Archive for the 'Review' Category

About Singapore

Published
by
acroamatic
on Tuesday, 19 August 2008
in Personal, Review and Singaporeana
. 3 Comments

About Singapore

On Saturday, I went on a mini shopping spree. I came back with a few treasures - books and DVDs about Singapore.

None of these are likely to become required reading or viewing as part of National Indoctrination Education. Nevertheless (or is it ‘Because of’?), this unlikely quintet are more authentic than most of what you see on Channel 5 and 8.

Ah, actually, there is something to be said about that - the Channel 8 reference - particularly regarding The Resident Tourist series. I think the graphic novels will strike a chord with many English-educated Chinese here. Troy Chin’s observations, experiences and asides about Singapore will have you nodding and laughing in agreement.

Troy is The Resident Tourist. He details his return to Singapore from New York, where he worked as a music executive. Having been away, he plays tourist in Singapore since he is busy being a bum illustrating and writing a comic about himself - The Resident Tourist.

Very meta.

I read Part 1 online, after finding out about it via Tomorrow.sg. Even before I was halfway through, I decided to buy the book. Troy (and Adrian Teo, the publisher), if you are reading this, please publish Part 3!

Moving on to the DVDs.

Remember Chek Jawa, by Eric Lin, documents the journey of ordinary Singaporeans in their valiant effort to survey and ultimately save Chek Jawa from the threat of destruction. If you believe our gahmen doesn’t listen - and I often do - then this documentary will at least make you think twice about that sentiment. Though I still think that on balance, the gahmen generally doesn’t. Think IR and others.

The documentary reveals that we do have natural resources. Perhaps non-exploitable, but they exist.

The Tan Pin Pin Collection is a compilation of three documentaries by Tan Pin Pin - Moving House, Singapore GaGa and Invisible City.

Moving House explores the theme of displacement and development through the exhumation of the director’s great grandfather’s grave.

Singapore GaGa is a documentary about the sounds that make up Singapore. Sounds that we take for granted. Sounds that we might not even notice. There is an interview with the Old Voice of MRT. And you’ll discover why you had to learn to play the recorder in school.

Finally, there is Invisible City, a study of the hidden histories of our land. If Remember Chek Jawa reminds us that we have natural heritage, Invisible City highlights that we have many alternative historical narratives besides the grand story of how we got kicked out of Malaysia and eventually made good.

The common thread that binds these books and DVDs is that they all touch on our identity as Singaporeans. None provide answers. What they serve to do is to make us reflect and to question truisms. The books and DVDs open our eyes to different and sometimes hidden aspects of our existence as Singaporeans.

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Posterous: blog via email, and then some

Published
by
acroamatic
on Monday, 30 June 2008
in Review and Tech
. 4 Comments

Posterous (by acroamatic)

The idea behind Posterous is preposterously simple: blog by email. (hat tip to Michele Martin).

Anyone who can email can now blog. Just send a email to post@posterous.com from your regular email address. (Hmmm… wonder how they filter out spam!)

You’ll get a reply which tells you that you’ve posted successfully.

The first time you get this reply, you’ll be asked to click a link to create a password. With that, you’ve created your account.

Easy peasy.

Each time you email/post on posterous, after the initial one, you’ll get a confirmation email saying that you’ve successfully posted. This is to prevent someone from spoofing your email and posting stuff to your blog without your knowledge.

Ok, those in the know are probably saying, “But you can also email blog posts via Blogger.”

But that still requires account creation to begin with.

Besides, Posterous has a few tricks up its sleeve.

You can email word docs, powerpoints, pdfs, photos, links, and Posterous will automatically try to present it in the nicest way it knows.

For example:

  • Post one photo, and Posterous resizes it to fit the blog.
  • Post a bunch of photos, Posterous creates a mini gallery.
  • Post a document, spreadsheet or pdf, Posterous embeds it in the post using Scribd’s iPaper (don’t worry what this is, the process is entirely invisible - you just email the attachment).
  • Post a YouTube URL, Posterous automatically embed the video.
  • Post an mp3 file, Posterous creates an embedded mp3 player in the post for the file.

