. Pretty good deal, especially for those strapped for cash.

While Shaw Towers might not be the most accessible nor happening outlet around, it does provide a brief respite from the hustle and bustle of town (not to mention the price of everything there) and is great for those who want to try a novel dining experience. Just be warned, though: the cafe is rather small and I heard it can get really crowded at peak hours!

Cheshire Oaks

Cheshire Oaks is one of UK’s largest shopping villages, located about 170 miles from London, offering discounted goods (mainly clothing) from a wide variety of stores.

Unlike Singapore, which would have crammed all of the retail outlets into a single building like Parkway Parade or Tampines Mall, the various retail outlets were spread out alongside the perimeter of a rectangle, letting shoppers slowly walk and choose what they want to buy.

Recently, the Singapore Society at Warwick organized a trip to Cheshire Oaks for most of the freshers, and managed to get us shopping cards, giving additional discounts to go on a shopping spree to our heart’s content.

However, I thought that instead of getting a ‘bulk rate’ discount deal (where discounts were offered to large groups of people) because of our ‘society’ status, we got the discount cards due to this.

After all, we paid $10 to go on this tour, and I don’t think renting a 40 seater bus to journey there would cost $400.

Shoes, winter clothing, jackets, sportswear, and even chocolates were available at Cheshire Oaks, causing many to go into a frenetic burst of energy, dashing to each and every store to get the best possible deal.

Chocolate, anyone? Chocoholics would rejoice here, though it isn’t as good as a Willy Wonka’s factory.

The layout of the designer outlets and stores made strolling here and there in the cool air an enjoyable experience.

There’s even trees to admire within Cheshire Oaks, compared to the metal vegetation of Singapore.

And of course, if you get tired of shopping and walking, you can always take a break at one of the many benches dotting the Cheshire Oak grounds.

Of course, as typical cheapskate Singaporeans, most of us toured round the 140 + outlets there, comparing prices, and then returning to purchase the cheapest goods.

There were even signposts to tell us where to go.

As we had the whole day to shop, most of the guys managed to finish their shopping in a comparatively faster time than the gals, and toured around Cheshire Oaks looking at the scenery.

Even some decided to just eat ice-cream and wait, standing outside the shops oblivious to the cold.

At 8 degrees Celsius, he is definitely a brave and garang person.

At the end of the day, we all met up, and compared prices. Some bought very little, spending less than $5 for the whole day, while others splurged and bought $400 or more worth of clothing.

Being a bit of a math geek, I looked at how much people spent, and thought there was a bimodal distribution of the amount spent. Why the bimodal distribution? Well, that’s for all of you to guess

The House Bunny

I love Anna Faris.

Though it can be said that she only has those few facial expressions which she uses to full effect (the doe-in-headlights wide-eyed look of shock/horror/surprise being the most commonly seen one) in all the roles she plays, I always find that she brings a sort of endearing charm to the movies she’s in, most notably the Scary Movie series, which I love too.

In her first headlining role outside of the Scary Movie series, Faris not only continues shining with that odd lovable quality but also brings it to the movie in general.

The House Bunny tells the story of Shelley (played by Faris, of course), a Playboy mansion bunny who wakes up one day, having just turned 27 years old, to find a letter from Hef (as in Hugh Hefner, owner of the real Playboy mansion, who cameos as himself in this movie) telling her that she has been evicted from the mansion and has two hours to pack and leave.

Thrown into the real world with no life experience to speak of (having been brought up in an orphanage before being chosen for the mansion at a young age), Shelley stumbles upon a nearby college, where she finds the perfect for her to stay in and find her making - college sorority houses. Taking on the role of Sorority Mother for the Zetas -a bunch of misfits and outcasts-, Shelley not only has to take on the formidable task of transforming the girls and saving the house from being closed down, but also befriends an affable nursing home volunteer, played here by Colin Hanks (son of Tom Hanks), along the way.

Will she be successful in saving the house? Will she eventually, after several awkward encounters, make it good with the man of her dreams? Does the sun rise in the east and set in the west?

While the plot of the movie, never a pressing factor for brain fluff movies like this, isn’t exactly classic literature gold, it adequately moves the show along. The scripting, while generic, predictable and, at times, terribly slapstick (and not very funny), does have its moments, with a scene featuring Shelley standing over a manhole a la Monroe standing out the most. The pacing, as befitting most light-hearted romps, is fast and never draggy, feeling much shorter than its 97 minutes length.

