100 to 1 top movie lines

Check out this video! How's that for user generated content, eh?



Curious where the lines come from? The reference list is right here.

What's going on, Malaysia?

I follow the recent turn of ethnic conflicts across the border in Malaysia with growing anxiety and disappointment at the powers that be. Not too long ago we had news of the minority Indian protests and arrests and now we have a widescale (uncontrolled) crackdown on foreign workers?! Quotes below from this IHT article.

Like foreign workers elsewhere, they are resented by many local people and demonized by politicians. Here in Malaysia they have become the targets of an expanding campaign of harassment, arrest, whippings, imprisonment and deportation.

To lead this campaign, the government in 2005 transformed a volunteer self-defense corps, created in the 1960s to guard against communists, into a strike force deputized to hunt down illegal immigrants. This force, called Rela, now numbers nearly half a million mostly untrained volunteers - more than the total number of Malaysia's military and police in this nation of 27 million. Its leaders are armed and have the right to enter a home or search a person on the street without a warrant. By an official count, its uniformed volunteers carry out 30 to 40 raids a night.... Rela volunteers cast a wide net as they stop and search people who look like Asian foreigners. Most migrant workers come from Indonesia, while others come from Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Vietnam as well as from Myanmar.

As it takes over more of the duties of the police and prison officials, Rela is drawing the condemnation of local and foreign human rights groups, which accuse the volunteers, some as young as 16, of violence, extortion, theft and illegal detention.

Zaidon, the director general of Rela, said his organization is expanding so fast that it is impossible to train most of the volunteers or to carry out background checks before deputizing them to make arrests.

MDA spoofs the MDA

Hmmm... My colleagues shared this with me a while ago, but I just remembered to post this example of what NOT to do when you desperately need a facelift on the "cool" or "tech-savvy" front. Sorry guys, you can't fool us. But you do make us laugh. You get an A for effort, C for effectiveness and ... F for being hypocritical!

Life's lessons at work

Apologies for the hiatus as real life snuck up on me since the last post. To compensate, I give you my pick of life's lessons at work. Enjoy!

PS: All tongue in cheek, guys. I'm just having a quirky few weeks. If this resonates, check out Demotivators for more stuff.

Oh, men!

Couldn't resist sharing some jokes from my Daily Humour Facebook widget today. Now, I love our guys, esp. my man (!) but some times, you just need a good laugh at our differences, eh?

Why are married women heavier than single women?
Single women come home, see what's in the fridge and go to bed. Married women come home, see what's in the bed and go to the fridge.

How do you get a man to do sit-ups?
Put a remote control between his toes.

What did God say after creating man?
I must be able to do better than that.

What did God say after creating Eve?
Practice makes perfect.

Why did Moses wander the desert for 40 years?
Because he wouldn't ask for directions.

And guys? Feel free to give it back! ;)

September 11: When will it end?

2974. Total victims of the US Sept 11 terrorist attacks. (IHT)

3761. US military deaths in Iraq. (Iraq Coalition Casualty Count)

If we never forget yet never forgive, will it ever end?

Next year? Most likely never, if history repeats itself.

Childhood truths that span time and space

While we celebrate Pavarotti's inspirational life this week, I wanted to pay another tribute to a person who may have been less well known internationally, but who personally influenced and shaped my childhood: Madeleine L'Engle, a well known writer of classic children's books, who also passed away on September 6, 2007.

My love for works that stretch the imagination started with a giftset of her books from my brother (who I like to call my "own Doctor Who") when I was very very young. L'Engle believed that storytelling "... does indeed have something to do with faith. Faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelevant, that what we choose or say or do matters, matters cosmically." To her, "a book, too, can be a star, explosive material, capable of stirring up fresh life endlessly, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe." Such stories fed my school and college years (coincidentally, Madeleine L'Engle was a Smith '41 alumna) and continue to shape my perspective on life today.

In L'Engle's 1963 acceptance speech for Newberry Medal-winning A Wrinkle In Time, she relates children's stories to "real life":

Very few children have any problem with the world of the imagination; it’s their own world, the world of their daily life, and it’s our loss that so many of us grow out of it.... What a child doesn’t realize until he is grown is that in responding to fantasy, fairly tale, and myth he is responding to what Erich Fromm calls the one universal language, the one and only language in the world that cuts across all barriers of time, place, race, and culture.

... almost all of the best children’s books do this, not only an Alice in Wonderland, a Wind in the Willow, a Princess and the Goblin. Even the most straightforward tales say far more than they seem to mean on the surface. Little Women, The Secret Garden, Huckleberry Finn --- how much more there is in them than we realize at a first reading. They partake of the universal language, and this is why we turn to them again and again when we are children, and still again when we have grown up.

L'Engle's influence on me is echoed by Neil Gaiman, another author who I admire, who wrote about the impact that science fiction (namely, Doctor Who) had on his life in The Nature of the Infection, his introduction to Paul McCauley's Eye of the Tyger (excerpts here).

So, in memory of Madeleine L'Engle and her fellow dreamers, I urge us adults to never stifle our imaginations. And to all who nurture our young ones, let's make sure they learn this universal language that transcends the barriers of our world today, spanning time and space.