Just by clicking Send.

Check out the FAQ, which shows some of these features in action:
http://posterous.com/faq

Apparently, comments are also handled entirely through email. I haven’t tested it out though. Check out Siva’s post. Looks like normal comments but they were posted via email, except the first one. I suspect if I subscribe to Siva’s Posterous site, I will probably be able to email/post a comment to his blog without even visiting it.

I tried embedding a PDF, but that didn’t go too well. All the text ended up as gibberish. Also, they claim to have some ways to determine if the email really originated from you, so less worries about security.

Posterous is pretty new, so no bells-and-whistles yet. I suppose they want to get the basic features working properly before adding things like different themes, sidebar customization etc. Well, they’ve said there’ll always be a free basic service but they’ll have premium features for which they will charge.

But right now, it’s dirt simple.

Just the thing to get people who’ve been holding out on blogging to start.

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Singapore 3 Uzbekistan 7

Published
by
acroamatic
on Tuesday, 3 June 2008
in Review and Sports
. 2 Comments

Not the kind of scoreline you see every day.

I made my way down to the National Stadium for what will probably be the second-last time. (The last time should be Singapore v Saudi Arabia two Saturdays from now, by which time the game might be inconsequential to our qualifying hopes.)

A colleague, my boss’ kid (I kid you not) and I missed the bulk of the action in the first half. By the time we got in, it was already 2-3 to the Uzbeks. Judging from the cheering we heard just as we were walking towards the stadium, Singapore were the most recent scorers.

(We got in free. Primary school kids and below get free entry. And some random guy passed complimentary tickets to my colleague and I as we were walking up the stairs.)

Anyway, in the next few minutes, everything fell apart.

Here’s the odd thing. I felt we could still fight back. Even after we eventually went 2-6 down.

The Lions performed admirably but were let down by some seriously naive defending, especially at set-pieces. Daniel Bennett, normally solid, had a topsy-turvy night. Precious (I won’t even try spelling his surname) was given a torrid time. His lack of pace was totally exposed by the short-passing Uzbeks. Our defensive organisation was horrid.

Besides the defending, we were creating chances. Not as many as the Uzbeks, who could easily have won this game by double-digits if not for some unbelievable misses from close and the fingertips of Lionel Lewis. But we still created chances. We still fought.

Which is why there were no boos, no jeers for the Lions, even though we conceded more than I can remember in any recent game. Even though we were beaten by four goals.

I remember the last major embarrassing scoreline we had. That infamous trashing by Malaysia in the Tiger Cup a few years back. That night, the crowd turned on the Lions, and almost justifiably so. We just let them trample all over us.

Tonight, we took a severe beating, still got up and tried to give as good as we got.

For that, I applaud our Lions.

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New Zealand Retrospective

Published
by
acroamatic
on Tuesday, 20 May 2008
in Personal and Review
. 4 Comments

Kevin and I | Quad Biking

A documentary I watched yesterday about whales brought to mind my family’s trip to New Zealand last year. We went on a whale watching trip with Whale Watch Kaikoura - which was featured in the film- towards the end of the trip.

I had fully intended to write about my New Zealand experience when I returned to Singapore. Two things kept me from doing so.

The first was that I was too tired after the end of each day to put down my thoughts. Meaning that I did not take copious notes. Also, I slept early as I needed plenty of rest to keep fresh while driving. That leads on to the second reason…

The accident.