The acting, for a comedic movie like this, is actually pretty good. While the supporting cast (which includes American Idol alum Katharine McPhee and Rumer Willis, daughter of Bruce and Demi) is perfunctory though not outstanding (although their rather one-dimensional characters and lack of screen time might have played a factor), the two leads are great. Faris, as mentioned, displays her widest range of acting chops yet (which, again, isn’t really that much but is perfect for the dimwitted, naive Shelley) and Colin Hanks proves that talent does run in the family as he brings an endearing, boy-next-door “aw shucks” charm to his character that will have the girls swooning despite his lack of matinee-idol looks.

Despite the overall averageness of its parts, as a whole, The House Bunny has a sort of mysterious, likable charm (just like its star) and, while it won’t be bagging many awards or even warrant a weekend cinema price, is a decent watch for those wanting to take a brain holiday.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Four interesting English Football Facts

I recently came across some football fact-sites and I thought these are quite interesting. Thought I might share it will you guys…

Fact 1: The Money Making League
It has been 17 years since the English Premier League launched in 1992, and it has since gained the status of being the world’s most popular and most watched sporting league. The English’s top football league is been followed worldwide by over half a billion people in 202 countries, including Singapore of course. With this type of popularity and media, it is no mystery that the English football clubs are the only clubs that holds pre-season tournaments in Asia. No wonder the pounds are not dropping like the rest of the currencies.

Fact 2: The English Premiership is not a league for Englishmen.
No English manager has won the Premier League; the four managers to have won the title comprises of two Scots, one Frenchman, and one Portuguese. The two Scots are Sir Alex Ferguson (winning it ten times with Manchester United) and Kenny Dalglish (once with Blackburn Rovers). The only Frenchman is Arsene Wenger (winning it three times with Arsenal) and Jose “Loser” Mourinho is the only Portuguese to have won the league with money (Chelsea). And guess what, an Italian is currently in charged of the English national team. Haha!

Fact 3: Manchester United breaks records by losing
Manchester United became the first team in the Premier League to concede a goal, when Brain Deane scored for Sheffield United in the 2-1 victory. Today, Manchester United is the first team to have scored 1000 goals in this league after Cristiano Ronaldo scored in a 4–1 defeat by Middlesbrough in the 2005–06 season. Both records are made when United is lost their games. Hmm… (Only Arsenal has reached the 1000 goals mark)

Fact 4: Only Welsh can score
Although Englishmen Alan Shearer is the highest ever goal scorer in the English Premier League, there are only two players who have score in all 16 seasons! And guess what, both of them are NOT English! Ryan Giggs and Gary Speed are the only two players to have scored in 16 seasons. Giggs remains the only hope for scoring in the 17th season with Manchester United as Speed is now with Sheffield United in the Championship league. Oh yah, both Giggs and Speed were captain of their nation Wales. What a fact!

Gary Speed

Ryan Giggs

Well here it is. If I do see somemore interesting ones, I will post them up. Meanwhile, lets all enjoy the excitment of the World Cup Qualifiers, and the misery of English Football…

Who will the Barclays’ Premier League winner be? The Big Four!

So who will the champions of England be this campaign? Here’s my take, and please do comment if you disagree.

Looking at the Big Four dominance in the last half decade, I wouldn’t go against it.

This time round, I reckon Liverpool will be a force to ponder. Fernando Torres’ and Steven Gerald’s partnership is starting to explode again, like they did last season. Liverpool has signed quite rubbish strikers before (Stan Collymore, Karl Riedler, Emile Heskey, Djibril Cisse, Peter Crouch, Craig Bellamy, Robbie Keane, wow the list can go on!), but I think this time, the 20 million pounds purchase of Torres will be key to their league success. The only thing that Liverpool loses out to the other main rivals is the main man in charge. Rafa Benitez can never compete with Sir Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger. But hey, you will never know. Spain won the Euro 2008, and Liverpool is filled with Spanish players. Fernando Torres, Alberto Riera, Jose Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa, and Xabi Alonso are Spanish players oozing with talents. And with Gerard, Mascherano, Kuyt, and Babel running down the flanks, Liverpool will challenge for the title no doubt. Robbie Keane is the only dumb signing.

Liverpool’s Rafael Benitez

Manchester United’s players are nothing short of fantastic. Looking at the team, the only weak link for United is their central midfield, especially now that Michael Carrick is out injured. Sir Alex Ferguson has a plan, and I am so sure that it will work. He allowed legendary players to be on his chopping board and still wins major tournaments! Free kick specialist and assist king David Beckham, goal scoring machine Ruud Van Nistelrooy, clean sheet master Jaap Stam, and even the golden partnership of Dwight Yorke and Andrew Cole, are victims of the knighted manager. And looking at United’s defense, which is the best during the last campaign, the clean sheets records are going to broken. Edwin can der Sar, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, and captain Gary Neville fills out the back four, with Wes Brown as a replacement. As we look at the attacking options, the experience of Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes will be better value than any transfers. And the likes of Tevez, Rooney, Berbatov, and Ronaldo will prove too much to handle when the season progresses. 

