Feedback on the Khatib Bongsu Park Connector

Over the weekend, a few of my friends were discussing about Singapore's National Cycling Plan via email. One of our friends offered to collate our ideas and suggestions to relay to the right government agency folks.

I love our Park Connectors. I ride on the Khatib Bongsu park connector most often (sometimes connecting all the way to Woodlands Waterfront, through the Admiralty connector). I've noticed minor improvements to the Khatib Bongsu connector in the last two years. There's still room for a better/ safer experience for cyclists and pedestrians.

There was a suggestion that I should blog about my suggestions. It's fresh off my mind anyway, since my wife and I just completed an early evening 16km ride today, to the end of Simpang Kiri.

Ideally I should include actual images of the parts I've described. But I didn't really plan to give a comprehensive list until after the ride. Hope the map screenshots, with the descriptions, would help.

Well, I'd love to show the URA or NParks people first hand. Like a Ride & Review session. Wouldn't mind taking my vacation time on a weekday to meet them (wouldn't want them to work on a weekend). Ride along the path, point out actual situations. Also I'd like to be educated on why things were designed in certain ways or perhaps the constraints they faced.

Feedback on the Khatib Bongsu Park Connector

1) From the junction at Yishun Ave 1 & Yishun Ave 2, there's a stretch of asphalt that seemed worn out. The painted speed stripes seemed particularly high. It appeared as if the asphalt on parts unpainted were badly eroded (I've seen newer paved bike paths and they are definitely smoother). Going over the stripes slowly, as designed, was extremely jarring. I suspect most cyclists will choose to ride on the smoother pedestrian path. Which defeated the purpose of having the cycling path.



2) Along Yishun Ave 2, there's a side road for traffic to enter the carpark of Blocks 788/ 785. It splits the cycling path, though that's not the issue. The problem is that the sloped gradient (for a smooth transition from the path to the road, and then back on the path again) was only made for the pedestrian path. The sloped edge is for wheelchairs to easily transfer from pedestrain path to road, to make the crossing. The cyclist has to make a 90-degree turn to get to that sloped edge. Once I cross the road with my bike it's another 90-degree turn to get back to the cycling path and its a narrow turn. I consider myself quite OK on a bike but I don't feel confident making such a tight turn all the time. Cyclists don't want to get off and push the bike (be realistic!) so I noticed most cyclists go on the pedestrian path, which is more direct.



3) There's also more examples of 90-degree tight turns along Block 602. Then at the end of it (see the part marked 3.2) it's a dead-end for the bike path. You actually have to go on the pedestrian path to make the crossing to the PCN on Mandai. I find that part poorly-designed and inconvenient. I end up cycling on the pedestrian path leading to the traffic lights.



4.1) At the stretch after the canal bridge (from Block 323) to the SAFRA Clubhouse: When the path was first constructed, I remember the asphalt part was designated as the bike path. But one day, the asphalt path became re-designated as a footpath while the concrete path (with iron grills for rain runoff) became a bike path. Pedestrians and cyclists get confused. Plus, the iron grills are not ideal when riding conditions are wet.

4.2) According to the map, it looks like a continuous PCN. But in reality, that stretch is a pedestrian footpath. Not a problem sharing the path, though it is rather narrow.



5) At Yishun MRT station, the hedges have gown quite tall (near the NTUC part). Pedestrian paths intersect the bike path and the hedges tend to prevent both pedestrians and cyclists from being able to spot each other far away. I try to ring my bell but not all the time. BTW, the same limited visibility issue affects some points along the Khatib-Yishun-Sembawang MRT tracks, where the cycling paths intersect with bus-stops/ overhead bridges pathways. Instead of plantings, the concrete columns are the ones preventing a clear view of oncoming pedestrians/ cyclists.



6) Outside Yishun Emerald Green condo, ideally the bike path and pedestrian paths should be switched. I've seen condo residents coming out the gates and naturally walking on the asphalt path, with is more immediate than the concrete footpath. My point is the bike path should be made further away from the gates, not the nearest.



7) The stretch along the Canberra Sembawang PCN: the asphalt seems badly eroded. Ride is very bumpy. Cyclists often avoid it and go on the pedestrian path instead.



