TODAYonline News Alert (Supplementary)

Media, Fas Must Rouse Support

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:44:47 +0800

Today does well by devoting pages to Singapore soccer Greater publicity,
cheaper tickets would have helped

Letter from NG WEE FOONG
Letter from JIM SIM

I REFER to "Brave Lions, Kudos to 6,606 fans, Shame on you Singapore" (Nov
10-11) and wish to raise two issues about the lack of fan interest in the
Singapore-Tajikistan match.

First, the lack of media coverage. How could fans have turned up to
support the Lions when there were only few reports before the match in the
major newspapers? I found most of the pages of the main dailies here
filled with reports about English Premiership League matches.

Shouldn't the media be plugging our own national team? Where were the
match analyses as part of a countdown to the match? What I saw was just a
small section in the corner of a page announcing the venue, date, time and
ticket prices for the match.

Gone are the Malaysia Cup days when fans filled the stadium to the brim
because they were bombarded with lots of information every day from
different sources - television, newspapers and the grapevine. For the
newspapers to devote just a small space to the Singapore-Tajikistan match
is not good enough to attract the masses.

Today has done a good job dedicating one to two pages on the local soccer
scene every day, but the same cannot be said for the rest of the
newspapers.

The second reason for the poor turnout was the price of the ticket. In the
past, the price of an adult gallery ticket at the National Stadium was $6
and $1 for students. But as the Singapore-Tajikistan tickets were priced
at $10 (adult) and $3 (students), it is not surprising that many decided
to give the match a miss. Granted it was a World Cup qualifier, but with
no disrespect to Tajikistan, the country is relatively unknown to most
soccer fans here.

Did it not occur to the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) and the
media that they could be part of the problem for the meagre fan turnout?
There wasn't enough publicity and coverage of the Lions' preparations in
the run-up to the match. The FAS should not have raised the price of
tickets for the match.

The TV stations didn't even bother with a delayed telecast. Bend It Like
Beckham was shown during the usual time slot on TV for live S-League
matches. Isn't a World Cup qualifier involving the national team worthy of
greater spectator interest than a comedy?

In neighbouring countries like Indonesia and Thailand, almost every match
involving their national teams is telecast live, whether they are playing
at home or away. If local TV stations can't get the sponsorship for live
telecasts, the least they could do is provide daily news coverage of the
national team's preparations to raise public awareness.

There was also no live commentary on radio. One of the reasons why the
Malaysia Cup days were so successful was because of the publicity
generated by the mass media, turning non-believers into believers of the
game.

Perfect Job For The Queen Of Clubs

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:44:46 +0800

What comes to mind when you are told that the president and CEO of Club
Med Asia Pacific is a woman?

Words like "glamorous", "40s", "upswept hairdo", "elegant pearls" and
"power suit", probably.

But Caroline Puechoultres is the antithesis of that image.

A ball of youthful energy, she took up the position last year and is
determined to "accelerate Club Med's growth in the Asia Pacific by
reinforcing marketing and commercial strategies in the region". Fluent in
French, English, Spanish and German, Ms Puechoultres kicked off her
career in marketing with Proctor and Gamble, before moving on to companies
including French TV Group M6 and Disney Television France.

She joined Club Med in 2003, and today, hopes to enrich guests' Club Med
experience with an all-inclusive luxury resort - the group's first
5-trident village in La Plantation d'Albion, Mauritius.

Under a gazebo next to the resort's Zen pool, Ms Puechoultres chats with
Justin Cheong, (justin@mediacorp.com.sg) who half-expected the spunky
(and very tanned) Frenchwoman to jump on a jet ski and zip off
mid-conversation.

You're so young and spirited! Was that a prerequisite when they were
looking for a CEO to run Club Med Asia Pacific?

I'm 38 and people always ask: "Why such a young lady in such an important
position?"

Well, Club Med is a wonderful arena to develop young talent - that has
been the spirit of the company since the beginning.

You have to be generous and give a lot. You have to dedicate a lot of your
energy and time, be very well organised and extremely passionate.

If you believe in what you're doing and you're joyful everyday when you
get up to go to work, you can make it. If you don't give your time, you
can't do it.

You run holiday resorts. Do you even need to take a vacation?

In France, we say: "When you work in the shoe industry, you are the one
with the poorest shoes in the world."

