random stuff

Some pictures I took a while back have had yet to post. I went to Marina Jetty and took some pictures. Quite a nice view there.



Then here are some pictures of one of the resident cats at my office and some of the plants that we have in our garden.


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Happy National Day Singapore

Where to start....?

HAPPY NATIONAL DAY @ Singapore would be a nice way to start.

The NDP at Marina Bay owned. I think they should hold it there every year, even when the new National Stadium is up. The city skyline on one side. Sheares Bridge on the other. And Marina Bay in the middle. How cool is that. Because of the water element the Coast Guards and Navy were able to showcase their skills and machinery for the first time at an NDP. Also the water afforded the use of fountains and water screens to further enhance the parade's laser and lights show.


picture by waitee


picture by Pin Loh


by Lobinhoot on Sheares Bridge


great pictures by Suren Rupasinghe


by Singapor3

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Of note also is the latest National Day Message.
It used to be one of those closed door type thingies that I did not look forward to each year. The Prime Minister would sit behind his big desk flanked by the national flag and read his prepared message. yawn.
But this year they did something different, so at least it was tolerable enough for me to be able to sit through the entire thing. He was at one of the buildings overlooking the city skyline. And the message was broken up into various parts with the PM himself pausing to look out of the window or walking. In a sense it was more informal and documentary like. The stunning backdrop and environment was a feast for the eyes. Well done whoever thought of updating the most mundane of national day rituals.

link to the video and text: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/ndp07/message.htm

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In other news closer to home, we got the much anticipated letter from HDB. So we are going down next Monday to do the needful and collect the keys to our new home! Yayy!!

A step closer...

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Was also a part of the MND National Day Observance Ceremony held at Labrador Park on Wednesday. I guess that it comes with the territory of being a eurasian that you always get called upon to show face at such official events where they want to show the racial diversity and cohesion that Singapore is supposed to espouse. So I get called upon to attend SAF and Ministry events due to my ethnicity.

Anyway the NDOC was a fun way to spend a weekday morning. The real bummer was having to be at MND HQ at Maxwell Road before 7 am! Means I had to wake up at 5 am to prepare and make my way there. Going into the city is an expensive affair with all the ERP and parking rates. A half day in the city in the morning would set me back about $15 (erp=$5,parking=$10), so public transport was the only feasible option.

I got there before 7,so got myself a drink at the nearby Maxwell Market. Being the eve of national day I got the most patriotic drink possible (not Singapore Sling): Bandung!! Red and White, geddit??

After registering, I got onto the first bus to Labrador Park. I must say it is very nice in the morning to watch the sunrise.Labrador Park is indeed one of the nicer parks around,especially at sunrise and sunset time.



Then it was time for the morning exercise, followed by the new Singapore Dance for this year. Then we had a 'brisk walk' round about the park. It was anything but brisk but refreshing nonetheless.



After the walk we all gathered again for refreshments followed by the real official stuff (national anthem, pledge, performances, presentations, speeches etc)

Pledge taking by 2 recent citizens.


Guest-of-Honour and Minister of National Development, Mr Mah Bow Tan:


Presentation of plaques to the CEO of the various Statutory Boards under the MND umbrella..la...la..la...


Then a dance performance by the bo liao staff of URA...


After all that hard work there was a reception under the white tentage:


After all that eating it was time for those of us that signed up for the walking tours to get into our respective groups, as the rest headed back to MND HQ.
I opted for Trail 3 which entailed going up the hill of Labrador Park to its peak and along the way stopping by the various casemates, guns and tunnels.


One of the only remaining guns


the view from atop Labrador Hill.


We even got to go into the tunnels free of charge (normal price=$8.40 per adult).
Then it was back to MND and then back home to wash up and change before heading back to the office.

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more wwe stuff

There were a couple of reviews and match reports for the recent WWE Summerslam Smackdown /ECW Tour on PWTorch (in my view the bestest damn wrestling website around).

http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/publish/article_21186.shtml
http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/publish/article_21188.shtml


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Montage video of the WWE Summerslam tour

Courtesy of everyone's favourite Sarawakian blogger, Kenny Sia.
He also has some pics down on his blog of his experience at the recent house show.
You can view his little known blog here: http://www.kennysia.com/



update: seems like the video has been pulled off by YouTube due to 'Third Party Copyright' issues.

anyway loads of others are also available online:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=WWE+Smackdown+Summerslam+Tour&search=Search

faster, faster...view them before they are all gone!!