Anyway, I did write down a few points that I can mention here:

  1. Kiwis (the people) are very friendly
    This is something most polynesian cultures are famous for. New Zealanders are just very nice people.
  2. Kiwis (the birds) are endangered
    Yup, those famous flightless birds are in danger of dying out.
  3. Distance to…
    New Zealanders, as a people, seem to be acutely aware of their remoteness. In almost every city and town, you will find one of those signposts which show the direction and distance to different cities around the world.
  4. Narrow roads and strange road rules
    The former may apply only to the South Island. Outside of Christchurch, almost all the roads are single lanes in both directions. Some of the roads get very narrow and there seems to be endless road works to repair damaged roads. There is also a very unusual rule about who has right of way at a junction.
  5. North and South divide
    Yes, there seems to be some sort of rivalry between north and south islands. The southerners are supposedly more ‘country’.
  6. Kiwis make fantastic beer (Three Boys)
    I am making a generalisation here. I was lucky to stumble upon a boutique beer called Three Boys. (So boutique that their website does not list their exact address.) They make a white beer that is simply marvellous. If you like Hoegaarden, you’ll love Three Boys witbeir.
  7. There are many places where photography is not allowed
    This is either by design or by enforcement. Most of the adventure activities get you wet or jolted around. Not good for cameras. And/or they want to sell their photo packs of your group at the end of the tour/activity/show.
  8. Disclaimer forms
    Many activities in New Zealand are considered hazardous. I’ve never signed so many “I will not claim damages” forms in my life. Horse riding, river rafting, quad biking… Hmmm… thinking about it, I’m surprised I didn’t have to sign one for the luge in Queenstown. I scoffed at the luge as my only experience of it was on Sentosa. Even though the same company designed and built the one in Queenstown, the luge there is much, much, much more of a thrill.
  9. All Blacks Everywhere
    I know that rugby is a national passion in New Zealand. I never expected that they would be so commercialized. Every corner, you will find some sort of All Blacks merchandise. Every other media mention is about the All Blacks. Having only won the inaugural Rugby World Cup has got to hurt.
  10. Backtrax Quad Biking in Hanmer Springs
    This was the most fun and value-for-money thing I did in New Zealand. Simon, who took the photo above, runs a very personal, informative and entertaining quad bike experience. Quad biking is thoroughly enjoyable and exhilarating. Exclusive ride (it was just my brother and I with Simon guiding), a picnic break stop overlooking nice scenery, photos of the trip on CD (part of the package unlike most other activities where photos are made available at a price). If you are ever in Hanmer Springs and you want to go quad biking, go with Backtrax!

Take that, Gregan! This particular van rental company paints their vehicles with nice murals.

Take that, Gregan! =)

The (in)famous Queenstown Sofitel toilet. I should have put the camera on timer and posed at a urinal.

Queenstown Sofitel Urinals

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Southern Ridges Visual Guide (West Coast Park to Harbourfront)

Published
by
acroamatic
on Monday, 19 May 2008
in Heritage, Photos and Review
. 38 Comments

Take in the panoramic view (by acroamatic)


Click ‘+’ to zoom in and ‘-’ to zoom out. You can click and drag the map to move around. Mount Faber path can be seen in the larger map.

I decided to try the full-length Southern Ridges walk one morning with Steel Wool. We started from West Coast Park after breakfast. (No prizes for guessing where we ate.) The walk took us through five parks (West Coast Park not included as it was just the start point), one university and a science park.

The press said that this walk is about 9km. My GPS logger listed the distance travelled as almost 15km. I think 9km is the map distance, not taking into account elevation.

We were more or less alone from West Coast to NUS. Around the South Bouna Vista/Kent Ridge junction, we met a couple, a pair of ladies and a father-son duo - all clutching maps of some sort! It turned out they all needed some help with directions.

At Kent Ridge Park, there were even more couples as well as family groups. HortPark, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Mount Faber Park were full of couples, groups and families, all eager to experience Alexandra Arch and Henderson Waves. It seems that Singaporeans are quite keen on this new trail.

So, I’ve compiled a visual guide of the Southern Ridges from West Coast Park to Harbourfront.

Why not the other way, as suggested in ST’s infographic?