Be still my beating heart

This week was almost too much fun with its many happy coincidences. After a surprisingly good time at WOMAD 2007 with an old friend and her Senegalese bands, I met Greg Grunberg, Masi Oka, Sendhil Ramamurthy and Ali Larter of the hit TV series Heroes in Singapore, and discovered that my favourite Doctor and Star Trek captain will feature together in one of Shakespeare's classic plays!

Thanks to my awesome marketing colleagues who've been managing our sponsorship of the TV series in Asia, I attended a Star World gala for the Heroes World Tour in Singapore. Though mostly star struck, I managed to snap some photos, stammer a few words, and even seized the opportunity to pitch for more (better?!) sci-fi programming on Star World 8). For those interested, there's a little recap of the Singapore Heroes tour over here and in the slideshow below. The Straits Times also published a Heroes feature in Satuday's Life! on Sept 1 - paid registration needed for the online article, but you can check out their vodcast here. Overall, the local fan response for Heroes was mind-boggling though many complained that the cast's public appearance in Vivocity was too short (10 mins!)

Meanwhile, the Royal Shakespeare Company just announced that Chief Associate Director Gregory Doran will lead the second ensemble in 2008 productions of A Midsummers Night's Dream, Hamlet and Love's Labour's Lost, featuring the return of Patrick Stewart as Claudius (aka Captain Picard and Professor X) and David Tennant as Hamlet and Berowne (currently the Tenth Doctor). On top of that, there's just been fantastic news for Doctor Who fans who've been rather anxious at the prospect of Ten's "departure", myself included! Even still, this won't stop me from planning a "Shakespearean sci-fi" trip to the UK next fall ;)

Lastly, it's not all play and no work! Ovi by Nokia, a brand new mobile internet services business, was launched this week at Go Play! Check out the Singapore Straits Times vodcast on N-Gage and this Business Week article on Nokia Barges into Mobile Services and Times on Nokia to Take Apple at its Own Game.

The new sci-fi

"Fantasy is the impossible made probable. Science fiction is the improbable made possible." - Rod Serling, creator, The Twilight Zone

This article in The Guardian discusses the reversal of fortune for sci-fi since the days of classic Star Trek, Doctor Who and Star Wars, to today's prime-time network hits: Lost, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica. Here's what it says about this (r)evolution:

For starters, the advances in CGI and the relative inexpense of creating it for the small screen has meant that sci-fi and fantasy have become more believable and spectacular.... Meanwhile, in a world in peril, we look to the fantastic for succour. The fin de siècle feeling that pervaded culture at the end of the 19th century, when the end was thought to be nigh, produced a burst of enduring science fiction and fantasy literature.... [Heroes' Tim] Kring points out that heroes emerge in popular culture at times of crisis in the real world: Superman, for example, was born from the depths of the Depression. As Doctor Who supremo Russell T Davies notes, albeit while emphasising the optimism of his own show: "We live in a time of terror." [BSG's Ron] Moore says: "The show is a prism through which we explore themes and situations that are relevant now."

Of course, for fans, sci-fi and fantasy were never genres that we "grew out" of but rather stuff that the rest of the world has finally learnt to appreciate. About time!

What SF&F shows am I watching? Check them out here.

You are the weakest tooth - goodbye!

Saw the dentist this weekend as I'd been meaning to check on my wisdom teeth. I'd been operating on the "if it's not bothering you, don't bother it" motto but alas, the good doctor informed me that one of them was impacted and the time has come for it to go. Of course since then, the hubby's been terrifying me with wisdom tooth horror stories: Extractions gone wrong that turned into mini operations, multiple anaesthetic injections to the gums when the first ones didn't work, and other unspeakable anecdotes that I'm fairly sure are completely made up. Thanks, hon. Just what I needed! *snark*

Anyways, let me know of any GOOD wisdom tooth stories, yes? Meanwhile, I'll do my research (aka wikipedia), eat all I want from now till Wednesday, and stack up on comfort food and entertainment for my (hopefully short) "recovery" time. Wish me luck!

Nokia Nseries presents ....

Want a Nokia Nseries device? A chance to meet the Heroes?!

Take part in this "I am Nokia Nseries" contest by sharing and/or voting for photos. Also, check out this exclusive behind-the-scenes photo blog onsite in Australia on the Nokia Nseries ad campaign that will blitz the region this July.

If you're a fan of the TV show Heroes, join the Heroes World Tour contest, sponsored by Star World Asia and Nokia Nseries. Fans in Singapore can look forward to welcoming Masi Oka, Ali Larter, Greg Grunberg, Sendhil Ramamurthy and Tim Kring on Thursday, 30 August. On 31 August, our Heroes will attend a press conference and make a public appearance at Vivocity. Details will be updated here. Hope to see some of you there!

Meanwhile, keep an eye on this site for an upcoming BIG LAUNCH and enjoy this transforming N93i - it's more than meets the eye! ;)

Peeking at Potter

Good things come to those who wait.

A friend gave me the latest copy of Harry Potter this weekend (thank you JE!). So I gleefully read the book without the hassle of pre-ordering, queueing and fending off hordes of Potter-crazed teens. Ironically, the only other book in the series that I've never purchased is the 6th (Half-Blood Prince) which I read in bits and pieces at different airport bookstores during my travelling consultant days.

