Dominic, four years ago today you became my Godson.

Most people remember their birthdays, but few recall the day they were baptised.*

For cradle Catholics, the excuse is that we were baptised when we were infants.

But you have no excuse not to know the date, because I remember.

I admit, I only remember because I have technological assistance – EXIF information on photos from your baptism. I have transferred the date to Google Calendar. So, no excuse for me to forget either.

I have to admit something else: I’m not entirely clear about my role.

On paper, in theory, I am supposed to assist in your spiritual development.

How to do this? That’s another story.

If I follow the example of my Godparents, then you will get better gifts than your brothers for Christmas and birthdays.

Surely it has to go beyond this, especially as you become more aware of the world around you.

Perhaps it can start with seeing you more often. And chatting with you. And listening to you. And playing with you. (Double-take. Yes, some of you are probably pondering, “Is Kenneth able to… play?” Hmmm…)

After all, if I don’t have a relationship with you, then I am not worthy of being called Godpa.

I will try my best to journey with you as you grow up. That’s the least that I can do.

Be good! :)

My favourite photo of Dominic. Can’t help him to fly anymore – he’s too big!

* Reminder to self – find out when I was baptised. I have a vague notion it was January 1978.

Ok, it wasn’t a rock concert. But the speakers were certainly rocking!

If elections were based on rally attendance, speaker charisma and audience participation, the Workers’ Party would win by a landslide.

Their candidates seem aware of this. A few mentioned that they are glad that Singaporeans have come out in force to listen to them speak. Most importantly, they urged the crowd to go the full distance by voting for WP.

So, to my observations:

1. The pull of WP
   The Workers’ Party seems to have the attention of Singaporeans far and wide, young and old. A couple of uncles were chatting in the bus in Hokkien. The Geekess translated. (Hokkien is similar to Teochew, she says.) Apparently, they didn’t know each other before today because they asked each other where they were from. One of them said Bukit Batok.
   
   Bukit Batok.
   
   WP is not contesting any seat west of Bukit Timah Expressway. And yet this man has seen fit to travel from Bukit Batok for the WP rally. The cynics will say, it’s because the WP puts up a good show. Indeed, they do. Others might point out that the concentration of all WP’s big guns is the reason the entire nation is focused on Aljunied GRC.
   
   I’m not sure. See point 3.




2. Young voters are interested
   Say what you want about young Singaporeans being apathetic. They are attending, listening, responding, tweeting and facebooking this election.
   
   At very least, it’s a start.




3. Singaporeans seem really disgruntled with the PAP
   I am not privy to what goes on in the PAP. Perhaps they are aware that Singaporeans are unhappy. Maybe they think it’s just Singaporeans doing what Singaporeans do best – complain. (The story of a deaf frog comes to mind.)
   
   But on the streets, in the buses, on the trains, at the hawker centres and of course, online – I’ve heard nothing but praise for the Opposition and criticism of the PAP. And this all came to a head at the WP rally. Compared to a 2006 WP rally I attended, there seemed to be a lot more bile directed at the PAP.
   
   A lot more.




4. The absurdity of GRCs
   One of the main WP themes was that GRCs and re-drawing of electoral boundaries are designed to keep the PAP firmed entrenched while purportedly being a means to ensure minority representation in Parliament.
   
   As if to prove the point, we chanced upon Nicole Seah NSP posters on the way to Serangoon MRT Station from Serangoon Stadium.
   
   NSP? Nicole Seah? When did we walk into Marine Parade GRC?
   
   Apparently, when we crossed Boundary Road from the stadium! Refer to the screenshot below, taken from SG Electoral Map 2011 by torty3.
   
   I don’t know about you, but I associate Marine Parade with the sea. And I don’t live near the sea.

I attended the Reform Party’s rally at Clementi Stadium for West Coast GRC earlier.

It had not dawned on me that this was the party’s first ever election rally. The party was founded in 2008, after the last General Election in 2006.

I’ll just give some brief personal impressions. I’m assuming the mainstream and social will take care of reporting the content.

1. The Quiet Rally
   I was quite underwhelmed. At most rallies, there is a dedicated core of party supporters in front of the stage making a huge racket. None here. Initially, there were just a few people at the front. I suspect some were members of the press. It didn’t help that this rally was held at a stadium. The stage was on the field, then a huge gap to the stands, where the early birds were seated. It was only when latecomers came in, after the stands were full, that a crowd started forming in directly in front of the speaker. The RP’s lack of manpower meant there wasn’t a group of people to get the crowd going. There was polite applause and the occasional shout of support, but most of the noise came from the speakers and the very boisterous emcee.
2. Mr Speaker, Sir
   Kenneth Jeyaretnam needs to  speak more like a Singaporean. It needn’t be broken English or Singlish. His British accent is a bit too atas. I heard murmurs of “he’s like B B See” (if you don’t know who I’m talking about, please start watching The Noose), and I heard some people saying that they couldn’t understand him. As for the others, most of them were too monotonous or spoke with too much fire and brimstone. For me, the best speaker was Osman Bin Sulaiman, who is an RP candidate at… Ang Mo Kio GRC. He spoke clearly, with good variation in tone and pace. He made a few good points and didn’t get carried away when he did hammer a point home. (Apologies for the Workers’ Party reference.)
3. Similarity of ideas
   Just like Singapore Democratic Party, RP also wants to cut NS to one year. Just like many Opposition parties, they want to introduce minimum wage. Similarly, they want to cut GST and remove it for essential goods. Sometimes, you have to wonder why the Opposition parties won’t just join each other.