8) On some park connectors (like Simpang Kiri), the bicycle symbol has been painted on the left and footsteps painted on the right. I've noticed cyclists, runners and pedestrians naturally ride/ run/ walk on the left side when heading towards the same direction. And it's usually the left side. If I were to cycle back the opposite direction AND adhered to the designated cycling side, it means I'd be cycling on the right side now, going in the forward direction (or the left side to the opposite cyclist/ runner/ pedestrian). If another cyclist were to head towards me, we're headed towards each other on the same side. It's currently not clear who has right of way -- should I go left or the other move to their left? A game of 'who brakes/ moves first'. In the end, I find that most cyclists/ runners/ pedestrians ignore the marked designated paths and naturally adopt a "keep left" position. In my view, just sticking to a "keep left" principle for everyone would be clearer. Paint a "Kept Left" on the asphalt.



Alright. Finally managed to 'dump' all the observations that I think can be resolved in the near term. It's not exhaustive of course. Maybe there are budgetary or infrastructural reasons that prevent more significant improvements to be made. In any case, I hope the feedback would be of use to the authorities (NParks? URA? LTA?)

Would be great if there was a dedicated Singapore Government website on the National Cycling Plan. For now, one can refer to the 2012 Budget website (near the end of the page). Or see this post of Mr Lui Tuck Yew's (Minister for Transport) parliament speech on 7 Mar 2012, where he mentioned the National Cycling Plan and Cycling Paths.





I'm glad to see that cycling was once again part of the Budget in 2013.


I've written about how I appreciate our Park Connector Network. If there was one on the National Cycling Plan, I'd love to be part of it.


ASIDE: I can now better appreciate the usefulness of having a National Conversation framework. Previously I've not been that enthusiastic about any of the National Conversation topics. But thinking about the National Cycling Plan, I'd like to listen to the official views, their thinking behind the plans, and also be able to constructively provide feedback and ideas.

(Thanks to Siva for the idea to blog my suggestions, and for reposting at the Cycling In Singapore) blog.

Part 1 - Tripping on Two Wheels: Pengarang to Desaru, and Back Again: Cycling Adventure 29 - 30 Mar 2013

Total time on the bicycle: 10 hours, thereabouts.

Total distance covered: about 112km over 2 days (51km each way).

Total energy burned: pretty sure it's 1,800 calories at least (extrapolating from my own 40 km rides in Singapore).

Total energy consumed: Won't be surprised if it's more than what I burned, so I don't really want to know.


[Image credit: Kenneth Pinto, CC-BY-NC)

My first post for 2013 would be a post about my first real ride for the year. Quite apt.

This post is a recap of the 1.5 day ride.

The "Good Friday" some two weeks ago was literally great for me, as 10 of us embarked on a day-and-a-half, Out-of-Singapore cycling adventure. From Tanjung Pengelih to this resort in Desaru, and back.

We were a motley mix comprising of 20 year-olds to mid-40s, on Foldies and mountain bikes.

The day's adventure started at Changi Village. The jetty was packed, given it was a holiday. While we waited for our turn to get a boat and to clear customs, Kevin's super-sized Pugsley earned easy conversations from strangers. He's the original Aunty-Killer. "Got motor or not?" must be the most frequently asked question about his Fatbike.

[Image credit: sivasothi, CC-BY-NC-SA]

When my friends first planned for the trip, I thought Pengarang sounded familiar. Then I remembered it was in the news in late 2011 over the Malaysian government's plans to build petrochemical projects there.

On our way to Tanjung Pengelih, we saw Singapore's attempt to create more land. Our bumboat chugged past silent monster rigs, some in the process of turning sea into land. We passed stretches of massive sand banks on both sides, stable enough to support several heavy vehicles on them.


[image credit: Kevin Lim, CC-BY-NC-SA]


[image credit: Kevin Lim, CC-BY-NC-SA]


[image credit: Kenneth Pinto, CC-BY-NC]


When we reached Tanjung Pengelih, things felt slower and more idyllic. Probably the absence of human traffic at the jetty. We were the only ones clearing customs.

As we geared up to start our ride, Dinesh provided timely advice on general safety. He also prepared a set of walkie-talkies for the lead rider (him) and last Outrider (Kevin). I was quietly impressed. Talk about being professional.

Being a naturally cautious (i.e. overly pessimistic) person, I kinda surprised myself by feeling rather calm when we set off. I'm chicken-crap when it comes to new places. But this group had plenty of experienced and steady riders. Plus, I trusted my bike and that helped a lot. I'd stopped cycling for about three months, and only put in maybe 5 km worth of riding time a few days before the trip. It was enough to assure me of the ride-worthiness of my foldable bike though. Would have wanted to put in more kilometres for physical fitness (but maybe that turned out to be a blessing -- more of this in Part 2).

We rode through quiet paths with uncut grass waving on either sides; past houses at one stretch, and then hitting open roads with relatively few cars.


