There really is no need for a title....

Mount Kinabalu Climb: I CAME, I SAW, I CONQUERED!

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:30:00 +0000

I may be extremely fat, I may have never done much exercises,
but I did it, I climbed Mount Kinabalu, though I didn't make it to the summit, I did make it to Laban Rata, which many people who are fit, couldn't even reach.

Many told me I won't make it, some told me to just drop the whole idea.
Some even hoped that I won't make it, because they tried but couldn't climbed anymore halfway.

If I did it, so can you. All you need is perseverance, determination, and motivation.

Well, I've already blogged about it on my main Mount Kinabalu Climb journey blog, do read it directly by clicking here.

Believe in yourself, do what you dream of, you've only got that many tomorrows, do something.

Here, this is my certificate for completing around 80% of it, 3323.2m out of 4095m! I WAS ALMOST THERE!

Happy 2012, goodbye 2011

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:37:00 +0000

I've been busy, really busy, I hardly have much time for blogging now, even if I do have that few minutes or few hours, I always felt it was more important for me to take a break, hence the negligence of this blog.

What have I been busy with, you may ask.
Songs practices, rehearsals, internship(school) and the typical december daily gatherings among friends to celebrate the new year with.

At one point, I even lost track of time, funny but true. I was broke for a week or two, down to almost zero dollars(I'm a student lah).

Well, I do have some amazing achievements, breakthroughs and experiences in the year 2011, here's some of them.

F.M.L. (Fachai Meets Lily) , an FYP film by director Qiu Kairu of NAFA(Nanyang Academic of Fine Arts), I was the lead and lead voice actor.

Riding a military chinook, courtesy of Republic of Singapore Air Force.(Ok, maybe the 10000ft is a little exaggerated.)

Getting to sing at Saint James for Guinness Live.

Occasionally appearing on headlines of papers and online prints.....all for the weirdest reasons....

But overall, I think what mattered to me most, was the companion of friends throughout the years, here's some photos I've grabbed from Facebook.

My gang, Ocean30, bunch of my favorite troublemakers from secondary school.

The sleepovers

The countless gatherings.

the new year countdown party at Siloso Beach.

And not to forget the times spent drinking almost every night during december.

But anyways, I will be away in Sabah, mainly climbing Mount Kinabalu during my travel period of 11th January to 17th January 2012, Also, you can support and keep updated of my climb status with Twitter @yongwei92 or hashtag #fatguymountkinabaluclimb

And do check out www.mountkinabaluclimb.com , you can also see my statuses up there!

Whether I will make it, only when I try, then I'll know, cya all in a week's time!

Under 24hours - Toh Yi Fan, The Singaporen Rapper SMRT/Comfort Delgro Rap

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:51:00 +0000

With the help of Evan from FlutterSound, the rapper Toh Yi Fan and me the 天才（genius), we collaborated, and produced, this, in under 24hours.

Some behind-the-scenes photos.

Preparing to record.

Of course, this is the easiest part.

The real difficult part? Editing for 10hours straight on my iMac, with limited footage due to time.

Potato.

Of why I hate Kpop....mostly

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:11:00 +0000

Photo of me by Conan Seow

The heavily commercialised music from Korea, it's all driving me nuts. Sure, it's catchy, especially the club musics, most I've heard have really good studio mixing done.

Personally, as an ABRSM certificated singer and a self-taught musician(heh, I can play all forms of guitars, the ukelele, drums and a little keyboard), I would say, Kpop has brought music to a new low-down. When I listen to 2NE1, Super Junior, or whatever, everyone seemed to have forgotten one thing, putting your in feelings into the music.

You don't have to be the greatest singer, if you can put in your emotions, and let people feel you, you'll get them.

I've watched a handful of performances of typical Kpop musics, and I'm sadden and disappointed,

Yes, they can sing, they can hit the pitches, but, so what? I'm not looking for some posers, actors/actresses or models, I'm looking for a singer, someone who can bring out the essence of the songs forward.

Let's watch, these are what I meant by actors/actresses, posers and models.

This is what I call a singer, the full focus on the music, vocals, emotion....

The dynamics of the piano/keyboard progression and his vocals, the zero-distractions, and the amount of RESPECT he puts into his performance, can you see/hear/feel the differences?

A good vocalist doesn't guarantee that one is a good singer, one of my favorite bands' song, Ordinary man.

And one final word, don't sing for the sake of singing, put life into it, and watch it grow.

Paint the town red with Nandos!

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:45:00 +0000

Continued from my food review session at Nandos! Click click

Unrelated music video, but heck, I like it.

Just to let you readers know, Nandos has a campaign going on, in which to find out Singapore's favorite Peri-peri flavour , Click here or the pictures for the facebook app link.

100 Lucky voters will get a chance to win invites to a Nando's Party based on the best voted flavour! (And can bring 2 friends hor), who says' there's no free lunch in this world?

And oh, got free coke!

Of course, I'm loving the Extra-hot sauce marination, it's possibly even spicier than our small chillies

Nothing beats having bacon.

Rape the bacon with the Extra-hot Nandos marination.

360degrees celcius, 15minutes, and this is what you'll get, bacon chips.

Pharking spicy bacon chips.

So spicy it burned through my skin.....nah, I can't remember how I cut myself in the kitchen.

No worries, I'm First-Aid trained and certified, true story, bro.

Infamous Singapore "Ah Beng" Aaron Tan’s 牛奶都喝不够 Techno Remix

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:14:00 +0000

In case you don't know about the recent Ah Beng saga that's going on.

Please read mrbrown's blog first!

I did a quick spoof last night, here's my techno remix of the infamous Aaron Tan's rant online.

Prish hor, if you did not enjoy my video, you watch out hor, prish hor.

