28 Jan 2013 – aka G.I Executioner

Sat: a lovely dinner at IndoChine**** by the SIN River to get into the mood for this movie!

Screened at The Arts House, Wit’s End is the 1st made in SIN American movie – about an US journalist who gets mixed up with a stripper and secret agents. Acting is nothing much to write home about, thus unfair to rate according to todays productions. The 1969 SIN scenes in this flick are priceless, especially for one who can recognise many of the places!

Pleasant cool moonlight walk by the river with Sir Stamford Raffles, founder of SIN with his back to the skyscrapers and skyline! Comment from John in Russia when I asked why: He’s looking out for more land to reclaim and build on. LOL. Me: Oops, wrong place, this is not the fishing village I discovered in 1819, hahaha!

What a nice wait at the bus stop by Fullerton Hotel, with live entertainment light show from MBS. Top left corner is a real moon.

Sun: an early start to drop Ting & CH off to SIN 1st Green Corridor 10k Run. Way to go Ting & CH. Being a supporter of the Green Corridor, would like to see it used as a walking, running or cycling path. The small old stations can be renovated but keeping the old charming original facades and turn them into cafe like what was done to the VA Creeper Trail/USA.

http://www.vacreepertrail.us/

http://www.thegreencorridor.org/

Tkx to Les & Ivy  for yummy tapas lunch at Don Quijote at Dempsey****on a road lined with beautiful Caesalpinia pulcherrima/peacock flowers.

Ended this lovely Sun at Great World City grocery shopping at Cold Storage with the non-local guy making pizza who gave me permission to take this pix. Impressive!

Ideas  are like pizza dough, made to be tossed around – Anna  Quindlen

25 Jan 2013 – Just a Simple Bike!

Thu FB posting: on a search for a small folding bicycle without paying a fortune. Anyone knows where I can find one like this or similar here in SIN??

Thanks for comments from cousins Lock & Yun and to Helen, Gel & Ting. Lunched with Pat at Lavender Food Square and we got to check out some bikes in the same area. For my kind of cycling,  S$700+++ does not justify it. Aleoca S$90 is the one Helen Ng mentioned from any of the Giants in SIN ( like a Super Wal-Mart but not 24hrs). Will still keep checking but can probably only afford the Aleoca!!

And that bike will be the choice thanks to cousin Lock again for sharing this:

http://cyclinginsingapore.blogspot.ca/2012/06/field-biologist-review-of-s98-aleoca.html

Coincidentally one of FB friends posted this after my bicycle search posting! Is this a hint?? 🙂

Thousand thanks to Ellen Brox for her translation: Old Olga celebrated her 100th Bday, and the Mayor brought flowers. Olga, it is incredible that you managed on your own! What about home care a couple of times a week? Think about it and call me. Olga was considering this for a couple of days, and then she called. Hi, this idea about home care is OK. But it must not be so far away that I cannot use the bike!

The Impossible***based on a true event about this family Maria, Henry and their 3 sons caught with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time. Unexpected displays of compassion, courage and simple kindness that Maria and her family encounter during the darkest hours of their lives is really rather touching and at times emotional…

Nothing is more powerful than the human spirit – Tagline from The Impossible

10 Years***the night before their high school reunion, a group of friends realize they still haven’t quite grown up in some ways. Did not know what to expect in this movie but thought it was strange to see that the school name is Lake Howell High School, where Jeff, Linn & May graduated from. For a split of a second thought I saw an old pix of May. Later to discover that the writer and director Jamie Linden graduated LHHS same year as May, 1997. So it might have been a pix of May

The Sessions****what is it that the past 2 weeks of movies, this is the 3rd one based on another true story! Mark O’Brien, a man in an iron lung who decides he wants to lose his virginity. After consulting with his priest, he gets in touch with Cheryl Cohen-Greene, a professional sex surrogate. Good acting projecting sex as a natural act of wanting to help another to learn to be aware of their own body to be able to fiv and receive pleasure without motives.

22 Jan 2013 – 11 Years Ago Today…

Happy Happy 11th Birthday dear Katy, hugs and XXXs to her across the oceans.

In OK City when my 1st born made me a happy and proud grandmother with her 1st born Katy. Today Linn tells me that her internet is down and looking forward for her FB pix postings. Some pix posting here until she gets online again.