Though sorely tempted, I also avoided all those online copies, did NOT flip to the end of the book and even ignored threatened the hubby who was making spoilery remarks all weekend. It's interesting why I was so adamant on being spoiler-free when I'm usually the first to scour the web for spoilers on almost everything else entertainment related.... no using the wand to spy the future for me! culturebox provides one take on this in Peeking at Potter: Is it wrong to skip to the end of a book? (Thanks P, for the link).

When a few media outlets published early reviews of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this week, author J.K. Rowling protested that the articles contained spoilers. She declared herself "staggered that American newspapers have decided to ... [ignore] the wishes of literally millions of readers, particularly children, who wanted to reach Harry's final destination by themselves, in their own time." Presumably, Rowling assumes that half the pleasure of reading a fat, event-filled tome lays in our uncertainty about how it will end. But not every boy-wizard devotee thrives on guesswork and anticipation. According to a poll of 500 children taken for the British bookstore chain Waterstone's, nearly one-fifth of Harry Potter fans will skip straight to the end of the final book in the series. Is there something wrong with sussing out an ending in advance?"

Our not so typical women's college

Following on the heels of my "Bright-eyed, bushy tailed days" post, I gleefully read this Malaysian student's account of her time at Smith in Malaysiakini. Thanks, Ian and Juliane, for the scoop!

In sharing a snapshot of her life at Smith, the author reminded me of those first times when we broke away to embrace new experiences, to find "freedom" and openness. This was a time when "by going somewhere unknown you might discover who you were, or could be," as this recent IHT article puts it.

WHEN my editor asked me to share my experiences of studying in the US, I had two options - the typical student life in a typical college in New England where alcohol, drugs, parties and sex rule the campus or the not-so-typical student life in a not-so-typical college. I chose the latter.

New England conjures up an image of old elite institutions set in picturesque fall and gloomy winter. The colourful fall foliage on my campus could also be the postcard-perfect portrayal of a typical New England college - but underneath the façade of the breathtaking spectacle, my school is far from being typical.

The founding purpose of the college was to provide the best possible college education for women during a time when most leading universities only admitted men. The original idea may seem irrelevant today after all of these universities started admitting women in the 1970s but fundamentally, the school is still carrying the legacy of promoting the rights of the disadvantaged of all social classes, ethnicity, religions and sexual orientations.

The author is currently interning at Malaysiakini this summer. It'll be interesting if and how her POV evolves as an alumnae. You see, I too reveled in Smith's feminist, activist and occasional eccentric spirit ("outrageous" goes in cycles, evidently). However, what matter's most for me today are: (1) the lasting friendships forged between women who are passionate about their family, careers and causes; and (2) the realisation that while tolerance promotes awareness and understanding, there still is value in wisdom and faith to discern what is RIGHT - even while we acknowledge that our world is changing, along with its fair share of grey.

A damper Live Earth in Singapore

On July 7, 2007, Live Earth kicked off its global warming SOS campaign through an eco-friendly 24-hour concert series in 7 continents - which included two Asian cities, Tokyo and Shanghai. The concerts were shared around the world via films, television, radio, Internet, books, wireless and others - to move people to Answer the Call and take action to combat the climate crisis. Concert schedules and replays are available at the MSN Live Earth site.

The reception and awareness in Singapore was more ... lukewarm, especially for an island nation where ~20% of the land is reclaimed, particularly for key commercial, administrative and residential sites. An Earth-Fest 7/7/07 event was held this weekend but the amount of support - in terms of publicity, sponsorship, events and ultimately, attendance - was rather disappointing.

Quite a few folks also expressed their cynicism over the promotional method (be it the SOS campaign concerts, Al Gore's involvement, MediaCorp's ads), adding further fuel (no pun intended) to the controversy and criticism that's already been expressed worldwide. I tend to agree with this blogger who urges the skeptics to not let the messenger diminish the importance of the message. Alternately, don't lose sight of the forest for the trees!

That said, the crowd that showed up - though small, was spirited. A small stage was set up at One Fullerton for several live bands:


Boards like these were scattered throughout for folks to sign pledges:

A person's a person, no matter how small

We had plans to go for a comic martial arts concert, but couldn't get good seats. Meanwhile, I stumbled upon this The Which Dr. Seuss Book Are You Test:

Your Score: Horton Hears a Who
23% Grinchification 53% Hoponpoppiness/Cathatitude 76% Loraxity

Horton Hears a Who! is a story about an elephant with a good heart and an activist ethic. Like Horton, you're a very nice person, and you're very observant about the world around you. You are more likely to get involved with political or activist causes. You also tend to be more whimsical and creative than down to earth.

The lower your Grinchification score, the nicer you are.
The higher your Cathatitude/Hoponpoppiness score, the more whimsical and creative you are.
The higher your Loraxity score, the more concerned you are with the world around you, politics and activism.