And prist la, if you haven't join the facebook group for AH BENGS AND AH LIANS WITH LONGLONG FACEBOOK NAMES, YOU BETTER JOIN NOW, CLICK HERE

Nandos Peri-peri flame grilled chicken Review

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:05:00 +0000

A week ago I was invited down to Nandos Tampines Outlet for a food tasting session with a bunch of other bloggers! Kudos to Vibes comm

Nice chicken pose and some hot babes going around promoting Nandos Chicken

Lets get right onto the food shall we?

For starters, we had Wild mushroom soup and bread, and Chicken Livers and Portuguese Roll.

A closer look at the Chicken Livers with the delicious sauce.

My first time having so much livers, it was almost-happiness for me.

The Peri-fect Platter.

The Kebab meals.

Nandos really serves with weird and interesting ....kitchen wares? I don't know what to call it.

The Kebab sets come with varieties of sides, such as salad and sweet baby potatoes.

More food.

The Cataplan

Splitting my portions.

Some other grilled chicken.

Halfway, we were disturbed by the promoters, beautiful girls in fact.

It was a tough decision, whether to follow Smith's steps and head out to hold the girls by the shoulder, or eat the freshly made desserts.

You know me, you know my decisions, DESSERTS.

My favorite, Caramel Cheesecake. I was speaking with some people from Nandos, they told me not to mention about what I said about the cheesecake, I only said they were "pharking delicious".

Nandos is in fact a very scary place to eat, using this as a representation of the foods(except tomato), the foods served are all marinated in 4 simple categories(made up by me hor), PLUCKING SPICY, VERY SPICY, A BIT SPICY and no-no spicy. They are very good at burning our bodies up.

The extremely spicy marination would make just about anyone like this.

But luckily, they served us some mocktails very quickly, they call it Designer Drinks there.

Citrus Bliss and Madeira Red

As well as something that's very refreshing, Refresh Mint

Everybody had at least 3 of whatever Designer Drinks they had, while screaming about delicious spicy foods.

And oh yes, they do serve plain water, cold and warm, not sure when they implemented this since the stir online

But nonetheless, here's my verdict.

Nandos seems to be easy to order, and yet dynamic at the same time, unlike "that curry rice restaurant at 313orchard" where you have to pick like 0% to 100% of spiciness(thus making it difficult for customers to choose). Nandos lets you pick from 4 categories like I've mentioned earlier(the one you read up there was a joke lah), they have

Lemon and Herb - Not so Brave!
Mild - Tickle your taste buds
Hot - Gets you in the mood
Extra hot - Sure to raffle your feathers

I have no complains about the food, in fact, it was excellent, the chicken was all tender and well marinated, as you have seen in the pictures, despite the fact that it was all flame grilled, the chicken remained juicy yet crisp on the outside.

The variety of spiciness levels made simple, no 0%-100% nonsense, I had mostly the Extra-hot marinated chickens, even though I couldn't handle it, I'd say it was interesting, the burn stays with you for quite a while, my dump hours later was also spicy on my anus, man, even Nandos could make my dump more interesting.

Overall, MUST-TRY

Nandos have 4 outlets at the moment, located in the following malls

Plaza Singapura
Tampines Mall
Bugis Junction
Tanglin Mall

click for bigger location map.

3rd Planet Launch - 10th December 2011

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 06:58:00 +0000

3rd Planet is supported by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA).
Not sure if MDA would censor anything from it, but hey, it looks pretty cool, have a look at the video preview.

It does look alike Google Earth, but focused mainly on tourism areas.

World's most extreme and inclined airport, The Lukla airport.

Another part of Nepal.

Looks cool eh? though it isn't as high-res'd as I thought, still, it's pretty cool to be able to virtually head to the place you're going/not going and have a look.

Another side note, 1st million users get to sign up for free, I guess the rest will have to pay(argh, even Google Earth is free)

http://www.3rdplanet.com/launch/

A few notable videos from the interwebs!

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 06:37:00 +0000

Coca Cola's WWHSN project (Where will happiness strike next?) for OFW(Overseas Filipino Workers)

Featuring a few individuals, some of which has been working overseas, away from their families for years.
Coca Cola's simply just amazing, aren't they? And remember to spread happiness too!

The GAG Quartet - le Internet Medley (OVER 40 MEMES IN ONE SONG)

For internet trolls like I am, this is for us.

<p>&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;asd</p>

Fail compilation 2011
If you think you've sucked, know someone else sucked harder than you did this year.

Pepsi worker contaminating drinks with HIV hoax.

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 10:32:00 +0000

If you've received SMSes, emails, tweets, or even read it off your facebook wall about someone from the Pepsi Co. contaminating the drinks with his/her HIV-infected blood, please think, research, before spreading nonsense online.

Oh yes, reminds me about Chen Wencong's appeal for blood, another silly case, read about it here.

Another silly person spreading the hoax.

At any soft drinks production line, it is pretty much impossible to infect just about anything, everything is computerised and from what I know, it is a common practice for them to check batches of drinks for quality control probably every 15minutes.

With the heat from the production lines, the average 2.6 to 3.0 PH levels of carbonated soft drinks, even if someone managed to pump in his HIV-infected blood, the cells will not be able to survive, they would be destroyed by the acidic soft drinks.

Example of a production line, the speed and quality control

But, if you're still worried, I suggest checking out if you're HIV-infected at this location in Singapore, do that note of the window-period for HIV detection in human blood, which is about 3 to 6months.
http://www.afa.org.sg/anonymous.php

AKG Q350 review - Quincy Jones Series AKG headsets

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:57:00 +0000

This is second headphone I'm reviewing for AKG, check out the first review I've did here about the AKG K518

The AKG Q350 box, included inside, the headset, a hard case, and pairs of in-ear sleeves sizes in small/medium/large respectively.