Sir Alex Ferguson

Arsenal’s humble team is promising, but not enticing at all. The only player to deserve some credit is Spanish wonder midfielder Cesc Fabregas. New signing Carlos Vela needs a few more years, Robin Van Persie will go to the treatment room soon enough, and Emmanuel Adebayor will soon lose his scoring touch when he visits the salon. Although Denilson and Theo Walcott looks to be the best bet for young player of the year, Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal will not have enough stamina to last the entire season, especially when they appoint William Gallas as their team captain. The only thing Gallas can do is to fight and score lucky goals. But his luck is running out!

Arsene Wenger

As for Chelsea, only their goalkeeping department and midfield department show consistency. Petr Czeh is the only Chelsea player to have made zero mistakes for his club (he did make a costly error for his country during the summer tournament). And even captain marvel John Terry makes mistakes! And with Ricardo “The Clown” Carvalho partnering him, only a wizard Czeh can keep clean sheets. As for the midfield department, the loss of Essien and Makelele will prove costly for Chelsea, as Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack are just individual superstars, not team players.

Scolari

So here is the Overview

Hence my verdit:
Champions: Manchester United (131)
Runners Up: Liverpool (128)
Third Place: Arsenal (123)
Fourth Place : Chelsea (122)

Let me know if you don’t agree, and we will see who is right in August.

Handling Interview Questions

One of my friends went for an internship interview at a major oil company this week, and he asked the gang for help preparing for Monday. He expects to be grilled over the fire (oil companies definitely know how to fuel the fire), and so did not want to be anything less than 100% prepared.

Yeah, I exaggerate. An internship is probably not that important to warrant dragging more than 2 or 3 executives away from their work in order to hear candidates spew forth rehearsed speeches! Even so, it’s crucial to prepare for all eventualities, simply because you’re crossing the threshold into uncharted territory; and without sufficient mental fortitude to handle the interview, you might find yourself as dispirited as the American Idol rejects at the end of it.

With that in mind, I’m not going to write about the preparation or actual interview process; that’s a post for another day. Instead, I’m going to list some typical questions, and my answer to those questions. The basic premise I would like to share is the importance of selling yourself without sounding like a broken record. Songs that somehow got repeated too many times by my MP3 player’s algorithm get deleted by me eventually, so you know the outcome if you’re too predictable =)

At the end of the description, I linked back to some of the projects the company has done. It’s a basic interview technique: talking about the benefits of hiring you to the company.

Spurs Going Down?

Looking at the situation of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, many people will take a gamble on them taking the drop this season, even that early into the football season. Getting two points from a possible twenty-one isn’t a great start at all! Tottenham Hotspur is in face the worst team in Europe so far, if you look at the major soccer leagues from Germany, Italy, Spain, or even Scotland! From the form they are having now, I think even Motherwell can snatch a point from them. All this criticisms are arrowed towards one main fellow. His name is Juande Ramos.

Spurs have scored only four goals this season, and we all expect that after Ramos sold three of the top Premier League strikers to rival clubs! Dimitar Berbatov’s first two seasons in England has proved so worthy that Man United offer an excess of 30 million pounds, Jermain Defoe(the current England striker), is scoring so freely for Portsmouth, and Robbie Keane is beginning to show his partnership with Fernando Torres by creating and scoring last weekend. Well, instead of keeping these strikers, Ramos decided to keep Darren Bent, and purchasing untested Roman Pavlyuchenko as the main strike force. What a silly move! 

However, for Spurs to be dropped at the end of the 2008/2009 season, I do think it’s a far fetched statement. Although the striking department of Spurs does look a little questionable, the other departments do look alright to survive. Luka Modric is slowly but surely taking his sweet time adapting, and selling Paul Robinson is by far the best EPL move this season. Spurs’ Brazilian goalkeeper Gomes is a quality buy! Most of the goals conceded is not his mistake at all! Once Alan Hutton is back, I believe Spurs will have consecutive clean sheets soon. And it’s all up to their strikers to make the numbers count.

My bet of going down this year would be West Brom, Stoke City, and Sunderland. I might be wrong… looking at the joke of Newcastle United. But one is for sure, Hull City is going to enjoy another season of lucrative monetary benefits in the English top football league.

How To Light Up And Grab Attention Immediately!

I was engrossed in reading a book while the TV was playing the Taiwanese singing competition. Suddenly, I hear this sultry voice that gave the song she was singing a special touch. Involuntarily, I looked up. “She’s good,” I thought to myself.

Why did I do that? Because there was an immediate and intense attraction.

