Disgracing the Nation

A video at YouTube is being discussed amongst many Singaporeans. What is so special about the video? It is a video taken by a passer-by, or tourist about a Change of Guards ceremony in front of the Istana. (Istana is a Malay word for 'palace', in this particular context, it means the presidential house of Singapore). No big deal, isn't it? I bet many of you have seen enough Change of Guards ceremonies throughout the world. But this one is terribly bad.

You expect precision, synchronization and professionalism at such an occasion, but it turned out to be like a circus! So many of them were totally out of sync! It is such a disgrace of the nation. *Sigh*

200 Pounds Beauty at Flash Point

There is a Chinese saying 月满则亏，水满则溢, meaning when something gets to its peak, it will naturally go nowhere but DOWN! Hong Kong movie industry was thriving in the last century, but now it is still in a recession. The Korean movie industry was also thriving a few years ago, producing many high quality movies, but now, it is going nowhere but DOWN.

200 Pounds Beauty


The story is simple. A fat & ugly but talented young lady had a heart-broken experience because of her being fat & ugly. Then one day, she decided to tranform herself through cosmetic surgery. After a year, she becomes a slim & beautiful lady and starts out her successful singing career & wins the heart of the man she loves.

It is supposed to be a comedy, but unfortunately I don't find it very funny. If you say it is a serious movie to bring attention to emphasis on superficial beauty in the Korean society, then it is not really that serious. Neither here nor there is my comment. Nothing really interesting other than admiring the beauty of actress Kim Ah-jung.

This movie won the 2007 Grand Bell Awards for Best Actress & Best Cinematography.

Rating: 2.5/5

Flash Point 导火线

A Hong Kong movie directed by Wilson Yip, starring Donnie Yen, Leslie Khoo, & Fan Bing Bing.

Typical Hong Kong police-gangster movie, with lots of fighting, lots of blood but lack of a more exciting plot. Everything is well-planned, everything happens as expected. There is no surprises, no twist, no turn, it is so straigh-forward that it becomes boring.

Rating: 1.5/5

Lomo

Lomography, or Lomo in short, what is it? Simply put, it is a form of photography where you take pictures without looking through the view finder; not from eye-level but more from waist level; non-intrutive; more fun; more special, using a Soviet/Russian-made toy camera - a Lomo camera. The cost of a Lomo camera varies, it can be as cheap as less than SGD$100, to around SGD$1000. Lomo brings more fun to photography, anyone can do it; and you can do it anywhere, anytime, it is part of your life.

More information about Lomography and Lomography cameras can be found at the official Lomography website: http://www.lomography.com.

There is rising interest in Lomo from Asia, especially Hong Kong, Japan & Singapore.

Below is a BBC documentary on Lomography. It is interesting to know the current President of Russia, Mr Putin, actually had a hand in helping Lomo to survive the difficult years after the collapse of Soviet Union.

Part 1


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4


Part 5


Part 6


Part 7

Digital Photography Tips - How to shoot under high contrast conditions

More digital photography tips from YouTube...

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Digital Photography Tips - Fall Foliage

Some digital photography tips found in YouTube teaching you how to take some nice nature pictures.

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MBA: For the riches only :(

After I came back from Italy early this month, life has been quite boring. With more time on hand, I would like to pick up some skills & "upgrade" myself, an MBA seems to be a good option. So I did some research on the local institutions that offer MBA courses.

1. Singapore Management University (http://www.smu.edu.sg/)

SMU does not really have an MBA course, but they have a course called Master of Science in Management. The curriculum is more or less the same as the MBA courses offered by other instituions. For admission, simple requirements such as degree holder with x years of working experience, GMAT, etc. The course fee? Roughly SGD$20,000.

2. Insead (http://www.insead.edu/)

This is a prestigious French institution. Their curriculum seems to be very rigious and exciting. You are required to pick up a 3rd language during the course (other than your mother togue & 2nd language); to study on campus in France & Singapore for the EMBA course, & Singapore/France/Beijing for the joint MBA course offered by both Insead & Tsinghua University. The course fee? 85,000 euros for the Executive MBA (EMBA) & USD$65,000 for the joint Insead & Tshinghua MBA!

3. Nanyang Technological University (http://www.ntu.edu.sg/)

They offered a variety of different MBA courses. Again the school fee is about SGD$20,000.

People have been saying MBA is for you to network with the 'right' (read 'RICH') people. 85,000 euros plus all the travel expenses for trips to/fro France, Singapore & Beijing, you really need a deep pocket. For the less expensive, SGD$20,000 is still no small sum for any average engineer.

Does anyone know of any management course (may not necessarily an MBA course) with a more reasonable fee? I want to pick up a management course, as it seems what they teach will be increasingly necessary for my daily work. It will be good for my future development, too.

Vietnam - Mekong Delta

Mekong river runs through Vietnam, provides the country with rice & fish stock. It is the life line for many, however, sadly to say, the river is heavily polluted. Over the two days of my visit to Mekong delta, I have not see any section of the river that is slightly clean. Muddy, always muddy, sometimes coupled with a foul smell.

Life is very primitive on this futile land. People live in sheds, note, not houses. Their shelter is nothing more than a few wood spanks, plus a roof. These are considered to be the good ones. Some just used hay and mud for the walls.. That's it. The coconut candy factory, rice noodle factory are both housed in those sheds. I didn't see many disabled people or beggers in the streets. Thank God.

Anyway, just share some photos from the two-day trip. At the end, I will tell you my opinion about the Mekong delta trip :)

Griding the Coconuts

Making the Coconut Candy

Our young boatman

Bump Boat in Mekong River

Happy Fisherman

Something Exotic - Try at your own risk

My opinion:

If you have never been to South-east Asia, never seen any swamps before, then I suggest you go a for 1-day Mekong delta tour. It will be sufficient for you to get a taste of the frugal life.

If you are like me, who had been in South-east Asia for long enough time, then probably just forget about it. It is not worth the money and time. The tours are not expensive, US$14.00 per person for a 2-day tour, including one meal & one night stay, but it is the time that is more precious.

Vietnam - Ho Chih Ming City (Part II)

This is Part II of my Vietnam series. You can find Part I here.

The handful of landmarks in Ho Chih Ming city are mainly left by their French masters during the colonial days, and luckily survived all the wars. The Americans & Chinese made their contributions, too. However, truely "made in Vietnam" landmarks are hard to find in Ho Chih Ming city itself.

People's Committee Building, HCMC

Central Post Office

Notre Dame

Interior of Notre Dame

The Stain Glasses

This is the contribution from the Vietnamese Chinese community. It is a very typical Chinese temple that is a mixture of Buddhism, Taoist and some folklores and superstitions. The interior is dark and shady. The altars had turned black from years of incense offerings. The gods are crowded in the altars, sharing the tiny little space.