Stricken by Flu
Another lion dancing video
Ok, I know that there has been quite a lot of videos and pics on my son lately, but just thought I should share the latest lion dancing escapade by Ethan. Enjoy!
An Eclectic Celebration
Last Thursday was the media preview of Explore Singapore!, our latest foray into getting citizens and visitors alike to love heritage through museums, libraries, TV, blogs, books and other channels. What we hope to do is to get ordinary folks – like you and me – to delve, dig and dive into the extraordinary world of artefacts, artworks and archives.
Highlights include a heritage food race at Chinatown, Zouk/Lime magazine style flea market plus DJ Wayne at the Malay Heritage Centre, and a picnic and treasure hunt at the serene Yunnan Garden at the Chinese Heritage Centre (at NTU). Special mention must be made of the Heritage Road Show at the Central Library (Bugis), an amusing light-hearted spoof of the highly popular Antiques Roadshow on BBC.
Those with a funnny bone may want to rub shoulders with Hossan Leong, who will share the secrets of his mirth-appeal at workshops at the Asian Civilisations Museum. Of course, everybody will look forward to our huge closing party at the Eco Garden of Science Centre – aptly named Indie Garden – which will feature white hot acts like Electrico, Guerrilla Collective, POPTARTS, and the Great Spy Experiment. Plus the Science Centre will be open (FREE) from 6.30 pm onwards for those 16 and above. Now is that cool or what?
More pics of Ethan
Here are some photos of my boy Ethan who will be 3 in November. He looks like a cross between me and my wife, with my head shape and my wife’s facial features. Hope you enjoy the photos.
Its a Jungle Out There!
Lately, I have been thinking hard about what blogging encompass, and how it can be compared to various natural phenomena. While relaxing at the Botanic Gardens and admiring the trees, it hit me that the blogosphere is kind of like a tropical rainforest.
1) There are many different voices and incessant chatter occurring throughout the day and night. The forest never sleeps. Neither does the Internet.
2) You get all kinds of forest dwellers – the high flying birds, monkeys swinging from tree to tree, and tiny ants crawling on the forest floor. That’s not including the thousands of different plant species and micro-organisms. There is just an amazing diversity. Similarly, the blogosphere is full of blogs, podcasts, vlogs in all shaes and sizes, many which defy description (and often belief!).
3) You can’t harvest a rain forest simply by targeting a segment or area. The only way to do this is to either unleash massive destruction (ala the haze-inducing illegal loggers and shifting cultivators), or to painstakingly do it one by one. Similarly, trying to market to a “segment” of bloggers using a blunderbuss approach will usually get you nowhere.
4) A rainforest is constantly evolving and changing with time, but it still sustains itself overall (unless man intervenes). The composition of the biomass changes as a forest matures from early successional species to late successional species. There will also be minor disasters – falling trees, termite infestations, random fires etc. Likewise, what may catch technorati’s fancy today may be stale news tomorrow. Blogs do come and go, but overall, there will be content generated at a relentless rate from all over the global digital village.
5) There is a high degree of inter-dependence in the jungle. Its denizens interact with each other as part of the ecological food web and food chain. They also depend on each other for sustenance. In the same way, bloggers usually do not exist in isolation. They tend to feed off each other, and ideas, discussions and content flow quickly through digital wires and waves.
So what’s the moral of story? Well, if you want to be successful in riding the social media wave, you need to get out of your padded comfort zone and go live in the forest, mingle with the monkeys (ha) and be prepared to be stung by bees!
New and Old Media – Never the Twain Shall Meet?
You would probably have heard it many times.
Old media is outmoded and left on the shelf. New media is the new HOT thing. Throw away your television and radio sets.
Ethan Lion Dancing in Chinatown
Ethan Lion Dancing
Went to Chinatown Food Street tonight and caught a Lion Dance performance. 3-year old Ethan lion danced to a crowd and nearly stole the show!
Long Tail in Singapore
Courtesy of The Long Tail
I love the idea of the Long Tail, popularised by Chris Anderson.
It turns traditional mass marketing on its head and makes a case for the small guy selling all kinds of odd stuff that never made it to the headlines.
Ethan at the Beach
Another video of my son Ethan, this time when he was 19 months old. He will be 3 years old soon in November.
Tasmanian Tips
Breathtaking landscapes, rustic wildernesses, historic richness, and delectable cuisines – this describes Tasmania, one of the last unspoilt corners of the Earth.
Tasmania’s repute as a leading award-winning natural destination led to it being lauded as one of the World’s top two islands (the other was Bali) by Travel + Leisure in 2002. More than 20 per cent of Tasmania’s area is listed with UNESCO as World Heritage Areas.