Visited OK City then and Gator was only a puppy. 2002, when the year of the Horse fell on 12 Feb, so Katy is born actually in the year of the Snake 22 Jan 2002. The year of the Snake was then 24 Jan 2001 – 12 Feb 2002. People born in the month of Jan do get into this confusion. Same with my birth date, 15 Jan 1950, the year of the Ox was then 27 Jan 1949 – 17 Feb 1950, so am considered to be under the year of the Ox and not Tiger.

Anyway not that it matters but just to know when the older generation ask which animal are we under! The Chinese calendar goes by the lunar calendar!

Astrology, fengshui, horoscopes, prophecies, Tarot cards etc are for entertainment, so do NOT make them into self-fulfilling prophecy or be obsessed by them. Somehow the posting below has been the most read posting and not sure why???

http://amylamsg.com/2011/01/22/forecast-for-the-year-of-the-rabbit/

Realised that today is also the Bdays of Siv Lotherington and Natalie Norton/Norway, Mike Jensen/Belgium, Kimberly Fleek/USA. Happy Bdays to all.

A self-fulfilling prophecy is an assumption or prediction  that, purely as a result of having been made, cause the expected or predicted  event to occur and thus confirms its own ‘accuracy’ – Paul Watzlawick

21 Jan 2013 – Oops and Huffda

Fri: thanks to Les for inviting me to Secret Lives of Birds, an interesting talk given by Dr YC Wee at the SIN Polytechnic Graduates Guild. Learnt that birds can get drunk and they are not monogamous as thought! Believe it or not but homosexuality also exist among the birds!!

Sat: Lawrence is in SIN from KCH for a short visit. He leaves this afternoon and it was great to have caught up with him the past few days. What a lovely day to be indoors with Bach, Beethoven, Beatles, good reads and snoozes. Rained relentlessly since 0100hrs, nice, cool and wet.

Choosing the not so serious links to share. Disheartening news like Syria or Algeria with the hostage crisis and the severe weather around the globe can stay in the background this weekend even when they are actually the headlines!

How many people would have known that there is a difference between the Canadian and Norwegian maple leaf??? Certainly not me 🙂

http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/money/story/oops-norwegian-maple-leaf-dons-new-canada-20-bill-20130119

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1131222/singapore-hong-kong-face-happiness-deficit

All that glitters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told – Shakespeare

Have been often told that people like me are not the true SIN!!! So not being a true SIN and certainly not a Hongky, then happiness or emotions do not apply in this case!! Am just a simple being who enjoys living life to the fullest no matter of place or race 🙂 🙂

Sun: another cool and wet day. Tkx for catching up, Sebastian and good to know that he is thriving in his new job. Lunched at my favourite veggie joint, New Green Pasture Cafe****

18 Jan 2013 – @Urban Redevelopment Authority/URA

Wed: this is the first (South Bridge Rd, starting at the junctions of Cross St to Sago Lane) of the many more which will be blogged and posted for the CNY. The ariel view (pix credit to Eugene Tang) gives a better perspective of the length and the best CNY decorations ever in SIN. The Year of the SNAKE starts 10Feb! Appreciations to nephew Clement for a lovely afternoon in Chinatown.

Checked out SIN City Gallery at URA, highly recommended for anyone who is interested in the development of SIN thru’ the decades. The pix of then and now show how far SIN has progressed.

Silver Linings Playbook***Pat has lost everything. He now finds himself living back with his parents after spending time in a state institution on a plea bargain. Pat is determined to rebuild his life, remain positive and reunite with his wife. All Pat’s parents want is for him to get back on his feet and to share their family’s obsession with the Philadelphia Eagles football team. When Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious young woman with problems of her own, things get complicated…

Arbitrage***suspense thriller – buying low and selling high-depends on a person’s ability to determine the true value of any given market. Billionaire hedge fund magnate Robert is the very portrait of success in American business. But finds himself desperately trying to sell his trading empire to a major bank before the extent of his fraud is discovered… would not have seen this if not for Richard Gere!

Intouchables*****a true story about a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the less desirable neighbourhood. The paralyzed millionaire and the Senegalese parolee he hired to take care of him, how two totally different worlds create a unique friendship. Beautiful acting with good humour.