Prof Leo Tan wrote a guest post at Lam Pin Foo’s self-titled blog.

He tells the familiar story – familiar to most Toddycats* at least – of the story of the museum, from an idea of Raffles (hence the name) to its rebirth at Kent Ridge.

But he has added on to this story with his experience with the museum and his reflections on the drive to create a full-fledged National History Museum.

I’m not sure who Lam Pin Foo is, but I’m thankful that he got Prof Tan to write that post.

* Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research volunteers

UPDATE The original screenshot was deleted from Flickr. Strange, because I didn’t do it. Anyway, it’s been replaced.

I hesitate to call this my running playlist, because I can’t sustain a pace that can be considered running. To be accurate, this should be called my walking/jogging playlist. Some of these are labeled Parental Guidance, so consider yourself warned. Here goes:

Time Title – Artist
“Lyric quotes.”
Comments

1. 01:30 Magnet – Nike ad featuring Lance Armstrong
   A very gentle and inspiring start.

2. 04:37 In My Heart – Moby
   This one has a moderate speed bass rhythm to get into the workout. You have to have decent headphones/earphones to hear it though.
3. 02:47 Happy Feet – Randy Spendlove (Shall We Dance? Soundtrack)
   Picking up the pace.
4. 04:05 I See You Baby (Radio edit) – Groove Armada
   “I see you baby, shakin’ that a**.”
   I guess I’m supposed to look the back of a girl who is running way ahead of me.
5. 02:45 Wonderful Night – Fatboy Slim
   A really infectious song. Not sure why it wasn’t a bigger hit.
6. 04:08 Hey Ya! – Outkast
   “Shake it, sugar. Shake it like a Polaroid picture.”
   Refer to comments for I See You Baby. No, I do not imagine André 3000 when listening to this song.
7. 04:23 You Can Do It – Ice Cube
   “You can do it, put you back into it. You can do it, put your a** into it.”
   ‘Nuff said.
8. 03:11 Be Faithful – Fatman Scoop featuring The Crooklyn Clan
   Actually, I don’t know what this song has to do with being faithful.
9. 03:37 Don’t Give Up – Chicane featuring Bryan Adams
   “Don’t give up, you know it’s true. You gotta do what you gotta do.”
   This song brings me up to half an hour, and it is a nice song to end off on a fast pace. Love the bass.
   

There are more songs, for when I used to work out after half an hour on the elliptical machine in the gym. Maybe I’ll share the extended playlist another time.

Circle Line Discovery (Stage 1 & 2)-11

This morning, I checked out the Circle Line Discovery event, ahead of the opening of the long-overdue Stage 1 & 2 of the CCL.

If I were Darth Vader, surveying the new stations, I would say (in my wannabe-James Earl Jones voice), “Impressive… Most impressive.”

And which station gives me the greatest sense of awe?

Stadium Station.

It is simply magnificent.

The skylight takes full advantage of natural light. Yet it does not end up roasting the station because it is placed high up.

Very high up.

The station is big.

It is one of the few stations that allows you to look from one end to the other. There are no obstructions. Just massive space.

The only similar station is Changi Airport. But that’s the thing, Changi Airport station is so large that you lose perspective. I’m not sure how to explain this.

Sometimes, something is so big that you don’t know the scale of it. A good example is the ground we stand on – Earth. We rarely get to see the horizon. And even when we do, there is no frame of reference. We know it is big, but we can’t put it in perspective.

Stadium Station is big enough let you feel that sense of size, yet small enough for you to put it in context.

Step outside and you’ll get a real feel for the scale. On either end of the station are two cavernous entrances.

I can imagine a match day. People streaming out of that station. Thousands of supporters decked in red disgorging from this massive structure.

And thousands of people heading into the station once the game is over.

Which leads to my only criticism of the station.

Two escalators at each entrance? (And there are only two entrances, not including the elevator access.)

Let’s do the math. About 50,000 people pack the stadium. Assuming only half are taking the train from Stadium Station, that’s 25,000 people who are going to cram onto four escalators – further assuming that all four will be down-riding after a big game – and the central staircase on either end.

Not a pretty sight.

In a strange way, this may be the intention. I am not sure how frequent the trains will be after a big game, but even at 2 minute intervals, it will take time to clear the platform of passengers. So, the bottleneck will be at the escalator instead – in order not to overcrowd the platform. (Remember that the CCL trains are only 3 cars long, not 6 like those on the NSL, EWL and NEL, so they have only half the carrying capacity.)

But all this is speculation. We will not know for sure until our next big game at the National Stadium our Sports Hub is finally ready.

In the interim, you can use Stadium Station to get to Singapore Indoor Stadium (and the Brewerkz located there) and… err… Kallang Leisure Park.

More photos of the Circle Line Discovery (mostly of Stadium Station)

Cirle Line Discovery (Stage 1 & 2)-1

Singapore Art Museum

Bishan Sunset