The hard case, very convenient for just about any day out.

Simply stuff it in however you like.

The remote and in-mic for iPhones/iPads/iPods, only the mic and play/pause button works for my HTC android phone though.

Very futuristic design on the headset.

The AKG Q350 sits comfortably on just about any ears, otherwise, just switch the different removable in-ear sleeve sizes.

The AKG Q350 is available locally in Singapore with a price tag of s$159.90 at STEREO(Click click)

A little more info about the AKG Q-headphones series, it is endorsed by one of the best musicians in the world, Quincy Jones , famous pretty much for some of his hit songs, "We are the world"and many others.

No doubt on the quality, I've been using it for a couple of weeks, it fitted into my ears perfectly, just like any other IEMs(in-ear monitors), it provides a very high level of environmental sound blocking.

The bass, the treble, every sound produced from this pair of AKG Q350 is very balanced out, and that's what I love about headphones, it allows you listen to songs as how music producers intended.

Personally, Pros and Cons

Amazing sound quality, balanced, no bass boost nonsense.
Very comfortable, I can wear it for hours.
Awesome hard case, no more entanglements in pockets!

Cons

Only fully compatible with iOS devices. (The remote)

Nothing else so far, this headset is just really impressive.

You can test out the AKG Q350 at any STEREO outlets in Singapore, opening hours from 11am to 9:30pm

ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn #B4-23/24
Singapore 238801

Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road #04-06
Singapore 238839

YongWei's adventures of biking!

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 16:21:00 +0000

I have been a passionate rider for years, my entry-level trusty bicycle lasted me a full 4years before the crank gave way and there was no way to fix it.

I used to ride almost every weekend to East Coast just to grab a drink, I know cycling burns little calories, but it's fun, especially when it rains. Ever since months back when it spoiled, I had no been riding, and gained a little weight with that.

Whether I'm riding on the roads, or on the pavements, riding for hours weekly made me a very patient guy, some of my biking friends always liked to speed, being young and ignorant, I've gazed at them crashing into others and falling on sandy grounds, speed isn't everything, safety was.

My first bad experience was when riding in a tight road, a car driver flipped opened his door, and I almost slammed right into it, luckily there wasn't any traffic on my right and I managed to swerve out of danger.

Since then, I had a few rules for myself.

Speed only when it's clear.
Every corner confirm got people one.
Always allow others first, especially vehicles.

A few months ago, I signed up with ComfortDelgro driving centre to learn motorbikes.

I'm very glad I made that decision, at least there will be more biking options for me once I complete it.

For starters, you will enrolled as a 2B learner, a Class 2B license will allow you to operate and ride a motorbike under 201cc in Singapore.

I've completed my theory lessons and test, and am currently halfway through the practicals.

I've noted some silly things.....that I've should had noted about, and now I am noting it down here for you to note.

In the training circuit.......

Everything goes 2x 4x 6x slower than normal roads.
You will be training with beginner car learners, they move even slower than bikes.
Some buggers dare not make turns, which is silly, they hold up the entire class.
You are not allowed to stop side by side with cars.....

Well, if you're interested in bikes like I do, keep that passion up and keep your pride with it, if it's your interest, don't stop. I've been told over and over again how biking is dangerous, but you know what? I don't care! I don't want a car and I know I don't enjoy car rides. I've always preferred bikes my entire life.

I've also been mocked many times,
"Ha, you don't want a car because you can't afford it." - naive fellow.

Yes, it's true, in Singapore, technically no one can afford a car! You are charged for everything, parking, tolls and even a need to pay almost a hundred thousand just to get a certificate of entitlement.

Whereas for motorbikes, it's more fuel efficient, it's more convenient and it's cheaper! You can get a 2nd hand motorbike for as low as s$500, but many wouldn't recommend that obviously.

If you love bikes, I'm with you.

The Eastern Restaurant - my second visit.

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:22:00 +0000

Some photos from William, and thanks to him for the invite!

I think this is going to be a pretty short blog post, but nonetheless do read about my first visit there!(Click)

The collagen noodles. One of their specialties, Collagen is mainly used by women for cosmetic purposes, typically making their skin look and feel better!

Filled with delicious dumplings

And since it's handmade on the spot, do expect the collagen noodles, to be extra long.

The small-dragon-buns, 小笼包，xiao long bao.

Delicious meat and soup within it.

Spicy dumplings.

Delicious pork bellies.

Of course I chose the one with the least amount of fat.

And, this is probably the best in their menu, 沙流包 Flowing custard bun.

I couldn't help but to order it again.

The Eastern Restaurant
Address: Centrepoint, 176 Orchard Road, #01-57
Contact : 67362638

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/EasternRestaurant
Blog: http://www.easternrestaurant.tumblr.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/easternrSG

And remember to like their Facebook/twitter and get 5% off your bill!

Why I love my HTC Sensation.

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:09:00 +0000

This is random, not a sponsored post, but I've been a proud owner of a HTC Sensation since july this year, lots of people questioned me when I chose to get this instead of the iPhone.

The one thing I didn't liked about iOS, it's too simplified, yes it's good for kids and old people, but for a geekier side of me, no, I would rather have a more sophisticated phone.

As an occasional iOS user, full-time Mac OS X user, and 24/7 android user.
I agree both iOS and Mac OS X "Just works", but for a mobile iOS device, Android is the answer for people who would rather have more options to choose what they want.

Android pretty much gets along with me, the dashboard/homescreen is amazing and allows customization so I can choose to see what I want the moment I unlock my phone. Whereas for iOS, it's just a plain screen with bunch of apps.

There's no way to configure the Apple iPhone camera even, no way to configure to optimize certain usage.