Similarly, when you work in a holiday resort, you are the one who rarely
takes a holiday. This is why I'm trained to take breaks at Club Med
resorts. It's another way to see things when I'm the guest. It triggers
consumer insights that I don't have when I'm working or making
professional visits.

But, of course, I also take holidays outside of Club Med.

What's your idea of a holiday?

It's a combination of discovery and relaxation. When I'm home in France, I
have my boyfriend over or friends and family.

After travelling a lot, I just want to relax and stay in one place.

When I'm working, I don't take enough time to discover the place I'm in
and learn more about its culture. Discovery is very important. I try to
take short vacations, which include one week of discovery and another week
of rest and doing absolutely nothing.

After so many decades, how relevant is Club Med in the rapidly-changing
face of travel?

Club Med is not just a family thing anymore. The new 5-trident resort
corresponds to the evolution of the clientele's needs.

Our customers are not only seeking quality, they also want to discover new
cultures and meet new people.

They want an internal sign of wealth, an experience of immaterial
benefits - something we call "new luxury".

The idea is to reinvent the world of luxury and make it a very warm, human
and emotional experience.

This goes back to the roots of Club Med in the '50s, when its original
clients were very, very wealthy customers.

Would you consider having a Club Med in Singapore?

Ah, alors! Singapore has a lot of advantages. For me, it's a wonderful
place - it's my 5-star hotel.

However, Club Med has been very nature-driven since the beginning.

Our southern islands are quite, well, natural.

I really wouldn't say "no". Singapore is a great location and there are
direct flights here. Club Med won't close the door on anything.

You hop from one resort to another to give presentations and manage them.
After that, you party with the guests all night. Where do you get all that
stamina?

Oh, I love sports. I have always wanted to be a sports teacher, up to the
point before I entered business school.

I run, swim, do judo. I did modern dance for seven years and took part in
competitions for table tennis and volleyball. I love to play.

This job is perfect for me. I love competition and I like going beyond set
objectives. My name, Puechoultres, means "going beyond the hill". So, yes,
I love the challenge of new frontiers.

Speaking of which, what is the most challenging aspect of your job?

The geographical aspect of it, is definitely most challenging.

It's very difficult to organise yourself when you have to travel so often.
It can get very frustrating.

When you're the CEO of Club Med Asia Pacific, you have to be prepared to
spend a lot of time in transportation.

I think I'll marry a plane one day - it would be so much easier!

That '80s Show

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:44:45 +0800

"The '80s were a shameless past - you should never be ashamed of it," said
actress Sharon Wong.

The 31-year-old - who has appeared in movies such as I Not Stupid, The
Best Bet and Just Follow Law - plays Anita Goh, the glam-seeking wannabe
in the new family sitcom, 80s Rewind, which premiered last Tuesday.

Set in the 1980s, it revolves around the Goh family. Other than Anita,
there is her hardworking-but-henpecked brother Larry (Gurmit Singh), his
socio-conscientious wife Susan (Sue Tan, Growing Up), rambunctious teen
son Johnny (David Aw, Men In White), goody-goody son Andy (Coeway Thng,
Kids Central's Whizzes Of The Void Deck), and granny (TV veteran Lim Ru
Ping).

The first episode had the boys trying to buy Return Of The Jedi tickets,
while Larry had to deal with Tree Planting Day. Other 1980s references to
come include the Speak Mandarin campaign and the Cantonese drama craze. In
tonight's episode, Anita makes a mess of The POSB Show and the boys try to
watch a "blue film" on VHS.

For Sharon, playing someone from the 1980s wasn't difficult. "I remember
things like tree-planting and the courtesy campaign," she said. "And the
fashion - loud colours, and hair accessories ... they were a must!"

80s Rewind looks set to trump previous family sitcoms like Under One Roof
or Phua Chu Kang - the characters are more believable, it doesn't talk
down to the audience, the situations are familiar, and there is less
reliance on pratfalls to get laughs.

"I think that's what the audience wants," said the actress. "When I get
home after a hard day, I want to see something happy ... not so dramatic,
not so cheem (complex), not so sad." - Christopher Toh

Catch 80s Rewind every Tuesday at 8.30pm on MediaCorp TV Channel 5.

Keys

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:44:44 +0800

Alicia Keys wants to take over the world. Today finds out how in Hong
Kong

These are exciting times for Alicia Keys. For one thing, her new album, As
I Am, hits the streets today.

