Night Out With The Arts

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The night was silent and the darkness punctuated only by occasional flashes of light from hand-held cameras. With a soft hisst, strategically placed mist-machines released their contents onto the grounds. It was 10.30pm on the 16th of July, and the first unveiling of the Paraboles 2.0 in Singapore has begun outside the National Museum of Singapore.

The Paraboles 2.0 was the highlight of Singapore Night Festival 2010, which took place from the 16th to 17th of July.

The festival is collaboration between Peranakan Museum, Singapore Arts Museum, The Substation, SMU and National  Museum to showcase and interact with people through highly engaging and interactive performances.

Paraboles 2.0 is an outdoor performance presented through the collaboration between Singaporean video artist Victric Thng and Compagnie Off, all the way from France. The performance involved the use of 6 gigantic satellite dishes to capture different radio wavelengths and playing them out.

Coupled with video projections and accompanying musicians, an eerily beautiful abstract experience is produced.

Paraboles 2.0 was not the only thing to look forward to for the festival. There are many other acts and performances from artists all over the world.

Take for example: (No)Bleeding Hearts Club is a non-media based platform aiming to involve audiences through the use of video, sound and visual installations. Putho! is a circus act from Cambodia which put up an exciting performance with acrobats flying gracefully through the air as they used stunts to illustrate a story.

One can visit the cheeky carnival-like Abusement Park at the SAM. Drink from the blood-red Fountain of Youth and explore the dungeons where artworks by NAFA Arts students were displayed. They even had their own currency there.

“I hope that sponsors allow more events like this. Orchard Road is a little dead after hours and it would be more interesting if there are more extensive events like this,” commented one visitor as she sat with her sister beside The World’s Slowest SMS Billboard.

It never gets boring with so many things to see and experience. The Peranakan Museum hosted interesting workshops for people of all ages and The Substation put up music gigs by local bands. Take a break and try out the Peranakan food sold outside the Peranakan Museum.

Catch Roving Artists, artists like Andree Weschler set up random performances anywhere and anytime outside The Substation. Take up a spray can or painting brush and unleash your creativity on the canvas between the Museum and Substation for the Community Mural Project.

Colourful sights and interactive performances are what dominated the festival.

“It was such a good performance that no words can describe it. I personally felt that people should learn to appreciate these kinds of art performances more. There were a lot of camera flashes and it was disturbing for others who want experience the performance,” said a rather disgruntled Ms Goh as after squeezing out of the crowds streaming away from a successful performance of Paraboles 2.0.

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Food For Thought

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It’s a Friday evening and the sidewalks along Clarke Quay are filled with people, dressed for a night out. Nothing out of the ordinary really, except for the fact that this time most of the crowd is here for a different reason. It’s the week of the Singapore Food Festival. This year the festival takes place on Clarke Quay Food Street along Read Bridge from the 16th to the 24th of July.

The festival is held every July for duration of about 2 weeks. Tourists and locals flock to the locations, hoping for a taste of the delightful delicacies. If we could put it simply, it’s the Great Singapore Sale of food. The prices aren’t that much different anywhere, but since it only comes around once a year, it would be the cardinal sin not to go.

The deal seems so good that even first time visitors can’t help but get in on all the fuss. One such example is Australian backpacker, Alexandria Garcia. The self-confessed food junkie admits that she was immediately drawn to the festival when she saw the stalls were selling exotic dishes. “I was actually backpacking through Clarke Quay when I saw this festival, so my friends and I just decided to come here for food”. She says she enjoys the atmosphere as well as the cheap pricing here compared to the cost of food back home. The Aussie claims to love the food so much, she would return to the Backpacking Inn, where she is holding up here, to tell all the patrons there to try it. When asked what her favorite dish was, she grins widely and without hesitation says,” the chilli crab!”

The food festival has been a vital and large part of Singapore’s rich food culture. It started out in 1994, and is in its sixth year now. As the years go by, the numbers increase. This could be due to the rising population in Singapore, from the influx of foreign talents and immigrants, or it could just be that more Singaporeans are being born into the culture of `food-lovin’.