How many of us have experienced such an attraction before? Imagine this scene. You are somewhere chatting with your friends in a busy café, noises were everywhere. All of a sudden, the sound level dived. It’s as if everybody had stopped talking and doing something instead. You turned, and you saw what provoked the silence. It was a dashing, drop-dead gorgeous woman sauntering in, looking for a seat.

How many of us have had the chance to be “this woman”? Do you know how it feels like? Can you imagine how it would feel like?

I’m illustrating this scenario because it probably is one that is easiest for everyone to relate to, and say “Ah… I know what you’re talking about!” In fact, there are many other different examples that we can think of, events in life that evoke an immediate and strong reaction from other parties.

It’s what I call the “Light Up” factor – making someone extremely interested in you or what you are doing.

Do you have what it takes to light up?

If you are beginning to whine that “I don’t have the look of a celebrity,” or “I don’t have the voice to melt a woman,” then, I’d advise you to stop all these thoughts right now! They are toxins, they are only there to poison your mind and the only thing they ever do is to stop you from reaching your goal! Wipe them away from your mind now, and follow these 5 tips if you genuinely want to, at times, be the star of the moment. Just one moment, but it could just change your life.

5 Tips To Light Up

1. Magnify your best asset. Is it that pair of big, alluring eyes that captivates anyone who is within 100m radius from you? Or is it that hearty and infectious laughter? Identify it and use it to your advantage.

2. “Excuse me, what did you just say?” Do you have an outrageous quote that startles people when they first hear it? Or some knock-them-down theories that you came up with? There’s a guy got the attention of another girl when he stands up among a group and actually says that “I think I’m quite a handsome man”. Wows and whoas were heard, and many of them were just impressed with the “guts” as they put it, this guy has.

3. The seductive scent. Humans are more sensitive to scent that we consciously know about it. Because scents are embedded in our unconscious memory, we don’t pay much attention to it until it is being evoked when we smell something similar again in the future. Make use of this and carry a seductive (or manly) scent that will make people turn their heads and wonder where did that sweet-smelling aroma come from? [Tips for girls: don’t just think of perfume. How about shampoo?]

4. Be audacious. That’s right. Even if you are armed with the best weapon, but without the audacity to use it, it’s as good as sweeping all the talents and assets you have under the carpet. 

5. Create the stage! Why do you have to wait for opportunities to come? Why not create them? If you have a very alluring voice, take part in a singing competition! Or, whenever you attend a seminar, grab the microphone and asks a question. There is no such thing as unspotted talent – they are just not willing to come out to the fore to be seen.

Everyone has a unique selling point. Make use of what gifts you have been endowed with and bring out the light in you and shine! 

Increased attempts to steal your financial data online

THE world is in financial chaos, and ordinary folks are caught up in worries over whether their investments are safe. Now’s the time when crooks and scoundrels are taking advantage of the turmoil, say governments and security experts.

The US Federal Trade Commission has issued a warning saying phishing gangs were using the turmoil to extract valuable information from consumers. “Phishing” is geek-jargon for “fishing”, the practice of fishing for personal data (your ID, PIN and password) from your computer when you log into your banking account or make a credit-card payment.

“Scammers are taking advantage of upheavals in the financial marketplace to confuse consumers into parting with valuable personal information,” says the FTC. It expects the crooks to pose as the new owners of banks or the federal agencies charged with oversight of struggling institutions.

Strong reminder: Do not reply to e-mail messages or pop-up boxes that ask for your personal or financial information even if they appeared to come from a bank. And when you receive bank and credit card statements, examine them line-by-line for unauthorised withdrawals or transfers of your money.

The financial meltdown “has been a man-made catastrophe”, says World Bank President Robert Zoellick at the World Bank / IMF annual meeting on Oct 12, in Washington. Mr Zoellick says in a statement: “The actions and responses to overcome it lie in all our hands. We must also ensure that as governments and publics turn their attention close to home, they do not step back from their commitments to boost overseas assistance to meet the Millennium Development Goals.”

Sequences to Infinity

Have you ever wondered what is the concept of infinity when dealing with expressions and sequences in the field of mathematics? In secondary school, polytechnics, and junior colleges, we hear in mathematics classes that when a sequence tends to infinity, the terms get larger and larger.

Say for example, the sequence a_n = n, for n running from 1, 2, 3 ... This sequence goes (from n = 1) 1, 2, 3, 4, ... As the sequence keeps on increasing with each greater value of n, we say it tends to infinity, when n tends to infinity, but can we go to a more precise definition to when a sequence tends to infinity?

It is not enough to say that each term in the sequence is greater than the previous term. For if we consider the sequence b_n = 1 - 1/n, for n running from 1, 2, 3..., the terms of the sequence (from n = 1) are 0, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, ..., and as n gets larger and larger, the sequence b_n tends to 1 as n tends to infinity.

