Recovering from Idol-atry

Goodness! What am I going to do on weeknights now that American Idol is over? The funny thing is, this was the first ever season of AI that I'd watched from start to end, as I thoroughly enjoyed the auditions, most of the final 12 and definitely both Davids.

I'm glad David Cook won as I felt he had the more mature presence and better overall package of musicianship, personality and intelligence (gotta love a guy who loves words!). His rock style was refreshingly innovative and contemporary, even if Archuleta had purer vocals. That said, no doubt both will go on to do very well.

Cook's unique arrangement of Lionel Richie's "Hello" got me hooked:


Here's a few moments I enjoyed in the finale (and that extended Love Guru promo was definitely NOT one of them).

The hillarious spoof of Gladys Knight and Her (New) Pips:


One Republic and Archuleta "Apologize":


Carly Smithson and Michael Johns, who both left way too early, duet on "The Letter" (Wayne Carson Thompson):


Cook reflects on "The World I Know" (Collective Soul):


Archuleta reminds us to "Imagine" (Beatles):


The final results and David Cook's first single as American Idol 2007 - "Time Of my Life" (Regie Hamm):

We are a city on a hill

This excerpt from John Winthrop's 1630 sermon "A Model of Christian Charity" was recently used during the inauguration of Harvard's 28th president, Drew Gilpin Faust. Based off a passage in the bible (Matthew 5:13-16), Winthrop suggests that God holds us accountable for our deeds, esp. when placed in positions of leadership.

For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken ... we shall be made a story and a by-word throughout the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God.... We shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we be consumed out of the good land whither we are a-going.

I find this view still valid today, no matter our "status" - government leader, corporate CEO, relief worker, labourer, doctor, teacher, military man, homemaker, parent, student.... Each of us is called to be a faithful steward of what we have (or have been given), and this includes being an informed and compassionate global citizen. Consider "to whom much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." (Luke 12:48).

Five reasons to watch P. Ramlee the Musical

5. Back by popular demand, it's only in Singapore till May 19 (tickets here) before moving to Kuala Lumpur from May 28 till June 15. The show sold out in both cities in its first season.

4. Experience a musical almost entirely in Malay, peppered with classic favourites like Getaran Jiwa and Jangan Tinggal Daku. No fear, for those language challenged, there are subtitles!

3. Support a local production to celebrate a local legend. I thought the female leads (especially Liza Hanim as Saloma, Atilia as Junaidah and Melissa Saila as Norizan) outshone Musly Ramlee who was debuting in place of Sean Ghazi from the original cast.

2. Go down memory lane from Penang to Singapore to KL in the 1940-70s, a time of independence, transformation and eventual separation for Singapore and Malaysia. Witness how this impacted the "people" through the eyes of P. Ramlee and his circle of loved ones, the Shaw brothers and Malay Film Production troupe.

1. Learn about a man who loved deeply and lived fully, as well as the context behind his art: He had three wives, was divorced twice, acted in 60 films (directing 37 of those), composed and performed over 250 original songs, and won multiple Asian Film Festival awards (best musical score, male actor, comedy film, most versatile talent) -- before his premature death at 45.

P. Ramlee's last song, Air Mata Di Kuala Lumpur (Tears in KL) is a poignant reflection of his life, sung here by his last wife, Saloma:

Celebrate Pangea Day

Pangea Day is a global event bringing the world together through film.

Why? In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that – to help people see themselves in others – through the power of film.

Starting at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008, locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones.

The 24 short films to be featured have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from over one hundred countries. The films were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and allow us see the world through another person's eyes.

The program will also include a number of exceptional speakers and musical performers. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof, and Iranian rock phenom Hypernova are among those taking part.

In 2006, filmmaker Jehane Noujaim won the TED Prize, an annual award granted at the Technology, Entertainment, Design Conference. She was granted $100,000, and more important, a wish to change the world. Her wish was to create a day in which the world came together through film. Pangea Day grew out of that wish.

Learn more about Pangea Day here.