With Android, you get to customize it, filter the images/videos with effects.

I've even hot-glued a custom tripod mount, and detachable lens mount to my phone casing for more photo/videography experiences.

With the support of a mini-tripod, and a macro lens, I've been able to take these few amazing shots with the correct settings.

Dust particles.

A beautiful sunset in the heartlands.

And occasionally some silly videos.(That's a HTC EVO 3D, that's how it pretty much looks when 3D frames are "captured"in 2D, argh it's complicated.)

But what about battery life? We all know smart phone batteries all suck, all thanks to the higher processing powers and demanding screens, iPhone or not, we all would run out of juice within 10hours for the "usual" twitter, facebook users.

That is inevitable for now, the only way to prevent a dead battery, is a mini portable USB charger(mine's 5000mAH, 3days worth of juice) with a retractable USB cable.

It might get a little tedious to carry the portable battery around if you don't have a bag with you, but hey, it still beats carrying multiple devices that don't connect to the internet, right?

VOTE AND WIN SAINT JAMES VIP CARD!

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 17:07:00 +0000

With this card, you can enjoy free access, discounts and privileges at Saint James outlets, which include awesome places with live bands, such as Firefly, Dragonfly and Shanghai Dolly.

Just look at some of the listed benefits if you're this cardholder!

As you know I'm in this singing competition right now, I do appeal, I really appeal for your votes for me and my team(TEAM DRAGONFLY), at Guinness Live

As you can see, we are the team with the lowest number of votes now! PLEASE HELP!

SHANGHAI DOLLY TEAM, HAS WAY TOO MUCH! TIME FOR US, TEAM DRAGONFLY TO CHASE UP!

TO VOTE, TO HELP ME, SIMPLY CLICK "LIKE" GUINNESS SINGAPORE PAGE HERE FIRST

AND THEN CLICK ON THE PICTURE BELOW! AND REMEMBER TO VOTE DAILY!

Gourmet Food Trail with Ah Lun (阿伦笑吃人间周末趴趴吃) at Shin Yeh restaurant and Szechuan Court(Fairmount Singapore)

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 08:08:00 +0000

Together with omy.sg and Lianhe Wanbao, a special collaboration was held together with food critic Ah Lun(黄卓伦), I had a chance to savour some good foods from another 2 different famous restaurants in Singapore.

Read about my first experience here!

Of course, With Christmas and Chinese new year coming by, we've been hosted with some of the best foods, according to the festive seasons.

First up, Fortune Yu Sheng at Shin Yeh restaurant.

as part of our chinese tradition in Singapore, we would recite prosperous chinese quotes, like "恭喜发财“, meaning congrats on the upcoming fortunes, while we mix up the ingredients.

And comes the tossing, the higher, the more "stirs", the better our fortunes!

The aftermath.

However messy it can be, or how unusual the ingredients are, it always tastes delicious, we had fresh sashimi and mandarins(chinese oranges) in it!

Next, Taiwan-style Double-boiled Abalone, pig's stomach, chicken, scallop and sea cucumber in Casserole.

The thick chicken broth(I think it was chicken broth), was just so satisfying!

And a whole piece of abalone(a type of sea snail by the way)

Oh yeah, I had to control my appetite and save some food for Kiyomi who came late! She's lucky I didn't touch her shares!

Taiwan-style steamed marble goby with small olives.

Teach you friendly readers something! If any fish is prepared well, the skin will never/should not stick onto the chopsticks!

Smoked chicken with premium Taiwan Oolong tea, really strong Oolong smell, and very deeply marinated.

Crispy chicken skin.

Every part, including the breast, was tender, guess the chef spent lots of time massaging the dead chicken.

A dish hat wasn't listed, guess it was a surprise from the chef, stir fried veggies with large crunchy prawns.

Nice prawns....now into my mouth you go...

Second surprise from the chef, mua chi with crushed peanuts, very common Taiwanese snack, popular with local Singaporeans, mua chi is basically minced rice.

Kiyomi's happiness = Food food food.....

Taiwan-style red beans over shaved coconut ice and yam cubes.

close up on the shaved coconut ice.

the yam cubes, yammy.

To check out and taste the awesome foods for yourselves, visit Shin Yeh at the following address.

Address:
177 River Valley Road
Liang Court Shopping Centre, #02-19
Singapore 179030

Tel: +65 6338 7337
Fax: +65 6336 6142

Opening Hours:Daily
Lunch: 11:30 - 2:30PM
Dinner: 6:00 - 10:30PM

Reservations: Highly Recommended
Dress Code: Casual

Set Meals Served: Yes (Lunch & Dinner)
Vegetarian Dishes: Yes

Next place! Szechuan court! While everyone was still full with the food we ate at Shin Yeh, we had a quick rest.

First warm up dish, Garden grown salads with pan seared shitake mushroom in teriyaki dressing.

those orange color fried carrots/orange peel were my favorite part.

Double-boiled chicken soup with supream mixed dried seafood, which includes abalone, fish belly, shredded fish lips, dried oyster, dried scallop, pacific clam.

Look at the size of this mussel!

The soup looked normal at first, a closer look and a few scoops, everything was hidden.

more different varieties of seafood in the soup.

Braised cod in shaffot oyster sauce with sauteed, assorted vegetable, egg white ad diced capsicums.

Probably Kiyomi and my favorite of that day!

Awesome cod.

Kiyomi's second happiness photo of the day.

Once again, like I've emphasized, fish that's well done, will not have it's skin sticking with the chopsticks, yummy cod skin!

Wok-fried rice served with roasted spices chicken.

Very spicy toppings, Szechuan people(I mean the real place in China) have a habit of consuming really hot and spicy food.