[image credit: Kevin Lim, CC-BY-NC-SA]


[image credit: Kevin Lim, CC-BY-NC-SA]


[image credit: sivasothi, CC-BY-NC-SA]


[image credit: Kevin Lim, CC-BY-NC-SA]


[image credit: Kevin Lim, CC-BY-NC-SA]


There's a certain zen when one rides under one's own power: hearing the hum and whirs of the bicycle, our own breathing, the wind in our faces.

This was a leisurely ride. The 20-somethings in our group had the benefit of youth. They easily kept up on their bikes. Actually the second (maybe third) oldest guy in our group used to run triathlons.

The Pengarang highways, perhaps being such long stretches, had the inevitable potholes. A few of us had bottles pop out of their bottle cages when they went through deeper potholes.

I had trepidations taking my foldie over a path with sharp chunky gravel. It was one of those "mind-over-matter" moments: tell yourself you might lose balance and you would. I had split microseconds of doubts when traversing the rough patch, but told myself to keep focused and stay balanced. And I did.

The sharp gravel probably got my front tire wall torn (see Part 3). But no puncture.

Riding in Pengarang was vastly different from cycling on Singapore's PCNs. The lack of urban noises created a different experience. In Singapore, there is no escaping the signs of urban constructs -- pedestrian paths, roads, traffic lights, street lamps. But that's just a fact. I suppose if one craved for open spaces, then a place like Pengarang would be superior to the cityscape of Singapore.

As we rode through kampungs (do they refer to their collective homes as kampungs in Pengarang?) the kids seem to be quicker to say Hello, and the adults more generous with their smiles.

Well, we didn't meet that many kids or adults, to be fair. But I've to say the drivers we passed by in Pengarang tended to wait for you to ride past before they made that turn. I sped up to make sure I didn't waste their time, but I didn't feel panicky. It was nice to wave them an acknowledgement, and seeing them wave back in return. Cars went fast on the highways, but most provided a wide berth between their cars and us.

Fact of life, I suppose: having ample space tend to create an air of generosity. It's the place that affect the vibes. Now THAT, I am envious -- of the vast land that Malaysians have.

Speaking of vibes, Siva blogged that he found it depressing in seeing large tracts of land cleared for timber, and basically left bare with no plans for development.


[Image credit: Kevin Lim (CC-BY-NC-SA]

Siva observed that traffic conditions will change and will affect some of the village detours. Meaning, the rides may become less idyllic and there will be an increase in traffic.


[Image credit: Kevin Lim (CC-BY-NC-SA]

Ah, meals.

The favourable currency exchange rates for Singapore dollar meant we ate like 'royalty' there.

Lunch, on both days, was in the town centre called Pulai Sungei Ringgit ("money town"?).


[Image credit: Kevin Lim (CC-BY-NC-SA]

They still have old-style hawker carts plying the town, like this beancurd seller who came by on our return leg. But her product has been modernised. She offered Hong Kong-styled beancurd pudding rather than the traditional type (much to the disappointment of one young rider in our group):

[Image credit: Kevin Lim (CC-BY-NC-SA]


The entire trip was largely problem-free. Maybe Kenneth (who opted for his Foldie rather than a MTB for this trip) would disagree. His foldie had a flat on day-one. But I thought the flat was resolved rather easily and in relative comfort. Understandably, he was frustrated with getting a puncture (seemed every ride to Pengarang he would get a flat). Still, the flat was discovered just as we set off after lunch. It would have been worse if the flat happened on an open road.

And then Kenneth discovered his spare inner tube had an inherent flat! I was glad I could help by giving one of my spare (the advantage of having similar sized tires, woo-hoo). Kevin even found a bicycle shop that sold tubes a few metres down the coffeeshop. Good to note for future rides.

Kenneth managed to fix the problem in the shade at a kopi tiam. The iced coffee was pretty good too.


[Image credit: Kevin Lim (CC-BY-NC-SA]

Several Firsts for me in this trip:

• Bringing my own bicycle on a boat
• Travelling out of Singapore with it
• Visiting Pengarang and Desaru

My last visit to Malaysia was about 10 years ago. It was quite telling because on Day 2, when I passed a Five Ringgit note to a shopkeeper, he didn't accept the note instantly. He looked at me and said, "Ringgit". I thought I'd brought Indonesia Rupiah by mistake. But no, the note said Ringgit and I pointed that out to him. The guy did a double take, as if he'd never seen the note before. Maybe he hadn't. The note has been out of circulation for years, I was later told.