As a matter of fact, yes we can go to a more precise definition!

Consider this graph of the first sequence, a_n = n, where the horizontal axis are the values of n, and the vertical axis the values of a_n.

If we draw a horizontal line at height 4, we see that there are terms lying above this line, where n is greater than 4.

Similarly, if we draw a horizontal line at height 10, we also see there are terms lying above this line, where n is greater than 10. The same thing applies when the line is drawn at height 13, as there are still terms lying above this line.

So if we draw a horizontal line at a height A for example, we can still find a value N such that all terms of this sequence after N are lying above this line A. This means that there are some values of n, such that the values of an are greater than A (the horizontal line), for all subsequent values of n more than N.

Ie, if height A was 2008 for example, there is a N where all terms after this would be more than 2008 (N be 2008) ; all terms after this would lie above this line (2009, 2010, etc).

So from this, we can deduce that a sequence of real numbers tends to infinity, if and only if, given any A > 0 (however large), there exists a corresponding positive integer N = N (A) such that a_n > A, for all n > N. (This is just the last two paragraphs explained in mathematical terms.)

From the above definition, we can see that the sequence b_n does not tend to infinity, for if we choose an A of say, 2, none of the terms of the sequence would ever be above this line.

A similar method can be used to see if a sequence tends to zero as well, but that can be left as an exercise to the reader of this blog

A stab at writing

Hello, my name is Roy. I enjoy writing (and blogging now) ever since I became literate. Well, not as soon as I could read and write, but I find it psychologically pleasurable to write about stuff. It’s the kind that tends towards the urge to spread news that many passionate journalists have.

I didn’t manage to get the hard-nosed persistence to follow up on news stories, which is why I’m not one of the few blow-by-blow bloggers who break new updates by the minute. Doing that is really hard work, since you’re Internet-bound a majority of the time, even as you jet around the world attending amazing product launches, events and conferences. It’s a race against time and other bloggers who also specialise in competitive blogging.

Me? I prefer to pick apart stuff, poke around and then write my comments after refluxing my thoughts for a few days. It’s an internal pressure cooker within my brain, so instead of simmering myself in race, like blogger-journalists do, I’m churning and digesting all the juicy bits they dish up, and then pick them apart like autopsies.

It got to a point that I realised that I wasn’t doing anything new myself. Rather, I commenting on something that has happened to somebody else. I wasn’t really creating my own stuff, which in my pressure-cooked brain somehow thinks is the best way to improve my writing. Therefore, I’m taking a plunge into fiction writing.

Come November this year, I’ll be taking part in the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) competition, where people around the world race to write a 50,000 word essay within the month of November. Going at a constant pace would mean meeting a minimum commitment of 1,667 words per day — that’s like writing one report a day!

It’ll sure make things interesting, since I intend to blog about my progress here during the entire month. I’ll definitely not make 1,667 words per day, since the school term is in session during that month, so I’m looking at hitting 4,000 words whenever I can, squeezing the entire month down to 12 days of intense writing. I’m upping the ante, since I’ll also be taking my Sun Certified Java Programmer certification examination next month too. It’ll be the ultimate busiest period of my life yet!

Of course, my novel might not turn out on the same level as my usual writing. It might be even be incomprehensible rubbish, riddled with loopholes and topped up with overused cliches, but I’m looking way past that. Refinement will come later, for the National Novel Writing Month is about unbridled writing; the affirmation of expressing ideas without engaging the inner critic (not yet), and the tearful joy of reaching the finishing line on 30 November 2008.

Root for me; I’ll struggle through this!

A-MEI – THE DIVA

By the end of it, I had thrown away all inhibitions and was tapping and swaying to the tunes and rocking rhythm. Finally, I’ve done it!

I had, an hour before, felt shy and embarrassed about waving my hands and shaking my butt. Would I be blocking people behind me? Would they find me too old to be so excited? Would I look silly waving my bare hands in the air with no glow stick?

But when the finale came, and the diva pranced around on stage, wheedling everyone to get up from their seats, dance, let our hair down and be absolutely wild, I jumped into the fray. The discomfort in my feet saved me from the act of jumping and pumping my fist in the air as she belted out the song that shot her to commercial fame.

Singaporeans have been said to be reserved and not as passionate as our other Asian counterparts, notably the Taiwanese and Chinese. Just measure the intensity of the screams on the decibel scale at any concert in these countries and it’s easy to see the gap.