The dessert platter, cream of mango sago pomelo, Chng Tng and Chilli ice cream, that's right, chilli ice cream, you didn't read wrongly.

小妹妹连辣椒都要拍。

Honestly, the chilli ice cream wasn't up to my liking at all, I had small bite and left it aside, I don't like chilli in my ice cream! But nonetheless, it's worth a try if you're a chilli lover, well, I'm not.

With the super spicy ice cream, I was glad I didn't had the Chng Tng and cream of mango sago shots yet.

Ah, shiok.

Another surprise from the chef, layered chocolate log cake.

It was pretty funny, who uses chopsticks to eat cakes! WE DO!

Our friendly guests.

Notice my new triple chin and bigger belly? Yeah, thanks to Shin Yeh and Szechuan court.....

Location: Level 3, Fairmont Singapore

Szechuan Court: http://www.szechuancourt.com.sg/
Lunch: Monday to Friday - 12:00noon to 2:30pm
Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays - 12:00noon to 3:00pm
Dinner: Daily & Public Holidays - 6:30pm to 10:30pm

Dress Code: Smart casual
Reservations: +65 6431 6156

Gardens by the bay - Sneak preview

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:06:00 +0000

Invite courtesy of Juliana from URA

The artist impression of The Gardens by the bay when it completes, which will feature over 200 000 types of plants and flora from all over the world except Antarctica.

Well, it was early in the morning when we were taken in a bus down.

Hong Peng and I getting our hair blown.

Argh, ok, reasonably nice.

Before you complain about blurry photos I am going to post, I did just realised that my detachable lens on my HTC Sensation, has somehow been stained with dust and dirt internally....

Presentation by the COO and CEO of Gardens by the Bay, Mr Kenneth Er(Left) and Dr Kiat W Tan(Right).

Gardens by the Bay spreads out along the "shores" of Kallang all the way to Marina Bay.

Of course, they're not gonna make us walk several kilometres, we're getting a buggy ride around!

Education huts are located thru-out.

Some of the plants are still pretty amateur.

But hey, looks good so far.

Close up of orchid.

Some plants not found in our region are showcased here as well.

Some rocks imported from China.

Another interesting plant from other parts of asia.

These structures that are still under construction, are called Supertrees, which will house epiphytes, ferns and other wall climbing plants, it would also provide shades as well.

Dragonfly Lake, will also aid in filtration of waters before it is released into the Marina Bay Reservoir.

The waters would simply flow thru the plants.

The Dragonfly bridge, located over Dragonfly lake, is also connected directly with Marina Bay Sands, making it even more convenient for tourist and locals.

Pretty good view when walking towards from Marina Bay Sands.

More views of the Supertrees.

Some plants are already growing thru the structure.

Before we get to the Flower dome, I just want to say that, I'm proud to be probable the first user of the 4th urinal in the toilet located outside of the Flower Dome.

Upon entering the Flower Dome, a gigantic glasshouse, I swear, I breathed the freshest cool air in Singapore.

At a pleasant constant temperature of 23 to 25degrees celcius, it's a quick escape from Singapore's scorching tropical sun.

I felt great inside!

It houses many of the weirdest plants that's not found anywhere in our tropical regions.

Plants with the strangest, and creepiest roots.

Thick and hairy leaves.

Close up.

Thick juicy leaves.

Some giant weird african plants.

Really really huge.

They have like what, only 10leaves each.

Some kinda salt crystals.

Some Australian Kangaroo Paws.

They do look a little like paws.

As much as you would like to fertilize the plants, please don't....please use the restrooms located behind this plant.

Some gorgeous looking grass and short plants.

spiky!

I wonder what this plant is.....

Changing my blog theme....

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:41:00 +0000

For a little over 4years, I've been using the same old CSS template, occasionally changing a little bit of codes here and there.

Times have changed, I realised I hardly use my desktop for blog-hopping, I usually lay on my couch and surf blogs, so in other words, I gotta make my site more mobile-friendly.

With that, I've also decided to scrap Haloscan and DISQUS for my commenting platform, that means all the thousands of comments made on my blog, will other words, be highly unlikely to appear again.

Do bear with me for the next week...or more while I configure and code out the template that I want.

Making my blog more mobile friendly, landscape mode capable.

I know you all like surfing the interwebs, so I made my blog landscaped so you can surf while you surf.

AKG K518LE/K518 Limited edition review

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:59:00 +0000

The AKG K518 Limited Edition DJ Headphones

My K518LE set, courtesy of AKG, IMS Marketing and Omy.sg
In the box : 1/4inch adapter, pouch, the headset, warranty card.

Before I head into reviews of the sound quality, I'm gonna show you some of my likes and unsatisfactories(ehhh no such word, but you get what I mean ya?) with the headphone.

Surface : Mostly rubberish, good grip.
Cable : 1metre with splitter, cable connected to each side of headphone, TRS jack.

Framing : plastic(pretty tough one, couldn't break it with my fingers) and alluminium/alloy support, holds onto my head really tightly.

Padding : pretty stiff, not as soft as I expected, and as it holds onto my head really tightly, it gets really warm on my ears pretty quickly, hence the perspiration.

I'm not too sure why the "hoohaa" about the compatibility with iPhones when it's just another TRS jack. It should be compatible with everything with a 3.5mm jack input.

There wasn't any instructions(that I know of) that shows how to exactly keep the K518, this was the best I could do.

It certainly doesn't look very portable, especially with the cables(argh I hate split cables), I'd say just use it at home, you'll risk damaging it seriously with the soft pouch given.

See? definitely not portable enough.

Well, time to test the sound quality! I'm actually able to hit "50%" amplification on my pre-amp before the slightest hissing sound came out, great! (oh yeah, it's really loud at this level.)