Indian expatriate, Mr. Steve M Dadlani, is visiting the Food Festival for the second time, this year. He said he was introduced to it last year by a friend, and has fallen in love with it ever since. With a big grin and a hearty appetite, it’s impossible to miss that very fact. Though he loves the food in hawker centers, he decided to come to the festival, for a change. The festival offers a variety of dishes that are difficult to find in food courts these days. Dishes like tau sar piah and a select few Teochew dishes are truly a delicacy.

The sport shop owner plans to bring his family back again, to let them try out some of the dishes. “I also hope to eat some of the stuff I didn’t get to eat today, like my favorite, duck rice”, he smiles toothily.

The food festival is also being held at other locations such as Central River Promenade and Clifford Square.

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Flea To Singapore Expo

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After the first ever Mega Flea Market earlier this year, it was back again with more stalls at the Singapore Expo last weekend.

The organizer, T. Cartel had been collecting feedback from vendors and shoppers about the inaugural flea market from their Facebook accounts. The useful feedback was taken in by the organizer and they had been putting in a lot of effort to make the second event a better shopping experience for their vendors and shoppers.

A greater variety of stalls were being incorporated for the second Mega Flea Market. Games stalls and lucky draws, which were unavailable during the first flea market, had been made available for the second flea. There was also a booth for married couples to sign up for photo shoot packages from Mikan Photo Studio.

Raffles Girls School student, Amanda, a frequent flea market shopper, had been looking forward to the large variety of items sold there, especially branded clothes like those from Topshop. “It’s much cheaper and I don’t really mind that it’s second-hand,” she said.

The Mega Flea Market 2 had been a great success with its variety of items for people of different age groups. Also, there were more stalls as compared to the first flea market.

Shoppers could see the array of products available at The Mega Flea Market 2. They were ranged from apparels and accessories for genders, soft toys, infant clothes, snacks, facial products, cosmetics, perfumes, IT products, books, stationeries and many more.

As for a typical housewife like Madam Harita, the flea market had given her a chance to get things for her child at cheaper price.

“I was curious about it and heard from friends that the things are cheap and good,” she said, while holding on to a pram.

Other than The Mega Flea Market 2, there were also events held in other halls at the same time. Some of the events include the John Little’s Sale, Furniture Show (Home Ideas 2010) and Malay Food Show.

However, this did not stop interested stall vendors from booking a stall for the flea.

Ms Foo Quee Yiap, who was selling honey and body care products at the flea, heard about the event through email and decided to book a stall. She felt that she could get good exposure for her shop since she had just started business with her partners. “This will help create awareness of our product in the market,” she said.

“Since we are selling food, the organizer felt it was a good mix to the event and so we were selected,” Foo said.

Ms Raodah found no reasons to reject when T.Cartel informed her about the event. She was selling brand new clothes, all below the price of 30 at the flea. She used to set up stalls during the first Mega Flea Market event and also at Chinatown. “Traffic in the Expo is quite high, so I guess my business is pretty good,” she said.

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Singaporeans Clearly Love Their Books

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The convention hall was swarmed with people of various ages, browsing through books at the different trolleys all over the place. Even with the World Cyber Game event just a hall away, the patrons were clearly too immersed in their books to even pay their slightest attention to the gaming sound effects and cheers that penetrated through the walls.

This was the National Library Board (NLB) Library Book Sale 2010.

Held at the Singapore Expo on the 10^th and 11^th of July, people were encouraged to browse through stacks of old books from 9:30am to 8pm. With a myriad selection of over 370,000 titles, the book enthusiasts perceived the giant convention doors as gateways to heaven. As the day went on, the convention floor seemed to be moving in a fluid motion as masses of people entered and exited the hall simultaneously.

Other than the payment, storage and the large areas available for casual reading, the convention hall was separated into four sections according to the four main languages: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil. Be it fiction or non-fiction books, they are all sold at S$1 or S$2. Stacks of old magazines worth S$5 per stack are also for sale. Among the books in the English section, they are categorized by their genre and it has quite a variety to satisfy English-speaking patrons from all walks of life.

“The purpose of the book sale is to give back to the community by offering them books at affordable prices and also to make space for the new books that are coming in every year.” Mr Phua Ree Kee, head of NLB’s Corporate Communications Associate, pointed out.