But, I saw a different picture last Saturday, when I was at A-Mei’s concert. Screams, yells and periodic shouts of “I love you” were everywhere. A-Mei, the Taiwan queen of pops (in my opinion) was here to perform a second time as part of the route for her Star Tour. She was ecstatic, and she didn’t hesitate to tell all her Singapore fans that, “this Star Tour has not complete its round, and I’m now back at Singapore for the 2nd time!” to wild screams.

She certainly knows her way to cajole her crowd, as she continued, “I might as well just stay here and finish the remaining rounds! I’ll just sing in Singapore!” The stadium went crazy.

For 3 hours, she single-handedly sang. There was no special guest appearance to relieve her for some twenty to thirty minutes. She just springs to stage, sings and dances, returns to backstage for a change of costumes, and back to stage again. One has to be impressed and amazed by her singing prowess, that by the end of the 3 hours stint, she was still able to reach all her high notes almost effortlessly.

This is the second time I’ve attended Zhang Hui Mei’s aka A-Mei’s concert. The first time was more than 10 years ago, in 1997, also to a fully-packed stadium. I was itching to know how many people was there that night. To be able to hold a sold-out concert is no mean feat. A google search gave me the answer – a sold-out crowd translates to 10,000 people packed in one place especially for one person!

A-Mei didn’t have it any easier, because the stage faced all 4 sides. She had to cater to each side so that no fans would ever feel neglected. And she did a great job – at “inciting friendly competition” among all 4 sides to see where she should head to or spend more time with. It all depends on how loudly fans scream and how passionate we all are.

In certain concerts, I’ve seen the distribution of screams was indeed skewed. One particular side would, somehow or rather, miraculously contained exceptionally enthusiastic, fervent and crazy fans with their fanatical screeches and out-loud declarations of affection for their idol. It was no wonder that their idol would repay their efforts by giving them more “face time”.

A-Mei’s concert, compared to Jeff Chang’s, whose was held earlier this year, was like two different ends of the pole. While the former thrives on loudness and the hip factor, the latter glides with flowing melodies and soothing vocals.

I enjoyed both concerts tremendously, though they were completely different. A-Mei’s powerful and influential vocals have proved that she is, indeed the diva of MandoPop. Jeff’s lilting rendition of his songs doesn’t make me go ga-ga like A-Mei, but they make me smile and, may I add, the irresistible urge to want to place my hands over my chest and drown in the songs, feeling deeply satisfied.

Now, I just need to remind myself that the next time I’m going to a concert that rocks, I’ll arm myself with the glowing neon sticks and a superbly good whistle-blower. Oh, plus a comfortable blue suede shoe. 

Battle Royale (The Book)

A few years ago, I had the chance to catch a movie many consider to be one of the finer entries in the Japanese cinematic experience. Based upon a popular (and initially banned) novel of the same title, Battle Royale was a movie that sparked much controversy thanks to its excessive violence (and bloodshed) as well as its entire “Lord Of The Flies” vibe. Despite the dark tone (or perhaps because of it), I enjoyed the movie immensely, viewing it as an accurate social commentary and an insightful look into the basic, primal human psyche.

In the past week, I’ve finally had the chance to read the original novel, translated into English. Written by Koushun Takami, Battle Royale tells of a bleak, alternate universe Japan, a country under the tyrannical, fascist regime of its government. Every year, a “Program” would be held all over the island, with random classes of junior high school students kidnapped into secret locations where they will have to kill each other until only one survives.

The novel follows three students who have been selected, together with their class, to take part in their year’s Program – Shuya Nanahara, an idealistic if rash stereotypical Japanese hero; Noriko Nakagawa, a sweet caring girl whom Shuya’s best friend had a crush on; and Shogo Kawada, the cool, able stranger who helps them both survive. While the story primarily focuses on these three and their struggle to survive without having to kill each other, every other character in their 42-strong class is also introduced, each with their own little chapter, backstory and (in most cases) the details of the interactions (and subsequent deaths) with the other classmates during the Program.

As I mentioned, Battle Royale gives a detailed, insightful, if somewhat violent, look into the human psyche as we see all the characters in their most primeval survivalistic states and, in this kind of extreme life-or-death situation, their mindsets and subsequent actions. Reading the book will definitely lead to long session of self-reflection as the reader ponders what would happen if he or she had to participate in the story themselves.

Despite a hefty 600+ page count, at no part of the book does the story feel belaboured or struggling. Takami (and perhaps the translator as well) has excellent pacing and his descriptions are both vivid and comprehensive (although having watched the movie prior to reading the novel might have played a part in it). He also manages to set a dark yet not overwhelmingly sombre tone for most of the book.

Also, despite the fact that there are over 40 characters in the story, he manages to flesh each one out sufficiently and prevent them from becoming one-dimensional caricatures, even if you do end up forgetting most of the multi-syllabic names. Takami is also proficient at portraying teenage interactions, with the thought processes and speech patterns of most of the characters surprisingly lifelike. His narrations and linguistic style too, sometimes digressing into almost mindless rambling and meandering, is akin to the unfocussed mind of a junior high teen.

