15 Feb 2011 – Happy Bday to God-Daughter Guri

Thanks Chesper for taking time to catch up in spite of your hectic life. Safe journeys to S Africa and good luck with the pet shop. Will try to visit when he is settled. Have never been to S Africa!

It is not going to be easy to rate movies after The King’s Speech, so take these ratings with a pinch of salt until I get over Colin Firth! The difference between a fan and a fanatic is that a fan gets over it while a fanatic does not 🙂

A fanatic is one who sticks to his guns whether they’re loaded or not –
Franklin P Jones

If You Are the One 2*** The opening scene was rather unusual and ironic! A Chinese flick about the destiny of three people. XiaoXiao and QinFen decide to have a trial marriage but it turns out to be a failure when Xiao gets drunk and tells Qin how she really feels. Qin returns to Beijing and becomes a TV host. When his best friend Xiangshan is diagnosed with cancer, his friends hold a farewell ceremony where Xiao and Qin meet up. Beautiful country house!

Black Swan***Nina is a ballerina in a NYC ballet company and lives with her retired ballerina mother, Erica who zealously supports her daughter’s professional ambition. When artistic director Leroy decides to replace prima ballerina Beth for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Lily, who impresses Leroy as well, is Nina competitor!

Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, as well as the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted relationship, Nina gets in touch with her dark side. Found it rather confusing at times when her dark side or when her schizo mind took over!

There’s a fine line between the Method actor and the schizophrenic – Nicolas Cage

14 Feb 2011 – Happy Valentine’s Day

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_634485.html

Kuala Lumpur: As couples around the world ready for Valentine’s Day, Islamic officials in Malaysia have warned Muslims against celebrating something ‘synonymous with vice activities’.

The warning follows plans announced last week by several Malaysian states who are planning a crackdown on ‘immoral acts’ during Valentine’s Day as part of a campaign to encourage a sin-free lifestyle.

‘In reality, as well as historically, the celebration of Valentine’s Day is synonymous with vice activities,’ Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz, head of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), which oversees the country’s Islamic policies, told state media…

Sin-free lifestyle… can someone please give a satisfactory definition of that? Since when is showing love and appreciations to people you love considered vice activities?? Am I missing something or just lost in translation???

Let him who is without sin cast the first stone – Jesus Christ

In the meanwhile here is to the King of all YuiSang/鱼生. Jessie & Frank (Ivy’s cousins) make this best raw fish salad dish( posting 13 Feb 2010 – YuiSang/鱼生). They use 28 ingredients with tons of fish, all freshly and thinly hand-sliced by the family. Jessie & Frank’s YuiSang is most look forward dish every CNY. Will someday list all the 28 ingredients when Jessie is ready to write them down. Thank you Les & Ivy and Jessie & Frank. In their wonderful company + porpor, Jo, Miji San and her husband, this scrumptious dish was consumed with champagne on Sat night, yummy yum yum 🙂

I believe as human beings we are out of balance, out of synch with the earth – Kevin Richardson

13 Feb 2011 – A Musical Afternoon

Sat: thank you Lucy for inviting me to this musical gathering. And again how coincident that the host, Andrew is someone who crossed paths with me a couple of years ago. Was trying to contact him last year to send my condolences for the passing of his wife. Yesterday a personal message of condolences was delivered. Appreciations to Andrew for his hospitality and his lovely voice. Would have loved to stay on listening to him but had to rush off for the next event. Thanks Juliana for getting the group together and for giving me a ride to my next function.  Andrew, please keep the music going 🙂

The OperaViva Club is made up of a family of individuals, from young students to mature adults, who already enjoy or wish to know more about opera. It promotes a friendly link through opera, both baroque and contemporary, contemporary musicals and music.

So what is opera? Opera is a drama in which all or part of the dialogue is sung rather than ; simply put, drama appeals to our intellect through words and music appeals to our feelings – a unique and powerful combination within all of us, young and old, student, worker or a professional.

In 2004 an impresario-vocalist LEOW Siak Fah (founder and now ex-chairman of SIN Lyric Opera), composer-pianist John SHARPLEY (composer & pianist) and poet-playwright Robert YEO (librettist & producer) established Opera Viva.

http://www.operaviva.com.sg/
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=58999723895

It is so important for people at a young age to be invited to embrace classical music and opera – Luciano Pavarotti

11 Feb 2011 – A 5* Movie

Thank you Les & Ivy to include me for dinner with your Mt E staff.