After collecting a shopping basket, people made their way down the aisles and some ran their fingers along the spines of old library books coupled with appraising glances. Those who were more enthusiastic hurried to dig through the existing piles for lost literary treasures.

The event seemed like an opportunity not to be missed for families, as parents can purchase books at affordable prices for their children. There are children who have developed an interest in books but can never get their books because of the hefty price tags that come along with it. With this book sale, parents will not have qualms over the price issues.

“My husband and I have picked around 30 books. There are some books that we want to read but mainly we picked the fiction books for our daughter,” Mrs Jacqueline Tan, a fellow patron, said.

Because of the “60 books per customer” policy, there were quite a few people who sat down and looked through the huge stack of books that they had rummaged from the trolleys. And of that group, they brought their own trolleys to ease their burden of carrying plastic bags of books back home.

As for the unsold books at the end of the event, most of them will be donated to charities while the others, which weathered through the years at the libraries, will be recycled through the process of pulping.

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Beauty Behind A Past

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Kites flap over the shoulders of children as if giving chase. Fishermen sit facing the sunset, enjoying the view as they wait for a tug at the end of the line. The occasional ferry passes by. If you’re lucky enough, you’d see a cruise ship. Flowers sit perched next to fresh grass and the winds pause for a second, as if to take in the beauty, before going on their way again.

This tiny piece of heaven is actually Labrador Nature Reserve. A landmark in our country due to its rich history. It used to be called Fort Pasir Panjang. The reason for this is because it used to be an old British fort, in the years before Singapore gained its independence. Machine gun posts and barbed wires lined the cliffs along the shore. 2 six-inch 37-tonne guns were also installed in 1938, by the British to combat infiltrating Japanese ships.

When it all ended and the British surrendered, the place was left abandoned until years later when a refinery was built. In late 2001, two underground tunnels were discovered, and parts of them were opened for viewing to the general public.

Now, as family picnics and barbeque pits start to replace the haunting silence of the past, the reserve is a great escape during the weekend. Its beach is also nothing to overlook, with a beauty that could compare to that of other beaches like those at East Coast Park as well as Sentosa Palawan Beach.

In fact, many Singaporeans pass on visits to such famous beaches for the one at Labrador. 25 year old Mohammad Shaik is one such example. “East Coast is more crowded and I like it here because there are very little patrons which makes it ideal for chilling out”, he says. He also enjoys the unique view and rich heritage that it possesses.

However, it’s not only people who dislike crowded places that choose to visit the park. Local fishermen also enjoy the variety of marine life available. This is because there are as many as 21 major habitat types. “I come here once a month, but if it’s fishing season, sometimes I come twice because the fishes are much bigger”, says Muhammad Rusyadi.

Over the years, the park has also undergone several upgrades, particularly, the jetty. This makes fishermen like Mr. Rusyadi more intent on casting their lines in the waters here.

Lawyer, Bahtiar Affendy also enjoys coming to the reserve with his family to fly kites and have the occasional picnic during public holidays or weekends. However, as much as he enjoys the beauty of the reserve and its light breezy feel, he makes sure not to ignore its grave past. He educates his son on the history and even shows him some of the secret passages which were used in the Second World War. “I make it a point for my son to know what his forefathers fought for and to do his best to serve the nation when he is a responsible adult”.

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One Day To Quit

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“I managed to quit smoking within a day,” said Charmaine Lam, NYP student second year student who used to be an intermittent smoker.

Lam picked up the habit at the age of 13. As a young teenager, she took up cigarettes due to peer pressure. It all started with a group of friends she met during a school orientation programme. She began to hang out with them ever since the start of her secondary school life.

School life with the clique had been totally fine until the day when Lam discovered a box of cigarettes in one of their bags. Eventually, she found out that most of them were smokers. She was afraid that the clique would leave her out, as most of the time they would be hiding in the campus’s toilet to smoke.

Lam felt that the only way to bond with her friends was to do what they always do together, it was to smoke together. As an underage, Lam knew that it was illegal to purchase cigarettes. However, she managed to get them from a provision shop opposite her school. “Sometimes, the uncle at the provision shop allowed me to buy them,” she said.

