The Singapore Idol 2 Grand Finale

My prediction for the winner of Singapore Idol would be Hady and that the runner up would be Jonathan. I don't know why but these two guys look so similar to Taufik and Slyvester in the previous contest.

TRANQUILITY

This is a peaceful scenery of nature with crickets and grasshoppers chirping in the background. And yes, this is in Singapore. I discovered this place while I was on my way to somewhere else. Can you guess where I snapped this picture? After this shot, I decided that I should make it a point to try and discover more places in Singapore that I've not been to.

Sentosa Island - The Sun , The Sand and The Sea

This is a picture of Sentosa Island, Singapore's only resort island. The island is one of the best places to take nice beach pictures too. Presently the island has a few hotels, chalets and campsites. There is also a museum, a famous historical place (Fort Siloso) as well as a mini theme park. Our government presently has plans to develop this place further by planting an Intergrated Resort Hotel that has a casino and a theme park. There will also be an LRT service that will take passengers from HarbourFront Station right into the island. This should take place in about few years time from now I guess.

I'd say that Sentosa is a great place to relax and enjoy the sun. If you're looking for a place that is away from the buzzing city, this is the place to go. If you're a tourist in Singapore, don't forget to visit this place for its history and beauty. There're some interesting places of interest that you can visit too. Check out their website when you have the time.

The Singapore Eastcoast Parkway

I bet that you didn't know that sometimes our own beaches can look as beautiful and inviting as this.

I took these pictures on a clear sunny day in the late morning of a weekday in December - the time when we usually have our monsoon rains. It was just after a rainy night and this was the effect it produced on the next morning. I guess I just happend to be there at the right time and place. The water was so clean and clear and it reflected the blue sky so beautifully! This is no camera trick indeed. It's kind of diffcult to get this shot again because during the weekends and school holidays, the panickers and swimmers would crowd this place. Sometimes the beach don't get to look as clean as this.

I had shot these pictures from a jetty. If you want to know how to get here, just take the underpass from Marine Parade Central and then turn right. Walk for about 5 minutes and then you'll see the jetty.

Hope you like the pictures.

Sad news of Steve Irwin's Death

I've just received news that Steven Irwin has just passed away earlier today. He had died from a stingray attack in the chest. I know, it's pretty hard to believe because he was like a cat with 9 lives. I even had to turn on the news just to confirm if its true.

I've seen some of his shows on cable TV and I always thought he was a great guy who contributed so much to the study of wild life. For those who still don't know who he is, he had his own documentary show on TV in which he features wild life from Down Under. It is a pretty educational show in which both adults and kids alike tune in everyday on Animal Planet. He also made a brief appearance in the first part of Dr DoLittle 2. His death is pretty sad news. He leaves behind his wife and 2 young children. Do keep him in your prayers.

Zoe Tay and the Swallowing Advertisement

Recently Zoe Tay was featured in a beauty advertisement in which she declares that she 'swallows'. The ad led to some hoohas around the nation because it sounded rather misleading. Do you think that the advertisers went about too far for this ad?

The Upcoming IMF - World Bank Conference

I think that it's great that Singapore has been been given a chance to host an international meeting such the upcoming IMF - World Bank Conference Meeting. It sort of helps highlight the island's existance on the world map once again because not many people know where our country is. I would say that this is good for the country's economy and tourism industry.

On the other hand, there is also the downside of hosting such an event because it would mean that Security has to be stepped up to prevent any ugly situations from taking place. I don't feel comfortable after reading about the events that took place during the past meetings in the other countries.

HIV and Sex

Recently the newspapers featured an article on an 18 year old girl who became HIV positive because her boyfriend had secretly visited prostitutes before he was dating her. She was quoted as the country's youngest citizen to be HIV positive so far. I find this a very sad fact. It's totally unfair for her that her life has to be wasted at such a young age because she can no longer hope to ever have kids or seek a life time partner in the future.

Our Asian culture is fast changing. Sex is now viewed by our younger folks very differently from the older generation. What do you think could be the reason for this change?:

1) The Media with ready information like the internet, movies and novels?

2) Curiousity?

3) Peer Pressure?

4) They feel its their body and they can do what they like with it?

5) Inferiority Complex?

6) They have matured at an earlier age?

7) The type of food and nutrition they have?

Feel free to give your comments.