Other Categories
Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now! The Lorax The Cat in The Hat Green Eggs and Ham Oh, The Places You'll Go Hop on Pop If I Ran the Zoo How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Butter Battle Book Yertle The Turtle Fox in Socks

Balancing star power with politics and fun

To me, good entertainment stretches the imagination and even tactfully raises socially relevant issues. As for actors, the ones that stand out not only excel as entertainers, but are self-aware and committed to both their families and craft.

No surprise then that I'm a huge supporter of movies such as Hotel Rwanda and The Constant Gardener ... apart from our sci-fi and action collections, of course ;). "Stars" like The Dixie Chicks, Bono and Angelina Jolie are also some of my favourite celebrities because of their willingness to lend their support for great causes.

That said, being in the spotlight isn't enough. It takes subtlety, humility, skill and effort to pull this off right. A recent American Chronicles article discusses how "a star's political views, or how they go about expressing those views, can quickly distinguish the light that allows a star to shine on worthy causes," constrasting the successes of Hotel Rwanda and Blood Diamond with that of Syriana and Babel.

The author also wrote a fun premise on the next action hero which sci-fi fans, esp. those who watch Stargate and Farscape, would appreciate. Read some excerpts here.

How not to use Powerpoint

Since I've spent most of last week preparing multiple big presentations at work, I'm taking inordinate pleasure in this "How not to use Powerpoint" video, which includes gems like:
1) Keep it simple, stupid!
2) Spell check
3) "Effectively" use bullets, colours, animation and data
4) The font you use tells who you are as a person. Me? I like Book Antiqua, if it's not the company default...
5) The more the slides, the less effective the presentation!

How do you measure your worth?

A few months back, the Singapore government released a civil service pay revision that pegged ministerial salaries to the top earners in 6 private sector professions, resulting in salary rises of between 14-33%.

My father-in-law recently forwarded a link to NMP Thio Li-Ann's (an NUS Law Prof) cogent argument "whether the wrong message is being sent to ... the post 1965 generation in conceptualizing reward and structuring incentive in primarily monetary terms." If you've time and interest, do read her full speech linked here.

In conveying an overwhelming market-oriented ethos, are we not discounting intangible values which are essential for nation-building? The underlying ideology of profit maximization which can breed a fixation on self-interest stands at odds with attributes of selflessness and dedication to the common good.

.... We are not merely atomistic, profit-maximising individuals, evaluating opportunity costs and benefits; the call to service is a noble one.... There is more to life than seeing things through the dominant lens of money and human resource management. Virtues like loyalty, sacrifice, perseverance, sustain hope that a nation will endure and become great. It is a privilege to be able to build something of enduring worth in our lifetime. Greatness is not measured in purely monetary terms; otherwise, we would celebrate mercenaries, not patriots.

The market is a marvelous motivator, but it can lead to insularity, selfishness and the "I come first" mentality. My concern is that if we conceptualise the worth of our government leaders in predominantly material or monetary terms, an over-emphasis on Market values may send the wrong message to my generation. After all, the worth of a person does not turn on how much he earns.

One's sense of duty must perhaps co-exist with other motives; but where does prudence end and avarice begin? When does the impulse to reward someone for a job well-done cross the line and descend into the realm of greed? I appreciate the need to pay ministers well, but in devising an appropriate formula, there is a need to be vigilant, in the light of public unhappiness, to strike a median between austerity and excessive prosperity.

We must take care and be conscious of the message being sent to Singaporeans through this revision exercise, as the underlying assumptions speak of how we value things. Do we value people instrumentally, primarily through what can be quantified? Or do we appreciate the intrinsic worth of things, which is essential to any society which cherishes the principle of human dignity and authentic community.

Anniversary dinners and pillow talk

Hubby and I celebrated our 2nd year anniversary a few days back. Being married virgins (hmmm, that didn't come across quite right), I always wonder what couples talk about over the big anniversary dinner. Maybe something like this... or NOT!

M = man, W = woman:
M: Interesting restaurant you've chosen.
W: Nice with a change, don't you think?
M: Of course. (After awkward smile) How long has it been?
W: 38 years.
M: Time flies.
W: Honey, what would you do if I passed away? Would you remarry?
M: No. Definitely not.
W: Why not? Don't you like being married?
M: Sure, of course.
W: So why wouldn't you remarry?
M: OK, so I guess I would get married again.
W: You would? Would you live with her in our house? Would you replace pictures of me with hers? Would you sleep with her in our bed?

It can only go downhill from there. Check out the full scene here:

Think about the other 99.9%

We've read Gloria Steinem's Smith address. A few weeks later, Bill Clinton spoke at Harvard on: "Human beings with their three billion genomes are 99.9 percent identical genetically.... We can violate elemental standards of learning and knowledge and reason and even the humanity of our fellow human beings because our differences matter more. That’s what makes you worship power over purpose... [Let's] realize that what we have in common is more important than what divides us."

What a shame Clinton's political career presidential term ended in disgrace as he remains such a terrific global citizen and thought leader today.

On the state of our world:

It’s a frustrating time, because for all the opportunity, there’s a lot of inequality. There’s a lot of insecurity and there’s a lot of instability and unsustainability.... But I believe the most important problem is the way people think about it and each other, and themselves. The world is awash today in political, religious, almost psychological conflicts, which require us to divide up and demonize people who aren’t us. And every one of them in one way or the other is premised on a very simple idea. That our differences are more important than our common humanity. I would argue that Mother Teresa was asked here, Bono was asked here, and Martin Luther King was asked here because this class believed that they were people who thought our common humanity was more important than our differences.