A few reasons (some are personal):

  1. Prefer to walk towards a place with more food choices.

  2. Prefer to walk to an end point where it’s easier to get home.

  3. Prefer to walk away from my workplace.

  4. Prefer an easier incline to start (I cannot verify until I’ve tried the opposite route though).

  5. Familiarity: the NUS/Kent Ridge sector is in the same direction as Pasir Panjang Heritage Walk.

My suggestions:

  1. Start early! It gets really hot, really fast. So start early while it’s a little cooler. Set aside three four hours to complete the whole walk at a moderate pace. More if you want to take in the sights.

  2. Please bring: water (I needed 3 litres but I’m a water barrel), snacks, sunblock, a cap. Wear good walking shoes and clothes you can perspire in.

  3. Remember: You can choose to stop any time. There are many places where you can deviate from the route and get public transport.

  4. Feel free to explore: My route is not the ‘correct’ route. This is not a definitive guide. There are many alternatives, especially within each park. So, explore the options. Don’t worry about getting lost. It’s part of the fun. =)

Ok, enough preamble, let’s get to the guide.

The guide is available in different sections as individual sets in Flickr. Click the links or the photo to get to the set. Each set explains the route using photographs of major landmarks along the way and comes with relevant maps and information panels.

Maps and Info Panels

These were mostly taken during the walk from the many panels available along the walk. The Bridging Ridges infographic is a terrific overview. Unfortunately, it glosses over road names, which are essential for certain parts of the walk. You can also get maps of the parks from Nparks website.

West Coast Park to Clementi Woods Park

West Coast Park to Clementi Woods Park

Getting to West Coast Park - Buses 175 and 176.

This short starting stretch is mainly on pavement. It involves walking from West Coast Highway via West Coast Link to West Coast Road, where Clementi Woods Park is located.

Clementi Woods Park to NUS

Clementi Woods Park to NUS

Clementi Woods Park is a small park bounded by West Coast Road and Clementi Road. The is a gradual uphill slope towards Clementi Road. There are two options here: come out by the car park or take the walking path that will lead you straight to the overhead bridge. You will have to cross this bridge to NUS.

NUS to Kent Ridge Park (via Science Park 1)

NUS to Kent Ridge Park (via Science Park 1)

This is probably the most tricky part of the entire route. At the top of Kent Ridge Crescent in NUS, you will have to take the red-brick stairs up to Kent Ridge Road, which is partially hidden behind a lecture theatre.

At the other end of Kent Ridge Road, you have to turn to South Buona Vista Road and then cross the road to walk along Science Park Drive towards Kent Ridge Park.

Here, there are two options. This guide shows the shortcut. The other way is to walk to the end of Science Park Drive, where there is a path which will lead you to Kent Ridge Park.

Kent Ridge Park to HortPark

Kent Ridge Park to HortPark

At Kent Ridge Park, there are a few ways to get to Car Park B, where you will continue walking to the canopy walk. At the end of the canopy walk, there is a connector leading to HortPark.

HortPark to Telok Blangah Hill Park via Alexandra Arch

HortPark to Telok Blangah Hill Park via Alexandra Arch

From Kent Ridge Park, you will reach the rear of HortPark. You can choose to explore HortPark on your way to Alexandra Arch or you can walk along Hyderabad Road, which is surprisingly the more shady option. This guide goes via HortPark.

Telok Blangah Hill Park to Mount Faber Park via Henderson Waves

Telok Blangah Hill Park to Mount Faber Park via Henderson Waves

Once across Alexandra Arch, you will be on the forest walk. There is just one main elevated pathway, with options for earth trail detours. At the end of the forest walk, you will see Car Park 1. Walk to Car Park 3 where there is a small ramp leading to Henderson Waves.

Mount Faber Park to Harbourfront MRT

Mount Faber Park to Harbourfront MRT

From Henderson Waves, keep on walking uphill to the top of Mount Faber. You will then find Marang Trail which is a downhill section leading to one of the Harbourfront MRT entrances. Of course, you can cross the road to VivoCity or Harbourfront for a nice meal.

Enjoy the walk!

Southern Ridges walk KML file (right click, save as) | for Google Earth

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