Collaborating once again with producer Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, it is her
first studio album in seven years, and contains 14 songs that are very
familiar but inventive (read: they won't alienate old fans, and are fresh
enough to attract new ones).

The bouncy lead single, No One, topped the Billboard R&B charts when it
was released, and scored Top 10 finishes in the UK and across Europe. The
sensual second single, Like You'll Never See Me Again, looks to be another
big hit for her.

"Overall, I think the songs are better than ever before," Keys said in a
chat with international press. "I think you can see, hear and feel that
the music has grown. I've learnt how to put sounds together and create a
grander sound in a way that feels really complete."

On what's arguably her most personal record to date, As I Am deals with
life's rich pageant and explores the topic of love - of self and
significant others.

"Nice try, but I'm not confirming anything," she said with a laugh when
asked about exactly who that significant other is. Keys is rumoured to be
dating her producer "Krucial", whom she has known since her teens.

Right from the moment you hit "play", the album takes you on an emotional
musical rollercoaster. Sure Looks Good To Me, for example, starts as a
simple ballad, but builds into a blastin' rockin' tune. Elsewhere, Lesson
Learned slides with a smooth soul groove, and Where Do We Go From Here is
all Smokey Robinson neo-soul.

Then, there are songs like Superwoman, which regale in the strength of
love and the human spirit.

"It's one of my favourite songs. People think it's about having to be a
superwoman, but it's about how, when you're feeling your lowest, you're
still incredible and it's okay," she explained.

As I Am also features alliances with singer-songwriter Linda Perry who
co-wrote Superwoman, Sure Looks Good To Me and The Thing About Love), and
John Mayer, who co-wrote and performs on Lesson Learned.

"I wanted to do things that are not the norm, that were a little bit
special. Working with Linda Perry was one such surprise because we came
from two different walks of life but we came together so well," said the
27-year-old singer.

"As for John Mayer, working with him was a great experience ... he is
really talented and very easy to work with."

The album, according to Keys, celebrates a rebirth of sorts, and is a
fresh start from the "craziness in my life".

Although she had huge hits with her albums Songs In A Minor (2001), The
Diary Of Alicia Keys (2003) and Unplugged (2005), the Grammy-winner put
her career on hold to look after her ailing grandmother, who passed away
last year. Dealing with the loss, the singer decided to get away from it
all and bought a ticket to Egypt.

"I felt very confused, so I needed to go away to clear my head. I picked
Egypt because (that was) the first place that came to my head.

"Later on, I found that Egypt was the perfect place for me to go. I was
able to write, able to think, to be alone with my own thoughts. It was
very spiritual, and really inspired me in a way that I never would have
expected," she said.

It proved to be a turning point for the New Yorker.

"It made me feel that anything was possible. I came back feeling like a
new person. Not only have I given myself the gift of time, but I also gave
myself a lesson that I will never forget."

One of the things Keys said she discovered was how she viewed herself.

"I have changed. I started in this business pretty young and I was
constantly trying to figure out on how to balance it all and make it all
happen."

Fame, she realised, had made her "a closed person who was trying to
protect myself from just about everything".

"I was becoming disconnected with myself," she said.

"But now, I've discovered who I am, and I want to be as I am. Nothing is
going to get in the way of that."

For Keys, that means taking on the world. "There's so much more I want to
do, but the things I choose are the things that I love and believe in,"
she said. "I'll do what's possible and whatever I can."

Such as?

"I want to bring forth new artistes. I want to produce and write for
other musicians that I respect and admire. I want to produce television
series and films, put together stories that are not often told before. I
want to write for theatre. I want to own networks!

"I'm dying work with Prince. Really, really want to do that. And Lauren
Hill. And The White Stripes - I think that would be really crazy, funky
and fresh!"

Like we said, exciting times, indeed.

Blood, Sweat And Sugar

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:44:43 +0800

Exercise keeps obesity-linked diabetes in check

Joanne Yap
joanne@mediacorp.com.sg

One in 10 Singaporeans suffer from diabetes mellitus, according to the
2004 National Health Survey. But the condition, which is linked to
obesity, can be easily kept under control with exercise, two studies have
shown.