Lam stopped smoking at secondary three, she said that smoking was both time and money consuming as she had to return to the same provision shop in order to get cigarettes form the uncle.

Lam was not an addictive smoker, she smoked discontinuously and she started the habit again when she entered Polytechnic. She had a hectic life under the course she was studying in and smoking was one of the ways she uses to distress. At the same time, she could make friends with her new classmates.

She continued until the next semester and finally realised that she should stop, “I felt that I had to quit it once and for all and not carry on anymore,” Lam said. She decided positively that she wanted to quit and avoided negative thoughts about how difficult the process might be.

Many smokers successfully give up cigarettes by replacing them with new habits. Lam was able to find a hobby that she enjoys and it was dancing. She joined the school’s street dance club and realised that it was indeed a good distraction to make smoking impossible.

“My friends and family supported and encouraged me,” said Lam.

Studies by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service National Institutes of Health have shown that smokers actually find it difficult to quit smoking. This is mainly due to the development of strong physical addictions resulting from habitual use.

As for Lam, she succeeded as she could control herself from the temptation. “I had to really control myself,” she said.

Although it was only one day, the entire process of quitting was after a few attempts as she had been smoking from time to time. Her perseverance, support from friends and family also led her to quit smoking successfully.

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Disloyal Children, Disgruntled Parents

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I was surfing through the net when I came across a video. It was about an elderly woman staying with her son. She knew little about using a phone and so he forbade her from using it, claiming he had taught her many times before. In another scene, the woman urinates on the sofa and her son then chides her for it, claiming it is an expensive sofa. The old lady then recalls when she was younger and took care of her infant son, bathing him when he soiled himself. She then tells him aloud, and his young son then tells him that if he does that in the future, he will put her in an old folks’ home.

From that, I realized the differences acquired as generations proceed. Children grow up and they seem to inductively forget the effort their parents took to raise them well. The thought that followed was even more disturbing. If children who had grew up under their parents’ direct care could show such lack of filial piety, what about the children of Generation Y, who came from families where both parents were breadwinners? They were raised by their maids, so to speak. The first person they saw when they came home from school was their maid. The person who cleaned their room and sent them to school was also their maid. Where would the bond be between parent and child then?

I feel the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports foresee the possibility of a pending dilemma and has decided to take precautions. This comes in the form of a new campaign launched this year which teaches the baby boomer generation of today to lead by example should they want their offspring to care for them in old age.

However, I just wasn’t satisfied. How did we come to this? A state so bad we needed a campaign to tell us to take care of our parents. What happened to good old fashioned Asian values? Respect, loyalty and obedience. Did they become unimportant?

Was it something we read? Something lost in translation? Or worse, could it be the Grim Reaper of everything “proper”, MTV?

Think about it, was it globalization? With the influx of Western movies and TV shows on our screens, did we somehow get subconsciously involved in their culture that we followed their ideals of individualism and independence?

Either way, it doesn’t matter how we got where we are now, it is how we’re going to get past it and make something out of it. In today’s context, maybe legislating filial piety is the only way to ensure it takes place. The idea that parents have to fill out an application form with Tribunal for the Maintenance of Parents seems appropriate enough. In fact, it is the most justified thing deemed possible. Children who are disloyal would have no choice but to pay whether they liked it or not. Also, no elderly would be left abandoned and ill-treated.

Legislation of filial piety? After all we’ve seen of the world today, that seems just about right.

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Social Networking: Good or Bad?

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Social networking sites are all the more popular as people discover the ease of which they can meet new people (as far away as from France), maintain contact and have fun with their friends online. Websites like Facebook and Twitter are amongst the top few websites when ranked in popularity. Even government bodies and companies see the benefits in social media and are using these sites to gain support and followers from a tech-savvy nation.

It is not difficult to multi-task with efficiency when all the information and facilities you need is right underneath your fingertips. For example: On Facebook, you can talk to different groups of people all at once through Facebook chat while playing games at the same time. Sharing photos and personal videos has become an easy thing to do. All you have to do is upload the files and wait for people to see what is going on in your life. Just click that button.

Social networking sites are like giant spider-webs that connect people together and have the added bonus of curing you of boredom through games, fan clubs and friends.