• Antoine: These street guys have no pity.
• Philippe: That’s what I want…no pity

16 Jan 2013 – Still More Questions…

The environment issues have always been within me and on the 63rd years onto life’s journey with still so many questions without answers over the years of so-called progress have only left even with more questions and not any wiser! And if you ask 63 people, you will have 63 answers 🙂

Mon, the first day of the Maha Kumbh Mela, Hindu devotees gather at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati river on Makar Sankranti. Millions of Hindu pilgrims are expected to take part in the large religious congregation, which falls every 12 years and lasts for a period of over a month, during which devotees wash themselves in the waters of the Ganges believing that it washes away their sins and ends the process of reincarnation…

Both over pop and pollutions on top of ignorance, greed and the chase of the materialistic values and power will eventually destroy our beautiful planet Earth. At present China and India top the contribution to most to the over pop and pollution issues. Unfortunately we are all culprits as we add to the problems by being consumers and being alive!!

Francis in FB so eloquently puts it – The threat of China to the western world is unfounded because most of the people in China will soon die of cancer derived from air pollution, contaminated water supply, toxic baby powder and dangerous, unsafe food chain.

Pollution levels of 300+ is bad. The US Embassy in Beijing City measured a level of 800+ but were asked not to officially announce it!! Over the weekend, while Beijing/China pollution levels hit 800+, Røros/Norway had temp of -33.6°C and if is this not global warming, what is?? All pix credits to The Straits Times as there is no way this life journey chooses to be near any crowds and smog.

After paying respects to my parents at the crematorium with some reflective time, will take the opportunity to thank each and every one of you for your Bday greetings. Appreciations for your thoughts and kind words. Your beings have made this life journey worth while even with all the questions without answers…

Questions are never indiscreet, answers sometimes are – Oscar Wilde

13 Jan 2013 – Memorable Dinning & Musical Evening

Sat: a fusion of elegant style and cutting-edge design, KU DÉ TA***on top of MBS, a restaurant with a view from the 57th floor! Courteous and good service. Just as well we have all been there in all kinds of weathers including last night when the rains poured and the thunder and lightning showed their furies, quite exciting! The sky cleared in time to see the city night lights when dessert was ordered. The Apple & Honey which comprise fresh green apple, milk and honey cremeux, green apple granite, comb honey crumble, and green apple jelly was yummy.

Jersey Boys*****the story of Frankie Valli & The Four Season, Bob Gaudio, Tommy DeVito and Nick Massi. How this group of blue-collar boys from wrong side of the tracks became one of the biggest American pop music sensations. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide – all before they were 30.

Jersey Boys, a Tony-Award winning musical with some of my favourites and hit performances like Sherry, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, My Eyes Adored You, Walk Like A Man… took the band all the way to the 60s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Those hits sure brought back memories from adolescence days! Many thanks to Les & Ivy for dinner and to Clement for this lovely musical evening.

This is also the 1st experience to Sands Theatre@ Marine Bay Sands where we could bring a glass of sparkling into the performance when you hold VIP tickets! Wow what a wonderful early Bday treat from my SIN family!

Oh, what a night
Late December, back in ’63
What a very special time for me
As I remember, what a night – Frankie Valli & The Four Season

11 Jan 2013 – And Current Movies

Niece Patricia brought along 2 friends, Priscilla & Jennifer visiting us Christmas 1990 in FL/USA. Today Jennifer is in SIN visiting her family. Appreciations to her for taking time calling to arrange a meeting. Lunched on frog legs & raw fish in Chinatown where the CNY decorations are in place to welcome the year of the Snake.

Walked via Ann Siang Hill to Urban Redevelopment Authority/URA to see the scale model of SIN and now happy to see that the updated model includes the Green Corridor. Very impressive, can even see block 46, marked in the pix to be able to find it. If interested to view, click on the image to enlarge it!

Ended this lovely day at LeVEL 33@MBFC to taste their craft beer, quite good! Safe journeys and good luck to Jennifer who will be returning to Canada this weekend.

Amour****Georges and Anne are in their 80s who are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack followed by a further stroke and her condition worsens. The couple’s bond of love is severely tested. Painful effects of ageing and dementia on a blissful married couple. Brilliant acting with hardly any unnecessary music except when it was relevent.