A little conscience goes a long way

It's great to be proud of the company we keep:

Nokia today has donated 350,000 euros (~USD $510K)to the Finnish Red Cross to help victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. There is an urgent need in the South East Asian country for housing, and the donation will allow for the provision of thousands of temporary shelters as well as a significant amount of tools and materials to help in the rebuilding of homes. The Red Cross says that in rural parts of the country up to 95 percent of all homes were destroyed.

“The devastation wrought by Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar has been truly shocking. We wanted to move as quickly as possible to help provide relief for those affected, so the Red Cross was a natural choice,” said Martin Sandelin, Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Involvement, Nokia.

Nokia press release, May 8, 2008

You and I can make a difference. With our support, local NGOs expect to contribute almost 4x the USD $200K committed by the Singapore government. A list of Singapore donation centers is available here.

Live rock lives forever

Saw "We Will Rock You" aka the Ben Elton and Queen musical today. Totally rocked! The cast vocals weren't perfect but the solid band, witty pop music and local references, and the overall nostalgia more than made up for it.

The musical just opened and runs through April at the Esplanade. Highly recommended for Queen and Freddie Mercury fans, lovers of rock'n'roll, and heck - even those merely familiar with We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions as sports chants or Who Wants to Live Forever as the Highlander theme song.

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen's iconic song whose real meaning I'm *still* not too sure of (!):


I Want To Break Free - don't we all?!


Queen at Live Aid 1985 - Greatest Live Gig Ever. The ~20 min footage is available here, with Is This The World We Created? below:


Love Of My Life at Wembley '86


These Are The Days of Our Lives - Freddie's last video in 1991:


No One But You (Only The Good Die Young) - a fitting tribute:

Jom ubah!

Maybe it's the economy, ongoing discrimination, crime, corruption and inefficiency for the sake of 'equality.' Maybe Obama's charismatic drive for change in the US and the use of Web 2.0 to reach the next generation of voters has hit home in Malaysia as well. Maybe many 'new' voters (incl. graduates and oversees returnees like me) have realized that their votes do count. May the Malaysian government heed the voice of the people - and any winning opposition prove worthy of the people's trust!

I look forward to the winds of change in Penang... Let's also hope for the best and keep a close eye on events in Perak, Selangor, KL and Kedah (where opposition coalition parties have won and will be growing through their teething pains).

Interesting websites and links:
- Malaysiakini - news and views that matter
- Raja Petra's Malaysia Today
- Jeff Ooi's Screenshots and Jeff 4 Parliament
- Tony Pua's Philosophy Politics Economics
- Sudhir and Sumana aka Cenkudu Chumps
- Education in Malaysia
- Latest online news on Malaysia's 12th General Election in 2008
- Democractic Action Party main website

Well done, Singapore

So, Singapore will host the 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games!

With the upcoming Beijing Olympics and this inaugural win, I feel like I've regained some Asian "world sports" pride, especially after Malaysia's string of half-hearted and eventually, failed bids - 2006 Asian Games, 2008 Olympics and then not even making the shortlist for this. Whatever happened to Malaysia Boleh? Our "little red dot" neighbour down south is making waves, man.

Check back here as 2010 approaches - Singapore2010 Official Site

Clinton or Obama?

My personal support for women's college alumni and minorities in politics aside, I'd always perceived Obama as too young and inexperienced no matter how charismatic and likeable he is. Reading Roger Cohen's IHT Op Ed made me reconsider.

The fight between Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination is increasingly portrayed as one between romantics and realists.

But a realistic view of Obama would be that he is best placed to seize and shape a new world of such possibilities. He has the youth, the global background, the ability to move people, and the demonstrated talent for reaching across lines of division, even those colored black and white. He would, as Andrew Sullivan has written, "rebrand" America. Wieseltier dismisses such rebranding. But even the papacy was rebranded in our times, by a Pole, and Poles then precipitated the fall of the Soviet empire.