Do not know when was the last time such an excellent movie was produced. Everything is just how a good production and fantastic acting should be. Even the music has been tastefully chosen. The last scene with the music of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5/the 2nd movement of the Emperor (one of the all time favourites) brought tears to the eyes! A movie to buy and watch again. Historical drama about King George VI, who goes to Lionel, an unorthodox speech therapist to learn to overcome his stammer. The two men become friends as they work together and after his brother abdicates, the King relies on Lionel to help him make a radio broadcast at the beginning of 2nd World War.

Lion dancers@Golden Village Cinemas Plaza SIN happened to be there welcoming this movie! Was planning to see another movie, The Black Swan back to back. Needed a break to reflect and it would not be fair with ratings to any other movies after Colin Firth (being from only a fan, this movie has made me a total fan of his! ) in The King’s Speech*****

Lionel Logue: [as George “Berty” is lighting up a cigarette] Please don’t do that.
King George VI: I’m sorry?
Lionel Logue: I believe sucking smoke into your lungs will kill you.
King George VI: My physicians say it relaxes the throat.
Lionel Logue: They’re idiots.
King George VI: They’ve all been knighted.
Lionel Logue: Makes it official then…

10 Feb 2011 – Glorious Food

Today was a total food indulgence day. Cousin Wilki and wife Patty will be returning to HI in the weekend and today is the only day we got a chance to meet up. Wilki is staying with his mom (96yrs 4th aunt)@Pearl Bank, less than 5mins walk from Chinatown, thus most convenient to choose the area to hang-out for the day. Pearl Bank Apartments/珍珠苑 is a high-rise private residential building on Pearl’s Hill. The 38-story building resembles a horseshoe design.

Started with trying to get some info from the Kung Chow Wui Koon/冈州会馆 to check out if any of the LAM were members there. Some of the older generation have heard of father and the bank but unfortunately none of the LAM family members joined this association.

Tiong Shian-porridge/長城粥品**** famous for the porridge and our choices were the claypot ginger and spring onions frog legs + chicken feet + raw fish. This corner coffee shop is located on New Bridge Rd/Keong Kiak Rd. Then across the street for durian.

Such luxury with one hour of foot reflexology@The People’s Park Complex/珍珠坊 which is a development, consisting of offices and apartments above a podium of shopping space. With a height of 103 metres/338ft, the 31-storey People’s Park building was the first shopping centre of its kind in SE Asia when completed in 1970 and set the pattern for later retail developments in SIN. The residential block was completed in 1973. This shopping centre occupy one hectare in the heart of Chinatown.

Mei Heong Yuen Dessert/ 味香园**** located@Temple Street where the best almond and black sesame paste can be tasted. Cousin chose the chendol which is coconut milk, a worm-like jelly made from rice flour with green food colouring, shaved ice and brown palm sugar. Next to these basic recipe, other ingredients such as red beans and or grass jelly might also be included. Thank you Wilki & Patty for a delicious day! Safe journeys back to HI.

Bjørn and May liked the peanuts@Raffles Long Bar, so decided to buy the famous Heritage Farmer Peanuts here to send to them.
http://www.farmerpeanuts.com/home

Don’t sell your soul to buy peanuts for the monkeys – Dorothy Salisbury Davis

9 Feb 2011 – Confused

Have been on a go for the past couple of weeks. Even when the mind is willing, the body is hinting otherwise! Decided to sleep-in this morning after yesterday’s 0800hrs dental appointment and catching up with Henry for the rest of the day.

Tue: thanks Henry for a delightful meeting for coffee and Beef Kway Teow lunch. Am completely blurred, always thought that the location (established 1924) previously@Purvis St and now@Seah St****is the only Hock Lam St Beef Noodle (now next to this new trendy hotel with a vertical garden). Only realized yesterday that there is another one (established 1911)@China St****Both are known as Hock Lam St’s popular Beef Kway Teow! Now have discovered that they are two entirely different owners.

http://www.hocklambeef.com/perfectbowl.html

Coincidently bumped into Yulis who also knows Henry (small world)! Henry being a total fan of blinkblinks had to examined Yulis’s ring 🙂

Watched a Thai movie@Cathay Picturehouse- Uncle Boonmee, who recalls his past life. Do not know how to rate this movie but found it boring and a waste of time. Not understanding much of it, even with subtitles! decided to take a nap in the cosy cool cinema, which is the same cinema SFS uses for their showings too. The CNY decorations in the Cathay building are quite cute with rabbits chasing up in a spiral towards the ceiling. Caught another lion dance but the drums are quite deafening when enclosed in the building.