I've been listening to songs with the K518 for hours to test it's quality, just like what AKG boasted about the K518 on it's packaging, Fat bass, bass levels seems to be risen with this headphone without causing any interference to other levels.

Listening to songs intensively.

I decided to get a little more serious with this review, I've mixed a track to test it out even further, in a personal comparison to another cheap old headphone that I've used for years.

Download the track I've mixed for testing bass levels.
Track 1 :

Bass track lowered by 5decibels
very very very low bass track heard thru-out with my old headphone.
AKG518 plays it like as though the bass track wasn't modified.

Track 2:

Normalized levels
AKG K518 pushes the bass harder
Other tracks unaffected

The AKG K518LE is available at an approximate retail price of s$139.90,
You can also try it out at STEREO outlets in Singapore, opening hours from 11am to 9:30pm

ION Orchard
2 Orchard Turn #B4-23/24
Singapore 238801

Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road #04-06
Singapore 238839

Well, the verdict?
Pros

Rich sound quality just as promised
Gives just about any genre of songs an extra bass kick without compromising other sound levels.

Cons

Too small for me, I won't recommended anyone wearing L-sized or bigger helmets, it's really tight for people with heads my size.
Split cables

Guinness Live 2011 - My first(disappointing) Performance.

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:23:00 +0000

Nah, I don't have pictures/videos with me, but I just wanna emphasize on some things, As you all know that I've got through the auditions for Guinness Live 2011, I managed, even though I only knew 1 mandarin song by heart, kinda, which was 简单爱（jian dan ai) by Jay Chou.

I've always, for years, sang, wrote songs, everything, even my thoughts are processed entirely in the english language, for me to start singing in mandarin within a few weeks, was indeed very tough for Guinness Live.

I have never focused in chinese classes back in school, I had zero interest, I felt that english was better all the way, it was only a few months ago where I had the urge to really learn chinese again.

I posted up a song cover, my first mandarin song cover a few days ago on youtube, I read "Hanyu Pinyin" spellings of the songs instead of the chinese characters all the way. And yes, I have no idea if I did pronounce the words right.

As for my performance at Saint James, I only had 1 week to learn all 3 songs, 1 cantonese dialect, and 2 in mandarin, it wasn't easy, but I had to face it, I spent the entire week trying to get the cantonese song right, but, I still couldn't even remember the lyrics.

I did request for the cantonese song to be switched temporarily, but it wasn't approved, another *face palm*. I had thought of singing 3 mandarin songs first, as it's easier to learn than cantonese or any other languages.

As for the other 2 mandarin song, I had hopes in them, but 1 week from knowing the song sequences to learn, just wasn't enough, Well, at least my next performance's 2 weeks from now, should be just enough time to get the new 3 songs next round right.

yeah yeah yeah, I've been rambling, I'm actually drinking while typing all these down.....

I know I'm in my comfort zone of singing in english, but for Guinness Live, it's my time to step out, whatever comments that I've heard, I know it in my mind already, I was ready to face it, I'm bad with my chinese vocabs/grammar, not to even mention cantonese.

Like I've mentioned, I've always been playing and singing in english, and even the thoughts in my mind are generated internally in english, here's one of the first songs I've even composed, and it was also my first "proper" recording.

Equipment list : Macbook with Garageband, $7 dynamic mic, Behringer USB interfaces.

Of course, over the year, I've upgraded pretty intensively, as well as recording skills, singing techniques and arrangements. Here's my favorite self-composed song.

Equipment list : iMac with garageband, RODE NT1A condenser mic, Alesis USB interface.

Download for free! : http://bit.ly/lyZj6k

Lyrics
(Yeah, let's go, somewhere we belong, Somewhere, Faraway, Somewhere)
One day, I'm gonna tell her this
Some way, she's gonna know about this
One way, I'll tell her these words
To tell her I missed her

Those days were my favorite days
I got to see her day by day
Some way, I'll tell her about it
I have a crush on her.

You drive me crazy
I just don't wanna show it
Hold me, baby,
Stay here, with me,
Go out, with me,
and watch a movie maybe.

(Yeah, let's go, somewhere we belong, Somewhere, Faraway, Somewhere)

My mouth is shut when you're around,
My mind keeps spinning round and round
My heart goes beating, beating for you
You make me smile

I wanna hold your hand some day
With you to stroll down Marina Bay
And see the sun setting for the day
You are my way

You drive me crazy
I just don't wanna show it
Hold me, baby,
Stay here, with me,
Go out, with me,
and watch a movie maybe.

You are my way, I am Yong Wei
You make me happy, when days are rainy
I'll go with you, thru ups and down
Oh I promise you.

You drive me crazy
I just don't wanna show it
Hold me, baby,
Stay here, with me,
Go out, with me,
and watch a movie maybe.

(Yeah, let's go, somewhere we belong, Somewhere, Faraway, Somewhere)

Chen Wencong's appeal for blood - Please don't abuse blood donors.

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 04:32:00 +0000

A screenshot of the Facebook post that went viral, Tan Boon Chong is his other dialect name on our national ID card.

I was outraged when it came out on the news today.

According to Donorweb.org, which is used by Singaporean donors to check for blood supplies if there is a need for them, have enough supplies for patients, and yes, there was enough supply, so why the big fuss? Do you think only this ex-actor needs blood transfusions?

But whether if there is enough of AB-, I do not know, but what I know is, only AB+ have the pros of obtaining every single blood type, whereas AB- may only receive from every negative blood types.

If you haven't noticed, they only mentioned "AB" and not which type of AB required. I tried informing them, instead I got told off.

Oh ya, I even doubled checked whois data if the website is even managed, yes, HSA and Singapore Redcross is involved. I guess Zhang Zhen Huan isn't a donor himself.

