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Cycling’s final event – road time trials

The Netherlands clinches bronze in cycling

Basketball semis, Japan vs. Germany

Basketball semis, USA vs. Serbia

Noisy thing, that

I didn’t realise how young these athletes were until I got closer to the action. Mostly in their 16s and 17s, sporting faces of determination and anxiousness as their coaches held last-minute pep talks with them. The Thai cyclist was using a squishy pink-eared bunny hairband to tie her ponytail! They’re really still just kids. The Youth Olympics is probably the biggest event to have hit their lives… and those few minutes in the field of play might just be their most important yet. With some luck and lots of pluck, it may see them and their countries to the senior Games. For all the flak that the YOG is taking and for all the woes that the workforce is facing, feeling the spirit and intensity on the ground and looking at how very hard everyone’s working, it’s difficult to find the heart to criticise when you’re in the midst of it all.

Junior Women’s BMX semi-finals

Junior Men’s BMX quarter-finals

Junior Men’s BMX semi-finals

Commissaires’ tent, with the audience of schoolchildren seen reflected on top

Behind-the-scenes at the Ritz Carlton ops centre

The 15th Ngee Ann City National Lion Dance Championships 2009. More photos on SmugMug.

Putting my thoughts on NDP aside, I shall here pay tribute to the men and women who made NDP happen - it is a tremendous feat involving clockwork precision, manpower and logistics, planning and resource management, perseverance and sweat, plus many, many KFC drumsticks and bento boxes (and lots of wasted plastic and styrofoam). Having gone through two days of rehearsals with the contingents, I have come to understand a little better the sacrifices they have to make to pull it through. Yesterday under the heat of the afternoon sun, no less than five members of each of the Uniformed Groups had to be carried away on stretchers from the parade square, and even one of the contingent commanders had to be replaced. (The scene of the Colour Party in the first photo below was just a drill, thank goodness!)

Saluting at the playing of the National Anthem and saying the Pledge (haven’t done that for almost 10 years!) elicit an odd sense of programmed response and calm detachment.

Oh well, but who cares. The fireworks was awesome.

(Again, more photos on FB and Flickr.)

Leong (2001), in Consuming the Nation: National Day Parades in Singapore, explores the background, organisation and aim of the National Day parades of Singapore, discussing their impact on participants and members of the public:

The National Day parade is packaged and marketed for the largest possible number of Singaporeans. Although the costs of the parade run up to a hefty sum, the expected returns are obviously not economic, but socio-psychological. Given the accounting mentality of state élites, who expect monetary or tangible returns for every public expenditure and who take great pains to avoid any budgetary deficit, the commodification of National Day is calculated with intangible gains in mind: identification with the nation, pride and loyalty to the country, a sense of what it means to be ‘Singaporean’.

In sum, the militarization of National Day parades renders the parade a
ritual of power and hierarchy, dramatizes the state’s monopoly of force, personifies the nation by underscoring values of order, discipline and regimentation, and reassures the populace in the face of anxiety.

(More photos on FB and Flickr.)

20 years ago, 4th of June: Tiananmen Square Incident
65 years ago, 6th of June: D-Day

The Kranji War Cemetery yesterday at sunset was a enclave of serenity, peace, and hope.

I felt it fitting to reproduce here a poem that my sis wrote when she was in the fifth grade, after a visit with her school to the memorial:

In this peaceful scene before me,
white graves as far as one can see.
There’s a sense of great respect and honour
for the brave people who died in valour.

These men did not die in vain,
or sorrow, or sadness, or anguish, or pain.
Instead, these soldiers were one great gift;
War and violence from us did they lift.

They had courage and they were skilled,
hardly regretting the fight as they were killed.
Brutalness, torture and death they braved.
They fought merely for us to be saved.

For themselves and their lives they did not care;
they wanted to fight in the war, the dare.
Though with their lives they had to pay,
now gone from the earth in which they lay.

They know they definitely did the right thing.
In the wind you can hear their spirits sing:
Do not mourn for us in grief and sorrow;
we passed on for a brighter tomorrow.

We did what we had to do.
It was the only thing that we knew we could.
We removed the confinement, the several large boulders.
We did what we did, for we are soldiers.

So there I was, parked at a table full of local and international Shell employees (they were kind enough to sponsor a table and I was there courtesy of the Singapore Environment Council), a youngling challenged to bridge that vast age, experience and sectoral gap in making conversation with people who were asking me about my views on current issues, politics and business over a three-course dinner in a greenfully-decorated marquee full of the who’s who of Singapore’s conservation, environment, landscaping, horticulture, and socially-responsible corporate circles. I didn’t mind it one bit; I miss the intellectual stimulation, and I was at enough ease to have found some dry humour.