Parental Guidance***Artie & Diane are left alone to care for their grandkids. Grandpa’s old-school methods collide with their modern ways of no punishments, but lack of fun ways. Even as the once-orderly household begins to spin out of control, the grandparents employ some unexpected tactics to win them over and teach them to be kids…

Taxi! Taxi!***a SIN production about the trials and tribulations of a retrenched scientist, Prof Chua, as he turns to taxi driving after several failed job attempts. Along the way, he befriends a veteran taxi driver, Ah Tau. The two men, who appear to be polar opposites of each other in every aspect. But eventually find themselves interdependent and influencing each other in ways that are least expected

Once bitten by a snake, you will feel suspicious even when you see a piece of rope – Dalai Lama

9 Jan 2013 – On Sentosa Boardwalk

Happy Bdays to niece Judy and nephew Lee.

Tue: Por-por who is now in her 90s and in good health on her annual temple visit at Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple 观音堂佛祖庙; 158 Waterloo St.

First walk across to Sentosa on this new boardwalk. Somehow it was rather strange that one can now walk there. Born and grew up in this area in the 1950s. The name Sentosa translates as ‘peace and tranquility’ in Malay. Sentosa was once known as Pulau Belakang Mati 绝后岛 which in Malay means the Island/pulau of Death/mati from Behind/belakang.

Both Sentosa and Mt Faber were our childhood playgrounds in the 1950s. One can only get to this island by boat which cost 0.10cents then. Today it app the area of 5 sq km/1.9 sq mi (including reclaimed land) and is quite a contrast from the fishing villages from the 1950s. You name it and they are there, including Universal Studios, 5* resorts, SIN 1st casino, etc etc. Do miss the quiet and charming simple fishing villages which are very rare in SIN.

Sentosa has been over-blogged in these postings, 11 times as the search tells me 🙂 If interested in more, go to google or type in Sentosa by the search icon on any postings here. A breezy and cool afternoon after the rains, made this a beautiful walk but not so ideal for pix!

There are choices, under the shade app 545m/0.3mi for one direction on travelators which go both directions. Elderly parents and or grandparents would enjoy this! Or no shade nor travelators on the boardwalk. The latter was a good choice for Tue, but would have taken the former if the sun was out. There are a couple of places to eat and have a drink on the boardwalk but were not opened.

S$1 to get on the island and EZ link card is accepted. Time was tight, so turned around back to VivoCity. This is the first experience on the boardwalk which was probably opened during my absence from SIN. The scenes here change like the whirlpool fountain at VivoCity 🙂 🙂

Oh, when the sun beats down and burns the tar up on the roof
And your shoes get so hot, you wish your tired feet were fireproof
Under the boardwalk, down by the sea… – Drifters

6 Jan 2013 – SJI Reunion for 1959 O-Levels Students

Sat: thank you Ting for driving to her parents’ orchid farm to harvest orchids for the St Joseph Institution/SJI Reunion function. SJI is a Catholic secondary school for male students and was founded in 1852 as Saint John’s Institution. It is the third oldest educational institution in SIN where bro Les attended.

Beautiful flowers that are forgotten but still found growing at their farm, Pagoda and Starfruit Flowers.

Appreciations to Les & Ivy’s for including Ting-Ting & I at their home for the dinner. Tentage was up in case of rains but thank goodness it was a lovely evening. Their graciousness and hospitably are beyond words. Am blessed to have a bro and sister-in-law like them.

A delicious hawkers’ style spread catered by Monte Cristo. The whole roast lamb never fails to be a good pix subject.

Did not even know anyone (except for my family, Ting and an old classmate/Rebecca’s sister, Madeline and her husband who just crossed path for the first time last night) but had a good time. Camera was unfortunately incorrectly set and most of the pix are so-so. Even with a combination of Ting’s pix, none of Les, he was everywhere but nowhere when our cameras were in action…

They’d added gray to their hair, or pounds to their rears.
But as we shared a few memories and retold some class jokes,
We were eighteen in spirit, though we looked like our folks.
We turned up hearing aid volumes and dimmed down the light,
Rolled back the years, and were young for the night – Elizabeth Lucas

Thanks Hannah for sharing the link below, sounds like a good way to live 🙂

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paula-davislaack/happiness-tips_b_2325700.html