On our responsibilities and possibilities:

So with this Harvard degree and your incredible minds and your spirits that I’ve gotten a little sense of today, this gives you virtually limitless possibilities. But you have to decide how to think about all this and what to do with your own life in terms of what you really think. I hope that you will share Martin Luther King’s dream, embrace Mandela’s spirit of reconciliation, support Bono’s concern for the poor and follow Mother Teresa’s life into some active service. Ordinary people have more power to do public good than ever before because of the rise of non-governmental organizations, because of the global media culture, because of the Internet, which gives people of modest means the power, if they all agree, to change the world.... Citizen service is a tradition in our country about as old as Harvard, and certainly older than the government.... Spend as much of your time and your heart and your spirit as you possibly can thinking about the 99.9 percent. See everyone and realize that everyone needs new beginnings. Enjoy your good fortune. Enjoy your differences, but realize that our common humanity matters much, much more.

Happy Birthday, P!

You blog stalker you....

Our bright-eyed, bushy tailed days

I met two very young job candidates today, whose enthusiasm reminded me of when I first graduated. Ironically, I'd also just read Gloria Steinem's ('57) commencement address at my undergrad school a few days ago. How I miss our community of kindred spirits who cherished freedom, knowledge, wisdom and compassion, and who felt that our generation of women could literally change the world!

As you should expect from any Smithie worth her salt - real or fictional (say Cristina in Grey's Anatomy, Charlotte in Sex and the City, Ellen in Gilmore Girls) - expect strong feminist opinions ahead!

On mothers and daughters:

My generation of young women said things like, “I'm not going to be anything like my mother" ... Now, I meet many young women who say something like, “I hope I can have as interesting a life as my mother.” Not the same life, but as interesting. And when I hear this, it brings tears to my eyes -- because I know there is not only love between generations, as there always has been, but now there is respect, learning, a sense of balance, even an invitation to adventure.

On career and family:

Your generation has made giant strides into public life, but often still says: How can I combine career and family? I say to you from the bottom of my heart that when you ask that question you are setting your sights way too low. First of all, there can be no answer until men are asking the same question. Second, every other modern democracy in the world is way, way ahead of this country in providing a national system of childcare, and job patterns adapted to the needs of parents, both men and women.

So don’t get guilty. Get mad. Get active. If this is a problem that affects millions of unique women, then the only answer is to organize. I know it may be hard for women to believe that men can be loving and nurturing of small children – just as it may be hard for men to believe that women can be expert and achieving in public life as they have.... But raising young children – or being raised to raise children – is the way men are most likely to develop their own full circle of human qualities, and stop reproducing the prison of the “masculine” role. Just as our role in the public life frees us of the prison of the "feminine" role.

For that matter, our kids do what they see, not what they’re told. If children don’t see whole people, they’re much less likely to become whole people – at least, not without a lot of hard work in later life.

On society and family:

Which leads us into the big question of violence. Gender roles provide the slippery slope to the normalization of control and violence in all their forms, from sexualized violence to military violence – which is the distance from A. to B. Until the family paradigm of human relationships is about cooperation and not domination or hierarchy, we’re unlikely to imagine cooperation as normal or even possible in public life.

It’s already too dangerous in this era when there are more slaves in proportion to the world’s population – more people held by force or coercion without benefit from their work – more now than there were in the 1800s. Sex trafficking, labor trafficking, children and adults forced into armies: they all add up to a global human-trafficking industry that is more profitable than the arms trade, and second only to the drug trade. The big difference now from the 1800s is that the United Nations estimates that 80% of those who are enslaved are women and children.

On community and revolution:

It won’t be easy to hang on to this vision of possibilities in ourselves and in others if we are alone in a world that’s organized a different way. We are communal creatures. So make sure you’re not alone after you leave this community at Smith. Make sure you meet with a few friends once a week or once a month; people you can share experiences and hopes with – and vice versa.

While we’re at it over the next fifty years, remember that the end doesn’t justify the means, the means ARE the ends. If we want joy and music and friendship and laughter at the end of our revolution, we must have joy and music and friendship and laughter along the way. Emma Goldman had the right idea about dancing at the revolution. So, my beloved comrades, yes this is the longest of all revolutions and that will mean a lot of struggle, a lot of organizing together and a lot of unity, but that also means a lot of dancing.

A Tai Tai life for me?

Maybe being a tai tai ain't so bad after all. At least one of us will have a life.



Then I can redecorate the house, go prospecting with those eager beaver brokers during this hot!hot!hot! property market, shop around Orchard/Marina/Vivocity, take that jazz or kickboxing class I've been eyeing recently, plan long weekends in nearby exotic islands .... maybe even cook again, so that when hubby comes home for dinner---

Wait. He doesn't ever come home from dinner. And rarely has free weekends. And didn't I do exactly all of the above when I was in between jobs not too long ago?

Sigh.

When all else fails, call Tech Support

Dear diary:

Today was a bad tech day.