I went table-hopping a little. Good to see familiar faces. Keith was there: “Hey! Do you still remember… about four, five years ago… when we guided LKY? I wonder if he still remembers us!” Ah, yes… what an honour that was. I was too shy then, to have asked for a photograph, and I was too young then, to have realised that I had there in front of me the perfect opportunity for a real, personal open conversation with the then-Senior Minister and his wife. Instead, I merely did what I knew best, and showed him the waders, the mudskippers, and my beloved whip spider.

Minister Mah Bow Tan’s speech was followed by a short video (The Garden City Story) which charted the development of Singapore from jungles to a ‘City in a Garden’. Rather impressive aerial videography ala BBC Planet Earth that managed to accentuate the green in our cityscape. So much that we take for granted.

When MM Lee speaks, you listen. Not just out of respect, but because you know that here is a man with decades of wisdom and experience and confident in the knowledge that his vision was what made Singapore, and he is here to share.

I liked the anecdotes. He told of how a foreign expert came and exclaimed that they were (then) doing the wrong things… “Birds feed on insects, and you were using insecticides! Birds like the tall grass, and you cut them all off!” And then they took on the expert’s advice, and the mynahs and the crows came back, birds which MM Lee admitted that he didn’t like (muted laughter in the audience).

When asked about challenges for the future, he lamented that “humans have become to clever for their own good”, sentiments that echo those of other world leaders and scientists. Education should start with the young, who are burdened with a heavier responsibility for future generations.

Otherwise, as the media has conveyed in pretty much the way the media picks up and conveys messages, it was the usual story: Singapore’s green vision was a strategic intent to position itself ahead of the world, building world-class infrastructure, a first world in a third-world region, more green = more happy people, the mark of good administration and leadership, cooperation on all fronts and across all sectors, and so on. The Singapore Story.

It was clear… that it is the political and economic drive that greens a nation. Or this nation, at least.

Ps. This blog post was written while running low on mana. I thought I could’ve managed something more coherent and exciting. I promise it’ll be better if I could talk about this in a conversation… after I get my sleep.

The GoH: SM Goh

Unveiling the SBWR Master Plan

Link :: CNA article on SBWR’s 15th anniversary

Photos :: SBWR 15th anniversary

Having done street or events photography for a while, negotiating your way through officials attempting to discourage you from taking photographs comes easily.

“It’s not for commercial purposes.” is the first thing I say to them. “It’s purely for personal use”, or “The people and places in my photos will not be brought into contempt” and other tried and tested phrases usually work.

On Friday night at the Singapore Arts Museum, however, I was further asked if I would be putting my photos online. I was truthful and told the lady that I may blog about it to help promote the Japan Media Arts Festival; but she was still hesitant but she was too polite about it to successfully forbid me from taking photos.

Then at the next zone of the exhibition, I was approached by another staff member, clad in black, and he asked me to refrain from photography. I did the usual rhetoric, and that I was not going to use flash. He was adamant, and said that it was a ‘museum policy’. So I pointed out the absence of ‘No Photography’ signs about the gallery, and that if they were really against the public taking photos, they should really put signs up. “That would make your job easier too,” I added. I passed him my namecard, and told him that I can be contacted if they wished to take this matter further, but I was going to continue snapping shots. “How many, and which ones?” He asked. I replied that I couldn’t say for sure - it would depend on the lighting of the exhibit, and whether or not I’d be able to frame any good shots. He wanted to call for his manager, and asked if I had any photo ID to indicate that I was a bona fide photographer. Well… I lacked the Singapore equivalent of a BAJ Press Pass and so gave him my PSS membership card instead. He seemed happy enough. So his manager came; we talked - she tried to do what her staff failed to, and I questioned her about their ‘policy’ and asked her for the rationale. She wasn’t too sure about it herself, only that the ‘directives came from the top’. I explained that if this was an exhibition with artifacts, then I’d understand. But the JMAF was all contemporary objects and there was nothing too sensitive about it. In the end, she relented.

I’ll be blasted if I am forced to follow some non-formally-enforced rule which I cannot make sense of. This reminds me of the No U-Turn syndrome: ‘In Singapore, drivers are not allowed to make a U-turn unless a sign specifically allows them to do so, while in some other countries drivers may make U-turns freely so long as the ‘No U-turn’ sign is not present’. I bet photography in Singapore is almost like that: ‘photographers are not allowed to take any photos unless a sign specifically allows them to do so, while in other countries photographers may take photographs freely so long as a ‘No Photography’ sign is not present.’