Also, the viral post on Facebook wasn't even informative enough, it has caused confusion among people.

Ok, let's get it right this time, there are 2 bloodbanks in Singapore.

Also there are constantly blood mobiles around Singapore for your convenience, check donorweb.org for schedules around Singapore.

Bloodbank@HSA
Blood Services Group
Health Sciences Authority (opposite Outram Park MRT Station)
11 Outram Road
Singapore 169078

Bloodbank@Woodlands
900 SOUTH WOODLANDS DRIVE
#05-07 WOODLANDS CIVIC CENTRE (opposite Causeway Point)
Singapore 730900

Ok, let's get to the point.

Registered blood donors, like me, will get notified if there is a need for our blood urgently via SMS from the Singapore Red Cross, we will only receive it once our blood cycle is up.

Occasionally, blood donors do get rejected for various reasons such as,

Blood iron levels dangerously high
Blood iron levels dangerously low
Blood pressure not good
You've just recovered from a fever

or, you might get rejected simply because there is too much of your blood type in stock.

There are currently 2 types of blood donation that I know of in Singapore

Whole Blood - consisting of whatever is in your blood, platelets, red blood cells. You may only donate once every cycle, which is 12weeks.
Platelets(Apheresis) - Extraction of platelets from your blood, you may donate up to 12times a year.

Because platelets only have a shelf life of up to a week, blood/platelets donated must be used within the period, hence, any sudden number of donors showing up is unnecessary.

If you create something viral to get people to donate blood, you know what? You are being very irresponsible. What if hundreds/thousands of first-time donors were to show up just because of this article, do you think it's good for anyone working in the medical field? Good for any patients? People might even avoid blood donation forever if they get rejected, especially for the reason of "having too much of this blood type stock".

The facebook post didn't even mentioned which hospital the actor is at, which ward or bed, and most importantly, the exact blood type. But that's not important.

Most importantly, don't abuse us blood donors, do you think it's easy for us? The big needles and the need to keep our blood and body healthy, particularly blood iron levels. And note, don't be selfish, not just Chen Wencong needs blood ok.

Blood donation can be a fun process, Read my previous blog post here, do also read more about blood donation here on HSA's website, be sure to double check blood stock levels before you head down!

Anyways 2months ago I've completed my 5/6th cycle, I've lost track, but I did claim my medal!

*UPDATE* Sunday 30th october 1:59pm

Almost forgot about something, since Ex-actor Chen Wencong is having leukemia now, what he needs most now is a bone marrow donation, do register with BMDP(Bone Marrow Donor Programme) if you are interested in donating your bone marrow!

Guinness Live 2011 - Schedule and song preview.

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:41:00 +0000

If you don't know yet, I've actually got into the top 12 list of singers for Guinness Live, read more here

I've never really learned mandarin, cantonese or hokkien dialects before, or rather, I gave up on them, here's a preview of two of the songs I'll be singing in the coming months for Guinness Live, some words are enunciated wrongly so please bear with me!

Peng You - 朋友。

Really Hurt - 我真的受伤了。

I will be performing on the following dates for this month from 10pm to 11pm.

2nd November 2011 - at Dragonfly
17th November 2011 - at Firefly
30th November 2011 - at Dragonfly

And don't forget to check out www.guinnesslive.sg for more updates soon!
signing out, TEAM DRAGONFLY!

Another Drowning case....

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:49:00 +0000

One early morning when I woke up to clean my aquarium before school I spotted something unusual.

A LIZARD DROWNED IN MY FISH TANK?!

Thank goodness it isn't a person trying to drown in my aquarium, lately reservoir drowning cases on the rise!

Guinness Live 2011 - Local talents auditioning

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 05:37:00 +0000

Guinness Live
Mentoring the Next Generation of Local Music Talent
Singapore, 19 October 2011 – In support of the local live music scene, Guinness is staging a fresh music program - Guinness Live - which brings together industry veterans and young aspirants. Twelve amazing young performers under the mentorship of music veterans will battle it out through a series of 54 live shows held in three of Singapore’s hottest clubs - Dragonfly, Firefly and Shanghai Dolly.

‘Guinness Live’ will kick off on 1 November 2011 and run till 1 March 2012, every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night at 10.00 pm at Shanghai Dolly, Dragonfly & Firefly respectively. These 12 singers will be divided into three teams, with each team assigned their respective “home club” and mentor - William Scorpion from Shanghai Dolly, Jason Chung from Dragonfly and Fatt Zhai from Firefly.

The highlight of each show features a musical battle where a visiting mentor and the contestant under his tutelage visits a contesting club to challenge the resident team to a stage battle called a Player-Killer Shootout (PK Shootout). With the help of renowned composer and producer Eric Ng, 20 Chinese classics have been turned into special ‘Guinness Live’ remixes for the contestants to perform during the PK Shootout at the three clubs.

“Singapore has talented performers. ‘Guinness Live’ gives young musicians unprecedented access to industry veterans who have worked with international artistes. The four month long competition will help them hone their stage performance and learn the music business from experienced professionals. This is the type of break every young singer needs to pursue a career in the music industry,” said Eric Ng, Producer & Founder, Funkie Monkies.

Deciding the fate of the 12 contestants will be the music fans. Fans online can cast their votes on ‘Guinness Live’ Facebook Fan page. Every week one lucky voter will win an exclusive ‘Guinness Live’ St James membership card.

The stakes are high for all twelve participants. At the end of the program, only one team will rise from the lights and applause to emerge as winners. After 54 weeks of gruelling grooming and close mentorship, the winners will be cutting a brand new single written and produced by Eric Ng and Xiao Han. To help realize the aspirants’ dream, Guinness will be putting the winners up on stage on 17 March 2012 together with an international act.