4:00 PM My laptop gives a beep, reminding me that the batteries are running out. While plugging it into the power socket, I knock over my glass of water.

4:02 PM Water soaked up. I sit back down to resume work while the table dries.

4:10 PM Laptop blanks out. I try everything I learnt in laptop care 101, from hitting CTRL+ALT+DEL to holding down the power button to pressing "!@$#%QWERTY" in frustration. Nothing happens.

4:11 PM I take out my battery. Breathe in. Breathe out.

4:12 PM I SMS a colleague and receive our 24 hour IT hotline.

4:13 PM I call the hotline, explain the situation, and get two valuable pieces of advice. 1) Shut down your laptop, take out the battery, and let it "cool down" or "dry out" for a few hours. 2) If there's smoke coming out of the laptop, you've got a big problem.

4:15 PM I make plans for dinner and Spider-Man 3 tonight. Decide to deal with my laptop (and all those presentations I need to prepare) on Sunday.

12:18 AM I come home and am praying that all my work has not been lost! Otherwise, tomorrow will be a REALLY bad day.

How's your hardware?

Who says Singaporeans don't know how to have fun?

Viagra-maker Pfizer has unveiled a new erection hardness tool which will enable men to take more control of their erectile dysfunction (ED) management and measure the success of their treatment. This new tool is based on a 4-point scale which identifies grade four erections as the optimal treatment goal for men with erectile dysfunction.

Evidently, to make it easier for your average banana, err.... guy, to digest, Singapore’s Society for Men’s Health proposed to allow men to rate their own hardness with four categories: cucumber, unpeeled banana, peeled banana and tofu (bean curd).

Fancy a cucumber, anyone?

Foraging for food reviews

One thing I miss about New York is the diversity of food options, and the ease in looking up reviews and making reservations online, be it at the ultra pricy Daniel where hubby and I reflect fondly on both the food and the cost, to PINCH, our favourite neighbourhood joint that literally customises and sells pizza by the inch.

I'd only seen a smattering of online and printed food reviews in Singapore. The most popular being Makan Sutra and Eat Shiok Shiok, as well as several indy blogs, e.g. Chubby Hubby. I commented on this waaay back in one of my first few posts here.

To my foodie gastronaut delight, a friend told me about this new local online interactive site, aptly called Hungry Go Where. It's a young promising initiative - and there's plenty of room for improvement, e.g. sorting by ratings and reviews, tracking discrete user hits, enabling notifications on comments/major account updates, searching by zip code - and heck, maybe even a tie-in to some location-based mobile services? (PS - If the business owners are keen to adopt any of these ideas, let me know).

Still, it works and I've not only signed in as a member, but have also written a few reviews. No surprise for those of you who read this blog as to what my pseudonym there is. Check it out! Meanwhile, if you're not eating, think about where you wanna eat next....

iPhone madness

To everyone who's asked me about the iPhone - check this out!

Planning fatigue?

Dedicated to all you planners out there:


What's work and no play? The N95 launch is kicking off with Wireless Adventure campaigns around Asia Pacific. Find the race near you at the Nokia N95 Wireless Adventure website. For those in Singapore, the winning team gets a cash prize of S$5,000 and their very own N95. Geek out and explore the Soul Of The City!

Keeping entertained

It's been a quiet blogging month as I've been travelling around Asia for business. Have one final visit to go before I'm hopefully more Singapore bound in April. All in all, I had more productive planning sessions than I expected, am chronically sleep deprived, gained loads of frequent flyer miles, decided that flying from India to Australia to the Philippines within a week was not the greatest idea (duh), and stopped snapping my hotel or office views, because they started to look the same after the 4th city.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines showed its April KrisWorld selection one week early! I'd exhausted my in-flight movie and TV pilot options after 50+ hours of consecutive flight time, but then along comes Blood Diamond, The Departed, Pan's Labyrinth, Three Dollars, and reruns of Rocky Balboa, Casino Royale and Night in the Museum, among others. Too bad I've only one country left to visit!

Back at home, I realized I have NO TV SHOWS left to watch as everything I follow is either on hiatus or cancelled these days (!). Anyone have good suggestions? Just for laughs, I wrote an ode to my favourite TV shows back in my geek blog here.

Perhaps it's time to do those "social" things I've been putting off, eh?

Staying connected in the afterlife

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, Nokia will be in heaven with this one.

A manager's worst nightmare

To be in charge but not able to take charge, that is the question....

Chingay and beyond

Singapore's Chingay celebrations end today, the 7th day of Chinese New Year (CNY). Growing up in Penang, Malaysia, I'd always associated Chingay as a fun Hokkien event with floats and giant flags, and was pleasantly surprised to see what a huge event it is in Singapore! In typical Singapore fashion, the government imported this idea from Penang (where it appears to be no longer practiced), made a huge commercial event out it and called it its own - "the new Chingay stands for spontaneous expression of a new communal spirit and Singapore soul." BTW, the government originally introduced Chingay in 1972 after a public ban on firecrackers. They had to find something to keep the people happy (!)