The first is a Canadian study involving 250 diabetic adults who had an
average BMI of 35, which is considered obese. They were separated into
four groups - group A was assigned no exercise, group B aerobic exercise,
group C weight training, and group D both aerobics and weight training.

Participants worked out three times a week for five months, after which
their blood sugar levels were assessed and compared.

The results: The three groups that were prescribed exercise showed an
improvement in their blood sugar levels, with the biggest improvement in
group D. Group A showed no visible improvement.

The second study, which was conducted by Ms Cindy Ng, a senior
physiotherapist from Singapore General Hospital and two endocrinologists
in 2003, involved about 50 subjects.

The participants had an average blood glucose level of between 8 and 10
per cent, above the ideal level of 6 per cent for diabetics. They were
separated into two groups, one assigned weight training exercises and the
other aerobics, for one-hour sessions three times a week for six weeks.

"We found that both groups reported an improvement in their blood glucose
levels. Patients also reported a blood glucose reading of less than 6 per
cent at a blood test taken after the study," said Ms Ng.

According to her, exercises like aerobics and weight training target one's
muscles, making them more sensitive to insulin, which helps absorb
glucose from the blood stream.

Ms Ng explained: "Diabetic patients usually have excess glucose in their
body. Exercise increases the sensitivity of insulin to pick up glucose
from the blood stream, thus bringing blood glucose levels down.

"It's important that patients be committed to exercising as it helps to
prevent complications in the future. A diabetic condition that is not kept
under control may also affect the eyes, kidneys and heart."

However, not all diabetics are suited for exercise. Patients with overly
high blood sugar level, for example, would have to lower it first with
medication before stepping on the treadmill.

High blood sugar levels render the body unable to utilise glucose in the
blood stream, so it breaks down fat instead of sugar for energy. When this
happens, acid is secreted into the blood stream.

"The acid upsets the Ph balance of the body and too much of it can cause a
coma or even death. So, it's best that patients seek a doctor's opinion
before starting on any form of exercise," said Ms Ng.

The Most Crippling Of Them All

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 06:44:42 +0800

It looks like a laid back sport, until the lower back gives out

Not long after an underwhelming showing by the British contingent at the
Wimbledon tennis championships in July, the British Journal of Sports
Medicine published the results of a study that suggested to beleaguered
English tennis fans that things are only going to get worse.

In the study, researchers from the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital
scanned the spines of 33 elite adolescent tennis players. None of them had
reported back pain. But their backs, it turned out, were a mess - they had
backs 60 years older than they were.

But as many of us know from debilitating first-hand experience, back
problems don't afflict just teenage tennis players. According to various
studies, at least a third of all competitive football players will hurt
their lower backs during play, as will a third of gymnasts and 25 per cent
of serious rowers. About 40 per cent of divers will develop a spinal
stress fracture, and many cyclists will experience constant, grinding back
pain while riding. The harshest sport, however, seems to be golf.

Ninety per cent of injuries to professional golfers involve the lower back
and the neck, and almost 80 per cent of professionals will miss at least
one tournament because of back pain.

If you're a runner, do a backbend of thanksgiving: Runners statistically
have a lower risk than most athletes of developing back problems. But for
everyone else, the news is ... painful.

Many lower back problems are caused by the very athleticism that modern
sports demand. Consider the forces applied to the lower back during
certain activities: The torque created by a proper golf swing can produce
almost 770kg of pressure on the lower spine. Rowers can put about 590kg of
pressure on their backs at the catch of their stroke. And the "peak
compressive load" created by a football lineman slamming into his opponent
can be close to 900kg.

Having a strong back, you will be happy to hear, means not doing sit-ups.
Ever. "Sit-ups are not healthy for the back," said Mr Michael Higgins,
the director of athletic-training education at Towson University in
Maryland and the author of several academic articles about back injuries
in athletes."They can severely compress the lumbar spine."

Abdominal crunches, on the other hand, in which you raise your head and
trunk slightly from the ground without pulling yourself upright, improve
back health significantly. "Crunches build core endurance and strength
without stressing the spine," he added.

If your back aches for more than a few weeks, or if the pain is acute or
radiating, visit a doctor. "Most back injuries will clear up on their own
within six to eight weeks, if you rest adequately," Mr Vijay Vad, a sports
medicine specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City
said. "Surgery is very rarely necessary, maybe in 3 to 5 per cent of
cases." - nyT