Singapore Idol's Polls

In an online poll on Yahoo!:

Taufik got 46%(14948 votes) and Sylvester got 22% (7213 votes).



Anyone who has been reading my blog would know that I have been following Singapore Idol. Well...now it's the Finals..tomorrow...

I have been through a myriad of contestants who I thought would make it. First I banked on Joanna Dong to make it to the finals (but she did not make the cut)...then it was Candice Foo (who dropped out because of her studies)...then it was Daphne (who shined in the earlier stages)...then Jessea(who seemed to have everything going for her but somehow did not connect with the audience)...then Maia(voted out because she was too predictable and backlash from her 'affair with Sly)..then Sylvester(who seemed to offer something different from the other contestants)...then now it is Taufik (who just blew me away the other day with his renditions of 'Superstitious' and 'Lets Stay Together' during the Spectacular 6: R&B/Soul)!

Taufik started off coming across as arrogant and cocky during the auditions but he is definitely the most improved of all the Idol contestants. His strength is R&B, but Sylvester has the teenage girls market cornered for some reason. Lets hope talent triumphs over hype...

The Magic of Eye Contact

Read this article today and agree with it. I have been guilty of doing it as well.That is also part of the reason why I make eye contact and greet tourists when I see them in town and not the locals.

I THINK I know why the annual courtesy campaigns do not have much success. And it isn't that Singaporeans are rude or inconsiderate.

It hit me this morning as I was walking to my car. An Indian gentleman cycled past me. He smiled and I acknowledged him with a nod and a "good morning". We have been doing this for a few mornings.

Then, a Chinese gentleman in his late 50s walked towards me, keeping his eyes focused in front of him. We passed each other without a word.

And that was when it hit me. The reason I said good morning to one person I didn't know, yet ignored another, had nothing to do with age or race but everything to do with eye contact.

I don't understand why Singaporeans find making eye contact difficult. Maybe, it has to do with their upbringing. In England, it is common to look at people and say "hello" as you pass them in the streets.

There have been many times when I'm in a lift in Singapore and someone walks in, presses a button and proceeds to stare at the lift door. When the doors open, they walk out as if I didn't exist. I find this behaviour strange and rude.

People sitting on the MRT "pretend" to read or sleep and refuse to look up. They avoid making eye contact at all costs.

And this is why pregnant women and the elderly are forced to stand on trains and buses. People avoid looking at a person on his feet struggling with many bags because if they make eye contact, something magical happens.

That struggling person will become a fellow human being and you will feel some degree of pity or sympathy for him. If not, you will feel guilty and all these feelings will force you to do what is correct — stand up and offer your seat.

I also look at the person who serves me in a shop or restaurant and if they look back, the barrier that separates friends from strangers disappears and both will end up either smiling at each other or saying hello or thank you.

My wife, who is Singaporean, initially found it strange that people would say hello to me but not her when we were in a lift or the neighbourhood.

I remember a maid who said hello as she passed by. My wife asked who she was, to which I replied I had no idea.

"Why did she say hello to you and not to me?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because I also said hello to her," I replied (not adding that my wife did not glance in the maid's direction until after she'd greeted me).

Every morning, I wait with about five other people at the bus stop, yet no one acknowledges the presence of the others — except for this gentleman and me.

We only exchange good mornings. I have never asked him for his name or where he works. And as others jostle to get on the bus, I'd pause and say, "you go first" and he'd either reply "thank you" or "It's okay, after you".

Eye contact first, show consideration second.

So the next time you pass by someone, don't ignore him or her. Make eye contact, smile and say hello. Before you know it, you will be holding the door open for others. And you'll suddenly realise how eye contact can make your day so wonderful.

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas

so cruel

We crossed the line
Who pushed who over
It doesn't matter to you
It matters to me

We're cut adrift
But still floating
I'm only hanging on
To watch you go down
My love

I disappeared in you
You disappeared from me
I gave you everything you ever wanted
It wasn't what you wanted

The men who love you, you hate the most
They pass right through you like a ghost
They look for you but your spirit is in the air
Baby, you're nowhere

Oh, love... you say in love there are no rules
Oh, love... sweetheart...
You're so cruel

Desperation is a tender trap
It gets you every time
You put your lips to her lips
To stop the lie

Her skin is pale like God's only dove
Screams like an angel for your love
Then she makes you watch her from above
And you need her like a drug

Oh, love... you say in love there are no rules
Oh, love... sweetheart...
You're so cruel

She wears my love like a see-through dress
Her lips say one thing
Her movements something else
Oh love... like a screaming flower
Love... dying every hour... love

You don't know if it's fear or desire
Danger the drug that takes you higher
Head in heaven, fingers in the mire

Her heart is racing, you can't keep up
The night is bleeding like a cut
Between the horses of love and lust
We are trampled... underfoot

Oh, love... you say in love there are no rules
Oh, love... sweetheart...
You're so cruel

Oh, love... to stay with you I'd be a fool
Oh... sweetheart... you're so cruel

Sometimes you can't make it on your own

Tough, you think you've got the stuff
You're telling me and anyone
You're hard enough

You don't have to put up a fight
You don't have to always be right
Let me take some of the punches
For you tonight

Listen to me now
I need to let you know
You don't have to go it alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

We fight all the time
You and I... that's alright
We're the same soul
I don't need... I don't need to hear you say
That if we weren't so alike
You'd like me a whole lot more

Listen to me now
I need to let you know
You don't have to go it alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you when I don't pick up the phone
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

(Just inside)
I know that we don't talk
I'm sick of it all
Can, you, hear, me, when, I, sing
You're the reason I sing
You're the reason why the opera is in me

Well hey now
Still got to let you know
A house still doesn't make a home
Don't leave me here alone

And it's you when I look in the mirror
And it's you that makes it hard to let go
Sometimes you can't make it on your own
Sometimes you can't make it
Best you can do is to fake it
Sometimes you can't make it on your own

heh heh...got the exact same score as my sis!

You are 73% Scorpio

How much do you match your zodiac sign?

the Incredibles

Watched The Incredibles on Monday. I must say it is one of the best I have seen so far this year. Funny and clever with characters all of us can relate to. A must watch!


A story about a family of superheroes who have to keep their identities a secret to avoid civil lawsuits. Mr. Incredible finds his job a bore and pines for the good old villian butt-kicking days.His family is no less interesting. His wife Elastigirl(a soccer mum), and 2 kids Dash(a hyperactive brat) and Violet(a reticient wall flower) provide much of the charm of the movie.In the film, Bob gets pulled back to his heroic life, which inadvertently reconnects him with his family. With comic-book in-jokes, themes of middle-aged regret and a PG rating, The Incredibles might be the first Pixar film to appeal more to parents than kids. Of course, its explosive action is a blast, the characters are well-defined, and it has a big heart, too. Of special mention has to be Edna Node as quirky fashion designer to the superheroes! Hilarious stuff!

Ben and Jerry's opens their first Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop at the Zoo. Yippie!! Finally!!


My favourite ice-cream at my favourite place to go.