Singapore Idol II

Frankly, I think that the Singapore Idol competition is a joke sometimes. Generally the good talent gets voted out because they don't have enough supporters and the lousy ones get to stay on because Singaporeans are either tone deaf or the competitors just happen to have many friends and family supporting them. Eventually this becomes a competiton not of talent but of popularity instead.

Take Jasmine for example. She's definitely a lousy singing and she sounds so flat. Despite that, week after week she is never in the bottom three at all. Another example is Joaqim. Although he is oh-so-cute, I bet he has lots of lovestruck teenages voting for him because of his looks rather than his voice. Paul Twohill looks so girlish with that long greasy hair but he certainly strikes a chord with the younger girls. I wonder why. People I know all describe him as ugly, ghostly, like a character from Addams Family etc. I can't wait for this dude to go for his NS. (Laughing wickedly and rubbing hands together). Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against this guy. It's just that he is so weird looking that I wonder why girls go ga-ga over him.

Contestants aside, lets talk about the judges. I find Jacintha a complete mystery with her comments like "You need to elevate yourself because you are still in the living world", "...it sounds so musicakish...", "You've finally broken through your glass ceiling"... Does this lady even know what she's talking about? Most of the time I hardly understand her at all. I recalled those days she used to be so funny in the "Mom's not cooking" show. Where is the old Jacintha that we used to know of? The funny lady who used to make us laugh?

I had a great laugh the other day when 98.7FM's deejays made fun of all the 4 judges in the morning show. Good one guys! I'd love to hear more of it!!

The National Day Rally Speech 2006

On 20th August 2006, all Singaporeans sat on their couches with their eyes glued to their television sets as our Prime Ministry Lee Hsien Loong gave his 3rd National Day Rally Speech. It was definitely was one of the best speeches that I had ever heard so far. I'm proud to say that we have a PM with modern ideas and hey, I'm not writing this to curry favour with PAP. I do mean it!! I'm sure it must have been a very proud moment for all the people that he had paid tribute to on national TV. :-)

Of all the key messages that he had delivered, I like the part where he mentioned that he would like to get Singapore fully connected to the digital age. I'm sure that all the computer Geeks out there must be smiling from ear to ear when they heard this. I can suddenly foresee the prices of PDAs, handhelds, laptops and 3G phones dropping. :-))) $$$$. Who knows, perhaps the subscription fee for the internet may drop too. Well, I'm just building castles in the air....dream, dream, dream... but who knows where the latest technology will take us too in this era. Even the bad guys use the internet for their advantage. Will the good guys be able to outsmart the bad guys in potential high-tech crimes?

As for the part about helping the older and less-skilled workers get back to work, I believe that this is going to be a major challenge. How would one prevent employers from being bias towards these people? For all you know, some companies might just come up with some excuse like they prefer freshies, fast learners etc etc. What about the older people themselves. There are those who are afraid to even go near a computer...

I do feel that some organisations are very bias towards graduates who are not from NTU or NUS. There are SIM graduates who can't seem to be able to get jobs with the civil service so easily even if they would like to serve the govt sector very much. Arrghh...ok, ok, I was talking about myself. I had once called up a government department's HR department and I was told that they do not recognise my degree because I wasn't from a top university and let alone, it was done through SIM . I felt so sad. I had saved up hard to study and graduate for a better future. At that time, Poly grads did not get into the local university as easily as now... Well, I had lost out a lot. Those days you need to score good results in the second language to be able to get into NUS and NTU. Like I said, I had lost out a lot and my parents could not afford to send me overseas for a good degree. If only all these policies about second language and creating more places for poly grads to the local university existed during my era, I would definitely not be struggling like this right now. I do hope that employers would give graduates like myself a chance because the paper qualifications are just an entry point and ultimately what they should look at is the talent, experience and skills. Ok, ok...I seemed to have strayed away from my main topic. I guess I got so carried away when the topic of the employment market came up. I hope that the government could do something to help graduates like myself who are floating in limbo land.

Ok back to the speech, I also like the part about encouraging the young to know the Singapore Story better. How about bringing back the National Exhibtion? I recalled that when I was in Primary School, we went on an excursion to the National Exhibition in 1984 at the old World Trade Centre. I was too young to appreciate some of the exhibits back then. Well, if the country could bring that exhibtion back, I swear I would bring a camera and a notepad to take some notes!!!!

Do I sound like a bore already? Guess it's time out for now huh?