A romantic view of Clinton might be that she has the guts and savvy to free herself of her husband's coterie of the world's rich and famous, with its dubious deal-making from Kazakhstan to Colombia, and ensure that a White House with a president and ex-president in it projects U.S. renewal rather than the tawdrier sides of Clintonism.

Epiphanies

Ever had a moment where a "light bulb" goes on in your head? Or you sense that God's got a message, a divine appointment, just for you? Well, I've recently had some light shed on a few issues I'd been wrestling with. It's come through at the oddest times - through a book I read en route to Barcelona, an email from my alumni graduate fellowship that I'd been planning to respond to, conversations with family and old friends, and today's church service - as part of an ongoing series on 2 Corinthians - which ended with this video.

I'll spare the details here, but will share "Jesus, Take The Wheel" - a song made popular by Carrie Underwood (American Idol 2005) that has uplifted me and prompted some soul searching in turn:

We wantsss you, Yahoo

It's been a newsworthy past few weeks, with dramas in the stock market, Super Bowl and Super Tuesday face-offs, Motorola spin-off rumours to Microsoft's acquisition spree, among others.

For curious techies out there, check out Steve Ballmer's letter to Roy Bostock and Jerry Yang in which Microsoft makes the US ~$45 B unsolicited offer for Yahoo.

Microsoft doesn't kid around in its search for the precious.

In late 2006 and early 2007, we jointly explored a broad range of ways in which our two companies might work together. These discussions were based on a vision that the online businesses of Microsoft and Yahoo! should be aligned in some way to create a more effective competitor in the online marketplace. We discussed a number of alternatives ranging from commercial partnerships to a merger proposal, which you rejected. While a commercial partnership may have made sense at one time, Microsoft believes that the only alternative now is the combination of Microsoft and Yahoo! that we are proposing.

In February 2007, I received a letter from your Chairman indicating the view of the Yahoo! Board that "now is not the right time from the perspective of our shareholders to enter into discussions regarding an acquisition transaction." According to that letter, the principal reason for this view was the Yahoo! Board's confidence in the "potential upside" if management successfully executed on a reformulated strategy based on certain operational initiatives, such as Project Panama, and a significant organizational realignment. A year has gone by, and the competitive situation has not improved.

While online advertising growth continues, there are significant benefits of scale in advertising platform economics, in capital costs for search index build-out, and in research and development, making this a time of industry consolidation and convergence. Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! can offer a credible alternative for consumers, advertisers, and publishers.

Here's to the best rat I know

Lion dances, fireworks, last minute Chinatown shopping frenzies, spring cleaning and reunion dinners, can only mean one thing ... Happy Chinese New Year! The lunar 2008 ushers in the Year of the Rat - born leaders who have practicality and charisma on their side.

So 新年快乐 , 恭喜发财 and 年年有馀 to all, and especially to the best "rat" I know - my sis in New York. Miss you much!


Credit to the talented tardis80

Web 2.0 in 5 minutes

Looking for a cool illustration / timeline of the key changes in the mobile and internet sphere over the past decade. Any suggestions?

Meanwhile, here are some related "tech" ethnography vids:

The Machine is you/us (aka Web 2.0 in 5 minutes)


The information (r)evolution:

Bamboozled for 25 points (and $25K!)

Most Facebook users have enjoyed playing (or gotten addicted to!) Scrabulous -- the hit online word game. Launched in 2005 by two 20-something Indian brothers, Scrabulous shot to fame as a Facebook application in 2007. Sadly, all of this may come to an end as Hasbro and Mattel (who own the collective IP rights for Scrabble globally) have issued a cease-and-desist order.

Is Scrabulous in hot water because of its name and functional similarity to Scrabble? Has the game's popularity (~600,000 daily active users, generating $25,000 a month via advertising space revenues) detracted from rather than complemented Scrabble's potential sales? Would this have happened if Facebook adopted a different advertising strategy or if the brothers had stuck to their original name -- Bingobinge? Better put your bingos down now!

Read more at this Financial Times article

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.