“Guinness has always been committed to supporting live music and young musicians in Singapore, and Guinness Live! will serve to be an innovative platform to give music lovers and local singers the unique experience and opportunity to realize their dreams. In collaboration with our partners St. James and the Funky Munkies, this contest is injecting new energy into the live music scene and will give everyone a chance to play an active role in honing the next generation of local stars,” said Wong Mei Wai, Head of Marketing, Asia Pacific Breweries Singapore.

With their skills polished from 54 weeks of live stage training, exposure to backend studio recording and the experience of performing with an International artiste, the winners will be offered an option of becoming a regular guest performer with William Scorpion on stage to perform for audiences that adore live music performances.

“We are very pleased that Guinness has chosen St James Holdings as its venue partner for the event,” said Dennis Foo, CEO & Executive Director, St James Holdings Limited. “For up and coming artistes, there is nothing better than performing in front of a live audience. St James has a strong customer base for our clubs which will help boost the careers of our local talents and allow them to grow their fan base,” Mr. Foo said.

The twelve participants range from 18 to 30 years of age with diverse music experience. Amongst them we have a student, a former gym instructor, a lawyer, an online singer / songwriter and a wedding singer to name a few – all looking for that first big break.
More information about ‘Guinness Live’ events can be found at www.guinnesslive.sg

While I was engaged to blog about Guinness Live's auditions, already a couple of dozens of had already people showed up.

Some waited....and waited.....even one didn't let his injured arm stop him from singing.

The intensity of waiting, crowding around.

Signing the release forms.

Cheerful guy registering for the auditions.

Oh yeah....while the auditions were pretty draggy at some parts, I was just taking a rest outside and started singing away......come on, I couldn't resist the urge.....

And guess what, I got forced to join the auditions!

Here's what the press release says about me.

Goh Yong Wei 吴勇威 (Age 19)

The ultimate dark horse! Yong Wei still doesn’t know how he ended up as a finalist in Guinness Live He was supposed to be covering the audition for his blog. When Guinness Live’s music director Eric Ng heard him singing in the waiting room, he insisted he audition. To everyone’s surprise – including Yong Wei’s - he blew the judges away. One of the most “outspoken” bloggers in Singapore, Yong Wei is a completely unknown quantity who has never even thought of becoming a professional performer. He has the voice, but can he deliver in front of a real audience? Well, we are about to find out if this musical outsider is up to the challenge at Guinness Live

Ok.....now that I'm in, I'll be mentored by Jason, maybe he will be my personal trainer in fitness as well?

Well, I'm pretty glad I've got in, but that would mean more stressful "work" in remembering lyrics, which is a pretty darn hard thing to do. I will be performing at Saint James Dragonfly for the coming months, and I'll let you all know more details!

Meanwhile, back to the audition room, here's some of the contestants who are pretty....."outstanding", I must say, these are probably some of the no-nos while singing.

Posture: look confident, stand up straight, do not slouch.

You might not have noticed, but your nervousness while singing in an audition has caused you to constantly brush your own hair.

Invisible clothes hanging.

Holding invisible watermelons, this is an audition, try to move around more, be, flexible ;)

Most of the times, these behaviors would probably had the judges go.....

but if you have a good posture, confidence, especially if you're moving around while singing(plus point)

you could make the judges go.. " Hmmmmmmmmm, maybe, maybe can" at least.

But yeah, the 12 of us, made it through, including the guy with the injured arm!

Willis Loye Hwee Hoong 黎辉丰 (Age 28)

Gonna blog more about Guinness Live soon! Watch out for it on my blog!

The Thing 2011 movie review

noreply@blogger.com (YongWei) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:02:00 +0000

Movie invite courtesy of Omy.sg and United International Pictures

I actually thought The Thing 2011, was a remake of John Carpenter's 1982 The Thing, The Thing 2011 actually misled me to think that it's a remake, they could had done something better with the title, at least movie-goers won't "try to avoid" thinking it's completely the same as 1982's The Thing. It turned out to be a prelude, which was pretty awesome.

I'm still wondering why didn't John Carpenter did the prelude of The Thing 1982, instead it was directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

And why in the world would it take almost 3 decades to film a prelude of one of the world's best sci-fi films of all time?

But nonetheless, I'm not disappointed with the plot, about aliens which can transform into humans in the arctics, If you're a movie fan like I am, I do hope you notice something from the trailer above, but it's always the black guy who dies first or gets scared shitless first.

The black guy(in almost every movie)....

is always the first to die or get scared shitless.....

I did notice some continuity errors in the film, in the same scene, where the black guy(above) is first to die/gets scared, there were no windows.

In the 1982's prelude of 2011's The Thing, there were windows, lots of em, small and big. And the size of the wood planks are different. Come on, if you want to make a prelude of a film well-loved by many sci-fi fans, please re-construct the actual scenes, we're not stupid, don't mind the wooden planks, but the windows?

Personally, I think the director wasn't serious about making the prelude, even the husky from 1982 and 2011's The Thing looks totally different, did the director even bothered finding a husky that would look similar? I don't think so.

2011 Husky from The Thing.

1982's The Thing husky.

But overall, the prelude is pretty well made, and well plotted, with deeper sense of knowledge about the alien as well as scary looking morphing aliens and sound effects, I was scared like a little girl in the theaters.

On the side, the aliens from The Thing, both from 1982's and 2011, does remind me of another movie that seems to be related, Dead Space : Downfall.

Considering that the aliens designed are pretty similar, maybe it's all linked? Perhaps another prelude of this prelude? Alien-ception?

Good news if you're considering to watch The Thing 2011, someone's uploaded the entire copy of The Thing 1982 to Youtube, which is the sequel, Click here to watch, if you like it, be sure to catch the prequel, which is out in theaters now.