Of course, as mentioned, Battle Royale is a book famous for its depictions of violence, much more so than its spiritual predecessor, William Golding’s Lord Of The Flies, which had its dark moments but none so detailed and graphic as this book’s. Thus, it’s definitely not for the faint of heart or stomach. Still, for those who can stomach the gore (which would be an increasing number, in this age of Kill Bill and the Saw movies), the book rarely goes into OTT sadistic gore, rather using the sordid details to paint a clearer picture for the reader.

At the end of the day, this book, with its intimidating length and subject matter, is definitely not for everyone. However, for those willing to look beyond the violence and gore, one would find an intelligent study of the teenage mind as well as an entertaining, if rather stomach-curdling, read.

Adapting to changes

My secondary school teacher once told me that at every new stage of your life, you tend to compare it to the previous stage, and prefer the previous one instead for a certain period of time. He illustrated this by telling us stories how he thought that army life was worse than his Junior College, but when he entered University, he believed army life was better. He ended up by telling us how he preferred his University days compared to teaching my class, and shaking his head at the same time.

But I think his words have merit.

Settling into university life, especially one overseas where the culture is different from Singapore, is not easy, and there will bound to be comparisons to back home, and finding things better back there.

For me, in the first few days overseas at university, I found myself comparing some aspects of life with my previous army life.

For example: Toilet / Living Room Cleaning. Having a cleaner to clean the place every day is not necessarily good. It just means that people have no incentive to clean up, since the cleaning will be automatically done the next day. So if you end up living with slobs as housemates, expect a mess in the toilet and living room, and that can be tiresome in the evening. Of course, this problem isn’t as exacerbated in the army, due to punishments given out for shoddy area cleaning.

Yet another one: Asian Food. Chinese Asian food served overseas somehow taste worse than SFI food. Maybe even combat rations as well.

The bathroom is also sadly compared with to SAF, there was more cubicle room when I was serving my two years, and I had ledges to put my soap boxe and shampoo bottle on.

Reporting sick is not as simple ; although consultation is free, medicine / treatment has to be paid for, and after being used to free medical treatment, it is kind of a let down.

After a few days though, I settled into university life, and suddenly, university looks much better than my bleak NS days, with the previous comparisons dulling in the face of

1. No more area cleaning! Everything done by the cleaner!

2. Western / Indian food overseas is much better and tastier.

3. There is warm water in the bathroom, together with a whole bench to put toiletries on (though a few steps away from the shower)

4. Reporting sick gives you an MC, which can be used as an excuse to why assignments are not handed up, and (very sparingly though), to allow one to skip tests and retake them if you haven’t studied the day before.


And after adjusting to the changes, staying at university is definitely much more satisfying, and marks a new chapter in my journey through life.

Love, Dream, Music

“If you really don’t like the plot or the movie, at least, just go and enjoy the music,” I urged my friends.

“Is it really good?” one of them asked again.

“Yes, and go catch up before she gives birth,” I replied, pointing to his wife sitting beside him, with her big round tummy peeking up from the table where I was sitting.

I was wildly promoting the movie “Mamma Mia!” to them yesterday over dinner. Like I said, even if you find the plot somewhat incredible, the acting not as great, the music is always there to save the show. But, really, in my opinion, the plot is passable, the acting is superb (who can fault Meryl Streep?) and the music is absolutely mesmerising. Oh, I should leave that word to describe the sea!

There were too many reasons prompting me to watch this show. At the top of the list was the location of the shoot – Greece. Gosh, you don’t know how crazy I am over this country. I love Greek so much that I desperately wanted to dress like one for my wedding. In the end, my designer did his best to give me an evening gown that shows off a multi-purpose top with a fiery, red Spanish colour, Of course, I gave my top a toga twist, to add in that Greeky touch.

The other reasons were of course, the cast plus the songs! I was already tapping to the tunes of “Dancing Queen” during the trailers, so how could I ever miss this for the world? The fact that I can eat popcorns and watch it on the big screen is the last puller.

I wasn’t disappointed at all. Though Stuart said the movie was nowhere comparable to the real musical when he caught during their performance in Singapore in 2005, he too agreed with me that it was certainly a value for money movie.

Amanda Seyfried who plays Sophie, the bride-to-be and daughter of Donna (Meryl Streep) looks so lovely and delightful in her Greek wedding dress! I gushed at the way she looked and giggled to Stuart “that’s exactly the way I wanted to look!” She sings beautifully as well.

In fact, the ability of the cast to pull off the songs at such a capacity impresses me.