UPDATE: 6/8= the vid of the recent smackdown/ECW live show is back up...sneaky..sneaky...
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Singapore Boleh!

There will be no revealing costumes at U.S. singer Gwen Stefani`s concert in Malaysia this month, a newspaper said on Saturday, after a Muslim student group demanded that the event be cancelled as being too obscene.

Jumping, shouting and the throwing of objects are barred, while performers may not hug, kiss or wear clothes with obscene or drug-related pictures or slogans, it added.

On Tuesday, an official of the 10,000-strong National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students said Stefani`s video promotion clips were obscene and the event would clash with local Asian and Islamic values

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I do not know what kind of concert it will be with no revealing clothes,jumping...or shouting. All I can think of about this matter, SINGAPORE BOLEH, for a change...

WWE Diva Victoria posted the following on her MySpace blog :

"So I was on the WWE Asia/Australia Tour. We fly from California to Bangkok, perform in Bangkok, then fly to Singapore. As I'm going through customs to get into Singapore, my purse goes through the x-ray machine. The security guy tells me they have to look through my bag. I didn't see anyone else get stopped, so I figured nothing good was coming out of this. A couple other security people come over.

They pull a bullet shell casing out of my purse. Let me explain that. I think I mentioned a few months back that my uncle passed away when I was in Europe. I didn't get to go to the funeral, and because he had a lengthy career in the U.S. Air Force, they gave him a 21 gun salute at his funeral. My brother collected the spent shell casings from the salute and had them engraved with his name and the date he passed. I appreciated that, and I keep it with me.

Well Singapore Airport security wants to know why I have a spent bullet in my purse. They pull me aside, and pretty soon, police officers come up with some kind of investigator. Meanwhile WWE office folk realize that something fishy is going on, so they step aside with me. The investigator questioned me for a while. They really asked me the same questions over and over. The whole deal took about 30 minutes.

Everyone was very polite, and I absolutely understand they have a reason to be cautious, but the whole thing was quite surreal. They ended up confiscating the shell casing, which I hope WWE can get back from the Singapore government, and sending me on my way."

I changed my mind now about Singapore Boleh. I do hope Victoria gets her bullet case back. Be a pity to lose something of sentimental value due to bureaucratic inflexibility. Reminds me of that time I went to KL by plane and had my teeny-tiny swiss army knife confiscated by airport personnel. When i got there I did not get it back. Go figure. That sucked as that knife was with me for a few years and was something of a gift from the zoo.

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The EPL has been abuzz all summer long as everyone and anyone has been looking to beef up their squads for the new season. Ironically the big spenders of the previous seasons,Chelsea, has been rather quiet. Manchester United and Liverpool have strengthened their squads with players like Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid, £20m); Andriy Voronin (Bayer Leverkusen, free); Ryan Babel (Ajax, £11.5m); Yossi Benayoun (West Ham, £5m); Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich, undisclosed); Nani (Sporting Lisbon, undisclosed); Anderson (Porto, £18m); Tomasz Kuszczak (West Brom, undisclosed). Spurs have beefed up their squad with Darren Bent (Charlton, 16.5m). Also in the market for players are West Ham (Scott Parker (Newcastle United, £7m); Julien Faubert (Bordeaux, £6.1m); Craig Bellamy (Liverpool, £7.5m); Richard Wright (Everton, free); Freddie Ljungberg (Arsenal, £3m) ) and Manchester City (Rolando Bianchi (Reggina, £8.8m); Martin Petrov (Atletico Madrid, £4.7m).
Newcastle have also been wheeling and dealing with Mark Viduka (Middlesbrough, free); Joey Barton (Manchester City, £5.8m); David Rozenhal (Paris St Germain, £2.9m); Geremi (Chelsea, free); Claudio Cacapa (Lyon, free); Alan Smith (Manchester United, undisclosed) .
Looking forward to see Roy Keane's Sunderland fare in the EPL.
There is also the Carlos Tevez case (West Ham to Man U), the exit of Thierry Henry to Barcelona and the controversial Gabriel Heinze transfer between arch-rivals Liverpool and Manchester United. A hot summer by any standards, and it is not over yet...