The great secret that all old people share is that you really haven’t changed in seventy or eighty years. Your body changes, but you don’t change at all. And that, of course, causes great confusion – Doris Lessing

7 Feb 2011 – Lion Dance

May & Bjørn were hoping to see the Lion Dance the past few days but alas it was not meant to be. Last night Senior Minister/SM GOH Chok Tong was in the common area for his yearly neighbourhood CNY dinner and there was Lion Dance, thoughts of the young people surfaced the mind. Was catching a cat-nap after the most delicious popiah lunch when the drums caught my attention for me to rush down to take the pix! Pity the Bear did not see the Lion dance!! These pix postings are especially for the Bear 🙂

A Great Great World/大世界****set during the heyday of Great World Amusement at Kim Seng Rd, SIN’s legendary amusement park. Spanning from the 1940s to the present day, the film signifies the stories of a multitude of characters that lived, worked, played, sang danced and even fell in love in Great World. A local touching movie full of humour and jokes for the whole family. A rare chance to hear Medicorp actors and actresses speaking dialects, feel-good movie down memory lane! Highly recommended for people who grew up in that era here in SIN.

Rode the ferris wheel, carousel and ghost train there in the 1950s, but more memorable was when the three paternal grandmothers went for the Chinese Opera Troupe which was performed in a temporary bamboo theatre pitched near the gates of the park. The costumes, make-ups and the expressions of the performers were and still are fascinating up to today but as for the music (then and now), could not understand or appreciate much of it. Perhaps it is due to the training of Western classical music since birth!

Let the great world spin for ever down the ringing grooves – Alfred Lord Tennyson

6 Feb 2011 – Bear Bids Farewell to the Lion City

Yesterday was May & Bjørn’s last day in SIN, more sight-seeing and shopping! Arab Street, Bugis Junction, Raffles Hotel & Long Bar (SIN Sling), dinner@Soup Restaurant (May’s favourite chicken dish) and dessert@Suntec City. Somehow those pix seemed to have vanished 🙁 but if they do reappear, which has happened with some previous pix, will upload them here!

Today saw them off bright and early and it would not be long before we meet again to celebrate Norway’s National Day, 17 May.

Thanks to Peggy for the delicious lunch, popiah which is fresh spring roll and common in SIN and Malaysia. The popiah skin is a thin paper-like crepe made from wheat flour which is covered with hoisin sauce and optionally with hot chilli sauce and minced garlic before filling with finely grated and steam jicama (known locally as banghuang). The filling has been cooked with a combination of other ingredients like bamboo shoots, beans, carrots depending on the individuals. In addition fresh lettuce, cucumber, crushed peanuts, cooked egg, prawns and crab meat can also be added.

In SIN, there are popiah parties where ingredients are laid out and guests (in the group pix, clockwise: LianChoo, Pat, Beng, Angela and our hostess) make their own popiah with proportions and ingredients to their personal likings. When Peggy’s mother Auntie Tan was alive, she hosted the best popiah party. Appreciations to Peggy for carrying on the tradition. These beautiful orchid are located in her garden and she is also the VP of the Orchid Society.

Goodbyes are not forever.
Goodbyes are not the end.
They simply mean I’ll miss you
Until we meet again – Author Unknown

4 Feb 2011 – Happy Bday Lawrence

Fri: After some discussions and surfing for info, the young people decided to head to the beach@Sentosa. http://www.sentosa.com.sg Not being a sun worshipper like many Scandinavians, opt to stay indoors until time to meet them after their dose of beach, sand and sun! Met up with Leonard@Vivocity for coffee and took the MRT to Little India.

With all the Chinese food during this CNY festivals, a change of cuisine gives some other varieties. The Banana Leaf Apolo*** located@Little India established 1974 is rather unique and fun with their food served on banana leafs. http://www.thebananaleafapolo.com/ Thank you Leonard for dinner.

Thank you Sue for dessert and tea@Intercontinental Hotel’s Lobby Lounge. The calligraphic sculpture, Chuan, Chinese word for creativity or uniqueness, is by the late Brother Joseph McNally, inspired by the brush stroke of Hong Zhu An.

http://www.singapore.intercontinental.com/

I think it’s fair to say that personal computers have become the most empowering tool we’ve ever created. They’re tools of communication, they’re tools of creativity, and they can be shaped by their user – Bill Gates