Sophie is on the quest to know her biological father, a mystery that even her mother is clueless on. The only clue they have is he is definitely one of the three men whom Donna had, with each, a short-lived and yet absolutely mind-blowing whirlwind romance.

So, which of the three – Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgard), Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan), Harry Bright (Colin Firth) – is the father of the 20 year old bride?

The sun, the sea, the beach, the girls, the boys, the women, the men and lastly, the music are all to be keenly watched out for in this 2-hour movie Mamma Mia!.

I can feel the love between Sophie and her fiancé, and I can feel the deep relationship shared between her mother and her two best friends, who banded together to call themselves the “Dynamo Sisters”. The chemistry between them and how they gel together so well when each of them can be so different as individuals reminds me of how girlfriends are so important in our lives, and the best ones are usually found and made during our school days.

Perhaps the intensity of the love shared between Donna and Sam is best reflected when she expresses her innermost feelings – the huge struggle between wanting him and not being able to want him – in the song she sings at the cliff, on the way to the church. Stuart was so touched by it that he, well, shed some manly tears.

See! Now tell me if this movie isn’t worth you watching.

Besides love, there is also a dream that each of them bears. And that is probably what gives this plot that magical touch – a dream. All of us have a dream with us. It can be born during our childhood, or it can be unearthed as we journey on in our lives. But, I believe everyone has a dream, and to be able to realise it is something that invokes a passionate emotion in us. 

As I told Stuart at the end of the movie, “I think Pierce Brosnan is the only person who probably shouldn’t be singing.” But, he more than made up for it with his suave, charming looks and his oh-so-man eyes. That’s why, I’m still happy.

Formula One Fetish

I hold strong indifference towards cars beyond the fact that they are aluminium boxes on rubber tyres that can ferry humans around at any time of the day. All you drivers out there surely know and cherish that freedom to head across the causeway at 3.34am in the morning, just cos you can.

I love cars too… if only for that ability to stay out with friends right into ridiculous hours, and still be able to hit my cosy bed within 20 minutes from anywhere in Singapore. Cars pander to our whims and our flippant human nature with great aplomb, which makes falling in love with it a simple 5 minute ride from a deserted army camp into civilisation at 11pm.

For me, the buck stops there; though there are some people who take their love affair for their petrol-guzzlers to dizzying heights, from polishing them meticulously every other day, to addressing their vehicles as their better halves. I always imagine the human concubines steaming in furious jealousy at just how much more care their husbands give to the first wives. Thankfully, machines can’t enter a legally binding marriage, or there’ll be no end to the uproar!

Of course, being an obsessed Japanese manga and anime consumer (a.k.a Otaku), I keenly feel petrol-heads’ devotion to their cars. Like in any other field, if you’re simply not into it, you’re bound to miss the point of other people’s fetishes. Which brings me to what I wanted to write about today.

The high-pitched whine can be heard from as far away as Plaza Singapura. It amazed my friends, because you don’t normally expect a car to generate enough noise to be heard over 2 kilometres away. You’d expect the AirBus 380 spinning its turbofans at maximum torque to make such sounds, but since aeroplanes don’t exactly take off from the middle of Singapore’s shopping district, we were initially dissonant on what happened for a few seconds. But let me assure you, all doubts cleared as we got closer to the Singapore Management University: the incessantly changing pitch of high performance engines burning tyres into roads could only mean that. The. Formula. One. Race. Has. Started.

Now, a disadvantage of covering 2km on foot with high pitch buzzing in the air is that most people will get irritated. I wasn’t sweating enough to want the air-conditioning, but my ears were sufficiently annoyed that the pair took over my legs, and steered me into the embrace of Raffles City. Thank goodness for the age of sound proofing!

My friends and I walked from the CityLink underground shopping mall to Suntec City, where we took in the barren landscape; there was nary a human at the underground exit. As we strolled through the mall, we could see that the shopping centre has become a victim of the wildly successful F1 race. One of my buddy deduced that regulars must have stayed away because of all the messily confusing road closures a week ago. People must have thought that Suntec City wouldn’t even be open during the F1 period, and hung out with their wallets at Orchard Road instead! That should explain the human congestion at Takashimaya in the afternoon!

Personally, I’m happy that people from around the world came to Singapore to watch the Grand Prix. After all, this is a small country, and tourists generally don’t spend anymore than a day here because of our mordernist culture. You don’t get to see many things that would make a foreigner go, “HEY, take a look at that! I don’t get to see this anywhere else!” That the F1 lasted 2 whole days meant that foreigners are staying longer a little bit longer here, which mean paying more for their hotel bills, which means that hotels earn more money. And that is a Good Thing, because Roy’s mom works in a hotel