We Aint Telling Nobody...

"Invest in Humanity, not in Property," said Carlos Santana to the almost-sold out crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The way he said it is still stuck clearly in my mind. The inspiring musician, together with his wife Deborah, founded the Milagro Foundation in 1998 to represent the under-privileged & under-represented children round the world. Their vision parallels those of John Lennon, Bob Marley & many other famous figures to achieve world peace and equality.

http://www.milagrofoundation.org/

The legendary guitarist, Carlos Santana, and his equally awesome SANTANA band members were in town yesterday for a rare performance as part of his Live Your Light Tour. Its been more than a decade since he last performed here in Singapore - '94 & '96 - except this time, Mr President came to have a peek.

Of course, being The Man meant that President S. R. Nathan had the privilege of frontrow seats & could cheer for Santana right in front of him. But thats not to say that my parents & I werent privileged. We could see the whole Singapore Indoor Stadium from where we were. Simply speaking, we're at the other extreme end - the 2nd last row.

Now, dont get me wrong here. It was also a privilege if seen from another perspective. Being at the Eagle's Nest meant that I could see everything. EVERYTHING. You could see specks of lights among the audience, so you'd know who's recording the show on their handphones.
Occassionally, I'd nudge my parents and whisper.. Look at that couple... And they weren't the only ones up to something. There were many Caucasians dancing salsa, cha cha, or just swaying with the music!

Keyword: Caucasians. [I assure you, im not racist. It's just easier to make my point]
Most Asians were sitting down. Well-mannered. Barely cheering. A few claps to go with the music here and there. Loud, furious clapping deserves to be at the end of the song only....

PEOPLE! This is a CONCERT for crying out loud!! As Dad puts it just before I left for the Dragonforce concert last year,"In a concert, you're NOT supposed to behave".

*Criticism wont escape nobody here. My Dad didnt let loose either (though i suspect he did when Black Sabbath came by in 2007). Me? I was happily cheering and swaying to the music in my seat [Hey, parents watching... it'll be awkward if i started dancing with some stranger in front of them]. But at least my parents clapped to the tempo with me :)

It is times like these that makes me wonder what draws the line between conservative and liberalistic behaviours.

Maybe this is due to the fact that most of the crowd were mostly aged 40 and above, so they were too old to dance...? Right. Tell that to the 60-yr old Caucasian couple 10m to my right. They Boogied!

Could it be a consequence of the upbringing in our schools, where students are taught to behave and also respect the speaker? Or does our very Asian values subconciously constrain us that we should always be well-mannered?

Hell, I have absolutely no idea. And I dont see anything wrong with our culture nor our education system either. But what I do know is that "When in Rome, act like the Romans do".
And who better to give the green light than Santana himself,"Its okay, we aint gonna tell nobody"


All in all, the 3-hour event -which actually started on time - was worth every penny.
I was quite relieved to see that the Chinese couple sitting in front of me ran to the back to join some white people who got there earlier. Hip songs like Maria Maria & Smooth sent flocks of people down to the center of the stadium for a mass dance. It really was quite a grand spectacle^.
Song after song, solo after solo, salsa beats, power ballads, etc. Everybody enjoyed it. "Dance Into The Night" was the finale.

If I were to choose one word to describe that evening, it would be "Santana Magic" ;)



^ To have an idea what it was like, check out this Deep Purple concert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WX_4FNoto4

Rumour has it...

Couple of weeks have passed since the 2007 O-level results were released. Whether you were prepared & had worked your ass off burning the midnight oil or not, it all comes down to results.
Tears - be it of joy or sorrow - flooded secondary schools all over on that fateful day.

As relief spreads among the 16,17 year olds, another drama is about to unfold. The tension continues to mount for another group of teenagers. They're the 18-20 year old post-JC students waiting for the 2007 A-level results. Guess what? I'm one of them!! *Gasp*

Rumours and speculations have spread as to when the results would be released. What we DO know is that it's on a Friday. Which Friday? Not quite elementary, my dear Wilson.
Two possibilities are 15th Feb (just two days away) and 22nd Feb. A friend of mine speculated that might remain in March. Its still possible. After all, Cambridge never follows the timetable.

Though I highly doubt its on this Friday, I figure that if it is, then the drama about to unfold would have one HELL of a TWIST!

Here's the scenarios:

1. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. If you've got a date, good for you. If you're out with your steady, all the better. If you're single and affected by all this commotion or recently broke up, you might die in the scenario im putting forth (so go hang out with some friends! ;)
   
2. 15th Feb is Total Defence Day. Public Sirens will scream, wail & holler to remind the people which siren means a) listen to the radio for broadcasted messages, b) air raid. head for shelters, c) all clear signal.

A specific condition must be applied to complete the scenarios. POOR RESULTS :(

FIRST SCENARIO: The Heartbreak part II

The reason why I dont think it will be held right after Valentine's Day...
It'll be damn terrible if you're single and emo-ing 'coz you're without a date, or if you've just broke up. Bad results + no date = Fate worse than Death

SCENARION 2: New Siren Function (the hilarious side of my thoughts yesterday)

Total Defence Day is the day that reminds us citizens that Singaporeans have to work together to deter all sorts of threats. Key aspects: Military, Psychological, Economic, Civil & Social Defense.