Hubby and I are enjoying our first ever CNY together in Asia with family, friends and even colleagues. Our only regret is that the public holidays went by too fast and though we got two days off (which we never had in the US), there's so much more obligatory visiting to do in Asia. When visiting, it's tradition for the host to provide an assortment of tastes, receive (and give in return) two Mandarin oranges. The picture below shows some CNY goodies laid out on our table. Those red packets of money given to children (mentioned back here) are also pictured here.

I didn't have time to take many pictures, but loved this community spirit shot of how the nearby Indian temple "celebrated" Chinese New Year along with their Chinatown neighbours.

Now that the big spring festivities are winding down, work is winding up and I'll be making several Asia-Pacific business trips over the next few weeks. Though the countries are ideal tourist spots, I suspect my schedule will be pretty much airport to hotel to the office(s), and back again. The only tourist-y thing I'll get to do is compare the hazy views from my hotel room. Here's one from Bangkok just over a week ago:

Live long, prosper and multiply

Happy Chinese New Year - 新年快乐 again!

The firecrackers over at the Esplanade have finally died down. Wow, Singaporeans really love their fireworks! What with National Day Parade, New Year, the Spring Festival (春节) and all the diligent rehearsals before hand, I didn't realize what a prime "entertainment" spot our apartment was.

But I digress. To usher in the new year, hubby and I had not one, but TWO reunion dinners on Saturday. I was a little perplexed why the uncles and aunties were even more vocal than before about us having kids this year, so googled "Year of the Golden Pig" once we got home. Evidently, children born when the Year of the Pig coincides with the element of gold are doubly blessed (i.e. with luck and prosperity). According to reports from China and Korea, fortunetellers say this year comes around every 600 years. BTW, they really said "600" though 12 zodiac signs * 5 elements = 60, no?! Have I missed something?

Anyways, 恭喜发财 (gōngxǐ fācái) and 年年有馀 (niánnián yǒuyú) - may you all live long, prosper and multiply this Year of the Golden Pig! Meanwhile, I'll just shrug and grin when the next adult asks about having kids, and the next kid asks us for 红包拿来 (hóngbāo nalái), traditional red packets of money given by elders and married folk.

Vidclips from the 49th Grammy Awards

Thought I'd share some clips of two of my favourite bands from the 49th Grammy Awards: The Police (with Sting) and The Dixie Chicks.

The Police reunite after 30 years with Roxanne:


Fan tribute to all the Dixie Chicks' Grammy and live performances:


More of the Chicks at the Grammys:
Yes, their 5 Grammy sweep might be politically motivated (what in Hollywood isn't?), but I love their music and support their cause.
Not Ready To Make Nice - Live Performance
Record of the Year
Album of the Year
Country Album of the Year
Song of the Year
On the Red Carpet

It's only make believe?

This is our life:

And this is our world:

When interests and work collide

I'm happy to share that we (my firm) clinched a coveted TV commercial spot with Star World Asia, bookending none other than my all time fave show, Heroes!

Well, the investment paid off in leaps and bounds (not that this Heroes fan was surprised). Heroes premiered across all of Star World Asia channels this past Wednesday (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand). At least in Singapore, it topped the top 10 list (appearing twice, in fact), with their initial 9p airing followed by the 12:30a repeat. Don't miss more repeats (and the accompanying TV ads ;) on Saturdays at 7p and Sundays at 2p. For those of you without cable in Singapore, I hear Channel 5 plans to pick it up sometime this year too.

More international Heroes broadcast updates found here, while spoilery previews and speculative ramblings are in my geek blog here.

14 valentines to celebrate women

14valentines is a LiveJournal community conceived to celebrate and empower women in each of the 14 days leading up to V-Day. Each day is assigned a theme along with a supporting partner (foundation or group). Folks then make a thoughtful post and/or share their own works (fiction/art/music/etc.) on their journals, cross-posted to the community - related to the topic and partner(s) of the day(s), anytime before February 14.

14 Valentines kicked off on Feb 1 and ends on Valentine's Day, also Vagina Day, Victory Against Violence Day and is in a large part inspired by Eve Ensler, her amazing Vagina Monologues, and the organization that grew out of that movement, the V-Day foundation.

The themes for each day this year are:
Day 1: Women in Academics
Day 2: Women in the Arts
Day 3: Women and Body Image
Day 4: Domestic Violence
Day 5: Economics and Wealth
Day 6: Women's Health
Day 7: Hunger
Day 8: Peace Movements
Day 9: Reproductive Rights
Day 10: Sexual Abuse
Day 11: Women in Sports
Day 12: Voting
Day 13: Women and Work
Day 14: Pick your own cause!

Lastly, this terrific soundtrack was specially compiled for each of the 14 days. Entertain, educate, empower and enjoy!

You must unlearn what you have learned

Two weeks in the new job and I'd to give a regional presentation on Friday. Thankfully it went well, and I was glad that the senior folk lent support through their presence and voices (e.g. answering some of those tough questions!)

We ended this week-long change management and semi-annual planning kick-off with insights from the best management guru in the universe: Master Yoda. "Always with you what cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say? You must unlearn what you have learned!"
We also went to Chinatown Point's Annalakshmi for dinner before our weekly Heroes get-togethers. Read here for more on the Annalakshmi concept. For those in Asia who haven't seen Heroes, the series is coming to a Star World Asia channel and/or local network near you on Jan 31 onwards! Check out your country's schedule here.