The Internet has been so infused into the lives of people nowadays that if asked, some of them would confess to being unable to ‘survive’ without online entertainment. It has come to a day and age where people do not just lead one normal life, but also multiple online lives. One never knows what to expect with so many possibilities opened up by the pure freedom of the Internet, and one might never know if one is met with positive or negative possibility.

That is also exactly what could go wrong. Attractive possibilities and freedom of escape from your responsibilities can be addictive. Gradually, real life loses its luster as eyes become accustomed to the colourful, vibrant lives on the Internet. Real world merges into the virtual world. Until real is no longer real and therefore, can be neglected. Less accustomed to physical contact and the face-to-face communication, these people become social outcasts. No need to mention the presence of online predators, lurking around the dark corners of your average social networking site.

Social networking sites may help one widen your circle of “friends”, but there is another factor to note as well: Is it really good to have an easy way out for building true relationships?

If it is so easy to connect with others it might be just as easy to lose them. True relationships are built and maintained with effort, not a few clicks of a button. When maintaining contact with old friends, what is “contact” to you? Virtual messages sent through the virtual world, or sitting face to face, feeling his/her presence and looking at the person you treasure in all the glory of his/her mannerisms and quirky expressions?

Social networking can do be a positive thing, but it also can do harm. It is hard to find a balance between these two; and maintain that balance.

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Movie Review: Singapore Dreaming A Sentimental Film About Dreams, Expectations and Condos in Singapore

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And just when you thought that local cinema industry could no longer make significant thought-provoking movies anymore, Singapore Dreaming breathes life into the rather lackluster industry. With realistic characters that local audience can connect to and backed up by a terrific and sincere screenplay, this is Singapore’s filmmaking at its best.

Singapore Dreaming tells a story of the Loh family that pin their hope on their freshly graduated son from the United States, expecting him to make it big on his own and bring some money into the family. As things began to look better for them when the patriarch won S$2 million through the lottery, he dies of an heart attack without spending his money on things he want the most. The family is then left to grieve over his death and also to discover what they really want in life.

Richard Low plays Loh Poh Huat, the elderly traditional father, whose idea of the Singapore Dream is to attain the 5Cs has been inserted into the minds of his family members. Mum Siew Luan (Alice Lim) plays the pillar that supports the family but is usually taken for granted. Being the only graduate, Seng (Dick Su) tries to look for a job with a respectful pay to repay the debts of his father and of his live-in girlfriend Irene (Serene Chen), who had used their savings to send him overseas. Mei Loh (Yeo Yann Yann) completes the family being the capable secretary but neglected daughter of the family. Lim Yu Beng plays Mei’s husband, CK, an ex-army regular turned insurance agent, and is expecting their first child.

What makes this movie such an achievement is that it tackles the topical issues that Singaporeans face with seeming preachy or satirical. Despite of their well-known satire movie Talking Cock, couple directors and scriptwriters Woo Yen Yen and Colin Goh succeed in conjuring up a story that has the perfect mix of ingredients for a poignant local film.

Under the duo’s direction, they elicited strong emotional performances from the ensemble of actors that never seemed forced or fake. Special mention goes to Yeo Yann Yann for her emotionally vulnerable portrayal of Mei and her character displays an aura of melancholy that escalates over time in the movie. The actress carries a quiet confidence and is solid throughout. I dare say, that among the ensemble cast, she gave the most authentic and likeable performance.

The strikingly beautiful cinematography that captures the backdrop of Singapore gave depth to the various languages and culture that we inhabit. The directors fully understand the elements that make Singapore truly what it is and depict it without overdoing. And Composer Sydney Tan’s contribution provided the emotional punch during the tender moments and it gave the scenes personality, driving it home with its sorrowful melody.

Others may perceive Singapore Dreaming as a comedy-drama, but the humourous bits are part of the drama it portrays. The humour is subtle, wry and very localized for the Singapore audience. With a script that fleshes out the characters like no other local movies in recent years, the actors involved are very fortunate to sink their teeth into the meaty roles that the scriptwriters had written.

This is truly an excellent film made for Singaporeans by Singaporeans. Even Jack Neo could not make films as good as this.

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