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http://singfest.sg/

On the 8th of August, join music legends The Stranglers, Cyndi Lauper, Pet Shop Boys, popular pop band Sugar Ray, Danish rockers Sasha Bach Band and hip hop extraordinaire Shaggy for a full evening of music extravaganza. On the 9th of August, set to rock the festival for National Day are top selling indie/hip hop group Gym Class Heroes, rock bands Avenged SevenFold and Hinder, punk group MXPX, The Academy Is, The Noisettes, Crowned King and Cobra Starship. Joining them also in the line up are Malaysian band One Buck Short and local favourite Great Spy Experiment.

The festival held at Fort Canning will run from 5pm -11pm on the first day and 1pm – 11pm on the second day.

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One Day Pass
Standard
(on event day & at the door)
S$150 (General Public)
S$100 (Student)

2 Day Pass
Standard
$200

ARTIST LISTINGS

8th August=

The Stranglers
Cyndi Lauper
Pet Shop Boys
Sugar Ray
Sasha Bach Band
Shaggy

9th August=

Gym Class Heroes
Avenged SevenFold
Hinder
MXPX
The Academy Is
The Noisettes
Crowned King
Cobra Starship
One Buck Short
Great Spy Experiment

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Sent Muffy to the vet for neutering on Saturday. As I was told to be there between 12 pm to 2, I brought Muffy (cage and all) to the office. So Muffy had a jolly old time romping around the office.
After work I sped off to send Muffy to the vet at Sunshine Plaza, The Joyous Vet. I must say I was rather impressed by how professional and genuine the staff there are. In stark contrast to how you get treated at some of the other vets I been to.
I left Muffy there and came back later to collect him in the evening.

After dropping Muffy off, I drove over to Orchard. I had wanted to check out the House Rabbit Society of Singapore's Yours For Life 2007:



Was lots to see there despite it only featuring HRSS (unlike other such fairs where other organisations are involved too). There were many adoptee rabbits there. As well as a children's art competition. I just love children's art works, so bright and cheery. Full of optimism and joy. Wait till they get older. There was also a showcase on rabbit abuse cases. Then there was the usual HRSS merchandise booth and a stall selling rabbit accessories. As par for the course, many HRSS brought along their beloved pets for a day out. So all in all not a bad function.

After walking around Orchard for a bit I headed home as I found it rather pointless to wander around town by myself.
Then after a bit of resting and chatting at home, I headed off to CCK again to collect Muffy. The vet brought Muffy out and gave instructions on how to care for Muffy post-surgery. Best of all have a dossier and ID card for Muffy! coolness

ID Card:


Dossier File:


And even a Certificate of Neutering:


Muffy himself was fine. Found traces of dry blood on the papers, but otherwise Muffy is fine. He ate alot after I brought him home as he last ate in the morning!
I housed Muffy in my room for the night as his cage was still dirty and was worried about the potential of infections. Needless to say Muffy made a ruckus last night so I had to remove his water bottle as he kept pushing and banging the bottle.

This morning I awoke bright and early to wash out Muffy's cage. Then place him inside after he had had his morning exercise. Placed newspapers on the cage bottom and places the wooden grate over it. Will probably have to change the papers and clean the cage everyday or at least on alternate days for the time being. Until the wounds have closed completely.

GET WELL SOON MUFFY!!
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The Battle of Kruger

A battle royale between a herd of buffalo, 2 crocs and a pride of lions.
The lions seize a buffalo calf in the water(watch to understand!), then a couple of crocs make a cameo as they attempt to take the calf as their own. The entire herd of buffalo return and the lions get OWNED!
Buffalos rock...eventually.


And..oh..the little guy makes it!! Who woulda thunk?

Here another buffalo calf overcomes the odds and goes back to his mummy despite sustaining serious looking injuries.



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