For all that fuss…

Photos :: SAM JMAF 08

It’s been a busy month for the shutter. For November so far…

1: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve & Int’l Year of the Frog
6: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
7-9: Trip to Sedili, Johor Malaysia
15: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
18: Huntsman spider
18: ISEAS/WWF talk by Dr Chris Hails
22: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve & Kranji countryside
23: Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve
24: Bishan Park 2
25: Bishan Park 1
26: Launch of ‘Natural selection and beyond: The intellectual legacy of A.R.Wallace’ book at the Singapore Science Centre; Pulau Ubin

Light-up along Serangoon Road

Hindu devotees at the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple

Link :: More photos on Zoto

Deepavali, the most important date of the Hindu calendar, occurs on one day during October, and in the ethnic quarter of Little India, the festivities last practically for the whole month of October.

Deepavali is the Festival of Lights, and marks the defeat of the evil King Narakasura by the Lord Krishna. All round the world, Hindus celebrate this day as the triumph of light over darkness, and of good over evil. It marks the new beginning for Hindu devotees, and is a great time of rejoicing and renewal. During this time, Little India throbs with evening roadside stalls, booming music and strings of colourful lights. Shoppers throng the streets in search of the perfect sari to wear, or to fill their baskets with Indian foods and spices. Hindu homes are lighted with oil lamps , and offerings of sweetmeats and garlands of jasmine are placed at the family altar.

~ visitsingapore.com

Robert Redford was supposed to narrate Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf at the Sun Festival opening concert on Saturday, but he had to cancel his appearance and was replaced by Geoffrey Rush. I asked my parents what they’d think would be different if Redford narrated instead of Rush, and my mom commented that “at least he’d look a lot better”. I admit that Rush seems to be having a hard time keeping up with the years (I was sitting three rows from the stage, and could see his face quite close and clearly), but he delivered the lines and dialogue with the dry wit and cold humour as befitted the story. Think Captain Barbossa with a smirk.

The other highlights of the evening most definitely were Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and the Vienna Boys Choir. What beautiful, angelic voices! If I may be so bold to declare, I think this may be as close as Singapore can get to staging a truly ‘world class’ concert. My only gripe for that evening - which had be transfixed the whole while (unfortunately not so my dad - he went fishing) - was the orchestra. It was a humble attempt to bring together the talents of musicians (students, mostly) from the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of NUS, the Peabody Institute of John Hopkins University, and the Guildhall School of London… but the orchestra was amateurish and musicians sluggish in appearance, and the music sounded flat. If only one of the world-famous Philharmonic or Symphony Orchestras were to make an appearance… but I guess that’ll be too much to ask for, for one night.

Our parents were out for the night, so my sis and I ‘turned off the lights‘ and tried to do our little bit, having our dinner in the semi-dark dining area (the world out there was still quite brightly-lit) and away from our compts. Having no candles in the house, we used torches when necessary while in the living room. Banjo looked on curiously, and I had the idea of doing some light painting. Jane joined in, and so did Dofu who was quite clueless as to what was happening, really.

One thing I learnt last Saturday was that the cheer really goes “Oggy oggy oggy! Oi oi oi!” and not the “Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oi Oi Oi!” that my ears have automatically been trained to pick up on and respond to, and which I found sounded out of place when I first heard it being chanted by the scouts at the Lord Mayor’s Show. As a few British Scouts have kindly explained to me, the English version came first, and the Aussie one is a variant. Ahh…

Live07 was amazing. The atmosphere and the spirit of it all… it’s one big Scouting party with 3000 in the cast, and even more from all around the UK gathered in the now-O2 Arena then-Millennium Dome to celebrate this last major event in our centenary year. Through it all, and especially through one of the items (Through the Years), I have come to appreciate more the history and the culture of Scouting. What had essentially started as a very British institution, encouraging the ideals of good citizenship and all, has now extended its reach into every single country in the world, save for four. The basic Scout Laws… honour, trustworthiness, loyalty, courage, usefulness, thriftiness… it is these that make good a man. But as an experienced Scouter had lamented, times are a-changing. In light of the modern society, it is tough to instil these values into young people, “How can we do so, when even the adults do not possess these qualities?” Even more so, the Movement’s purpose and principles remain ever so important today.

Also heard God Save the Queen being sang out live with orchestral accompaniment for the first time. In the closing segment, when the symphony sounded out the first few notes from the anthem and everybody stood up from their seats, hands by the side and headgear removed, the sudden silence and respect I could feel they had for the occasion was immense. What a feeling…

More photos from the night here.

I attended the Interdisciplinary Forum on Global Warming and Climate Change at the National University of Singapore (NUS) yesterday. A turn-up of about 150 people, tertiary students mostly, and a few representatives from NGOs and other research and academic institutions. A break-down of the talks and topics covered: ‘Climate Change - Living in the Anthropocene’ Associate [...]