Food for thought - and a good cause!

Imagine: Dim lights, a warm ambience, savoury spicy smells, the pleasant buzz of conversation from nearby tables....

Welcome to Annalakshmi. Diners "eat as you like and pay as you feel." There is no set price. Any payments are voluntary with all proceeds going towards the humanitarian and artistic activities of the Temple of Fine Arts. These vegetarian restaurants are located in Malaysia (the first one started in 1984), India, Singapore, Australia - with plans for one in San Francisco, according to this update. This international chain augments the dining experience by showcasing Indian arts, handicrafts, cultural dance and music performances.

Being the MBAs that we were, we tried to figure out the business case of running a restaurant that's 100% based on charity: Where would you locate it? How do you cover costs? How do you motivate and "compensate" volunteers? How do you ensure the quality of the overall experience, food and service? Is this concept sustainable? (It's proven to work for one-time fundraisers) Will those who can (and want to) subsidise those who can't (or won't?!)

Other food for thought:
From here: Annalakshmi provides food for the soul by offering a wholesome home-cooked good meal for all. The name refers to the Hindu Goddess of Plenty and the adage that "the Guest is God." The restaurants are largely run by voluntary staff that include retired civil servants, women from broken homes, executives and doctors who believe that serving and preparing food is the ultimate blessing.

From here: Businesses usually wait until they've made a profit to think about giving to society, but we started giving from the start. There are tables who can pay, and those who can't, so what we provide is a form of table-to-table charity. And the people who work with us do so for the satisfaction, not the reward. It's hard to run a business on goodwill. But having faith in humanity has paid off: the restaurants have a huge, regular following [who] pay with satisfaction and keep coming back. There is a price for everything in today's world, but you can't put a price on the love and the food you get here.

A Hokkien Gary Oldman Nokia N93 ad

All this week, we've been talking about business and people strategy at work. When someone raised the notion of "glocalization" i.e. adding a local flavour to global campaigns, our marketing guys showed this hillarious spoof of those Gary Oldman TV commercials for the Nokia N93 multimedia computer (aka smartphone). Check it out!

PS - Errm, no this isn't a "product push" post! Just expressing my glee at viral consumer marketing. Also, if anyone knows who this Singapore dude is, drop me a line. We'd love to thank him! (And I mean that in a good way - no lawsuits!)

Lost in translation

So I started my new job this past week (very cool and challenging, btw!). The firm's a pretty diverse tech MNC (read: we're all global geeks). As I went around meeting people, most of my new Asian colleagues thought I was Australian while the Europeans assumed I was American. :Head palm: Only a few locals and American expats got it right, i.e. I'm a Southeast Asian who's been overseas, mainly the Eastern US (NYC, Boston, Washington DC) for the past 12 years.

I wonder what this says about people's perceptions of foreigners vs. locals, and how I come across in speech and appearance, now that I'm a local expat, so to speak? While my "local" speech gets stronger after late nights (or a few drinks), I notice I vary my English "accent" or use the local language(s) - selectively, depending on the situation or person. Very dubious I know....

Any of you out there have similar experiences/musings of being "lost in translation?" Do share! Meanwhile, for more about life in Asia thus far, feel free to check out my Singapore posts here.

PS - Thank you for all your kind words and thoughts this past week.

Remember me when I am gone away

After years of battling cancer, my mom-in-law passed away peacefully today. She lived a full, rich life - and though she left us too early, we thank God that she is no longer in pain. Thank you all for your prayers and support these past few months. It's meant a lot to us!

Remember me when I am gone away,
Gone far away into the silent land;
When you can no more hold me by the hand,
Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.
Remember me when no more day by day
You tell me of our future that you planned:
Only remember me; you understand
It will be late to counsel then or pray.
Yet if you should forget me for a while
And afterwards remember, do not grieve:
For if the darkness and corruption leave
A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,
Better by far you should forget and smile
Than that you should remember and be sad.
- Christina G. Rossetti

How to survive your first week at work?

Welcome back to the grind! For those of you who - like me - are taking the plunge to switch jobs and careers (or perhaps rejoin real life after the grad school "holiday"), Forbes just released a great tutorial on what to do in your new digs:

1) Make Nice. Make friends with the office's administrative assistant.
2) Get Credentialed. If you haven't been given an I.D. badge, find out where to get one. (Also don't forget business cards!)
3) Get Connected. Find out who is on the computer "help desk."
4) Stock Up. Find the supply closet.
5) Practice The Name Game. After week one, you can't blame not knowing people's names on your newness.
6) Break Bread. Who are you going to have lunch with?
7) Bank On Your Success. You've made it through the week.

Ask questions, observe, listen and enjoy the experience. All the best!

PS - If you make New Years resolutions, check out How to Make Your Resolutions Stick for some fun and somewhat pragmatic tips.

Ring out the old, ring in the new

Thanks to Josie for sharing this with me. Happy New Year all!

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.

Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.

Ring out the want, the care the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.

Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

- Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "Ring Out, Wild Bells"