At noon, Sirens all over Singapore painstakingly keep us annoyed, yet remind us of the 3 important messages they convey. (with relevance to the lives of some students)


Siren 1: Listen to the radio, there's gonna be a broadcasted message.
"Its Total Defence Day! On this SAME day, Alvl results are to be released. Students please be early for the hour-long principal's lullaby.. Er, i meant, speech."

Siren 2: Air Raid!!! Take COVER!!!!
You just got your results! You dont like it. Your parents find out sooner or later. And they dont like it either...

Parents hot on heels..... RUN!!

Siren 3: All Clear
"Its been a whole month now. Safe to return home."


Looks like some fridays are not meant to be TGIFs afterall... XD

Halo Addict

I've always been an avid fan of the Halo Series. Played Halo 1, Halo 2. Completed them both.
Halo 3 can be considered completed as I played with some fella from middle to the ending during Launch Day at Suntec City. Played from beginning to middle later at home.

Read Some of the Books, ie Ghosts of Onyx, First Contact & Fall of Reach
Watched most of Red vs Blue Machinima Comedy Series!!

Addicted to Halo LIVE. God, its a must have. My tactics have changed little..:
1) CaMp, stay invisible to motion sensors
Wait for Unsuspecting Victim
Scream and Holler at the Guy (with Big Smile on my face)
Assasinate!!!!

2) Snipe 'em!! Shotgun em!!

3) When ambushed, I run straight for the enemy!! Hoping that they'd freak out and lose control, then i'll melee him for the kill!
When Stuck by Plasma Grenade... Suicide Bomber style!!!

I've added a new tactic though...
Grenade Spamming!!! Weaken them with the grenade and *whack*!


What can I say? Its War in the comfort of the Sofa

Here's some links to Halo Comics if you're a fan.
http://nikon.bungie.org/comics.html
I recommend Subzero & Another Halo Comic Story

What A Landscape..

Sunny Day, Clear Skies.. Perfect for the weekly Saturday soccer fun.

As usual, I dragged my sleepy self through the half-mile out to the nearest bustop and caught a bus service heading towards Yishun. In Singapore, a 30-min bus ride equals a whole world away. Its just so far. Unless, of course, you're heading to town. Town is never too far.
Personally, the fact that you've just finished college and had your Student privileges whisked away post-New Year's Day adds a brand new meaning to Life. Every bustrip has now become a treasured resource.



Heavy Metal blasting my ears throughout the journey, I noticed that some of the lush vegetation along Lentor had been replaced by barren lands - destined to transform into one of many residential areas, mini-malls or leisure parks. Further down the road, there was the Bottle Tree Village (which had a fishing pond) which replaced some thick vegetation on the outskirts of Yishun Town some years ago. More and more areas around Singapore are being given a make-over, by virtue of limited land resource.



This reminded me of Neil Humphrey's article about Singaporeans travelling overseas in search
of wildlife, due to the 'fact' that the Lion City no longer has such resources. His remarks, however, were often to re-iterate how some people tend to overlook the reality that some form of wildlife actually exists within the confines of the ever-changing landscape of our tiny island.



Flashback by a month, we (parents, dad's colleague n his wife) went out boating along NorthEastern waters of Singapore. Usually we'd speed to Pulau Seletar, go around it, then head for Pulau Ubin and circle it too before we head back, roughly a 2hr journey.

This time though, we decided to do a lil' exploring...

Spring tide (the highest tide throughout the month) is a result of the Moon's gravity at full moon phase. Current strength will be at its peak, too. You could tell by how fast the floating rubbish were moving out from the river to the sea.
The tidal phenomena also meant lesser risk of grounding. It was then that we decided to venture the waters of Yishun Mangroves..



As the kiasu few entered the mangrove, unfinished structures and wooden jetties dating back to at least half a century, maybe more, could still be seen. A couple of lizards had a scare of their lives when they popped up ahead of the 20ft boat. Crikey! No buaya* though..

Perched on a small tree just above the waterline were a group of 7-8 cranes/herons (I can't remember). They werent bothered one bit as we crept up and down the river past them while another boat sped by with a group of wakeboarders.

There was also a small fish farm situated along one of the two mangroves, accessible by bike. I reckon the mangrove to be quite a good fly fishing spot, considering the few good fish jumping out of the water once in a while - as though on cue, reminding their fellow Singaporean visitors that they too play a part in this ecosystem.



You know.. We Singaporeans are quite fortunate bunch. Many take things for granted, even me. We have wildlife at our own backyard, several beaches (though somewhat dirty) and have parks that are quite underused. Sea sports are fast becoming common leisure activities, with kayaking facilities accessible at almost every reservoir. In other countries, the land mass is so massive that some have never been to the ocean their entire lives.


I think we should not restrict wildlife exposure to primary & secondary school expeditions (including firsthand exposure to wildlife for males aged 18++, courtesy of the Singaporean Government :D). It should be a pastime continued well into our future. From MacRitchie Reservoir to Bukit Timah to Pulau Ubin to Farrer Park to other ulu** habitats, each deserve some attention.

Visit them whenever you can, before its 'potential' is realised and hip shopping malls take over.


*Buaya - Crocodile
** Ulu - Isolated
http://www.wildsingapore.per.sg/
http://wildbirdsingapore.nss.org.sg/indexH.html