The pace the group set was comfortable. Properly prepared (e.g. individual strategies to stay hydrated; physical preparation before the trip) this was/ would have been an easy ride.

Distance-wise, each day's ride was about 10km longer than my Yishun-Woodlands Waterfront PCN rides. One big difference was the hills in the last 20 km to the resort. They weren't the Killer Slopes that I thought they would be. I've found the NTU slopes were a lot more challenging. But I suspect my relatively lack of cycling fitness, with the 3-litres of water on me, gave rise to an inflamed tendon near the knee (I'll blog about that in Part 2).

I had looked forward to this cycling trip with the ZenDogs. I wasn't disappointed, even with the sore tendons. Very glad I went. Next time, I shall have to sacrifice the welfare of my dog and get my wife to join me (if you're a dog owner with a namby-pamby dog, you'l know what I'm talking about).


[image credit: Kevin Lim, CC-BY-NC-SA]

Kevin's photoset | Kenneth's photoset | Siva's photoset


Part 1 - Tripping on Two Wheels
Part 2 - Physical Prep & Post-Mortem
Part 3 - Post-ride Bike Upgrades

Post-workshop notes: Creating Digital Music 101: GarageBand

[Sat, 10 Nov 2012]

Nine people turned up (there was a cap of 12; heard it rained heavily so maybe some opted to stay home?)

Nine was a nice number. I sensed the average age was around late 20s to early thirties. Heh, it's nice to know as an 'uncle' in my 40s, I'm teaching the young'uns something.

What the session covered:

• Hour 1: Getting to know GB; learning the basics
• Hour 2: Composing your own track/ Some ‘audio production’ tips
• Hour 3: Continue + Showcase

Demo of a track composed in GB.

Musical concepts - “Bars”, “patterns”, “Even counts”
Layering concept - like photoshop

Pair up - check with a “musical buddy for the day”

Opening a new GB project (file names, tempo)

The GB environment and controls
File menu, add tracks, LCD, Loops, Instruments
Shortcut Keys - Copy, Paste, Undo, Redo, Zoom in/ Out

Preferences panel

Using loops to create music - 20mins
Change tempo
Drag loops into workspace
Copy
Extend loops
Edit - Split/ cut/ copy
Layers

Instruments - 20mins
Experiment with different instruments
Musical Typing
Changing MIDI notes

Individual Track controls

Effects (“i” Edit)

Audio Production tweaks
Compressor
EQ

Export

Share

Before we started, I asked what were they wanted to take away from this session. Most had their Macs for a while but never quite learned how to use GarageBand.

About a third played some form of instruments. Most were piano players (interesting!)

Going round I saw everyone actively building their tracks.

What I tried not to do was overwhelm them by whacking all I knew from the past seven years and seven albums, since I picked up a Mac (woah, seven already?)

I let each participant copy a GarageBand sampler (composed the day earlier) and let them attempt a remix. The sampler (aptly titled TenElevenTwelve) sounds like this:


They didn't seem overwhelmed. Plenty of time to play around. Nice arranges tracks too; these folks have good musical timing.

Three hours was a good duration. Class size of ten was excellent; probably 20 would be fine with an assistant.

One tech problems: The rental MacBook didnt have the latest GarageBand version. Wasnt able to drag and drop loops. Luckily while the software update was in progress, one participant readily volunteered his Mac until the update was completed.

Planned for everything (extra power extensions, making sure we nailed down the screen resolution; a 'live' dry run with my colleagues before this public session) except that one. Must make mental note.

When I was mulling over the session on the train, I asked myself why I liked to share and teach.

On one hand, it means putting myself in the firing line, where participants have a range of expectations. Even of the session is a free one, I don't believe it's an excuse to waste people's time.

On the other, there's something immensely satisfying in seeing people give that nod of understanding, or outwardly thanking for having gained insights.

I wonder if it's an affirmation of my own self worth. Maybe, though I can find other ways to satisfy my ego.

Oh, I ended up conducting this workshop because the Public Library was running a series of Arts related programmes. Mooted the idea of a digital music workshop to a colleague, she liked it, and I volunteered to run it.

Coincidentally it was held on a 10.11.12

Hmm, if nine people turned up, that meant 9.10.11.12.

lol

Soon-to-be-released: My 2012 Creative Commons project: post-rock themed digital music album

My band mates, with a guest collaborator, started working on a few tracks around Jan this year. Through the usual (for us) way of passing ideas and MP3 files over email.

Last month, when it sunk in that 2012 would be the 10th global birthday celebrations for Creative Commons, we wanted our album to be a gift to the movement.

Our DIY digital album will be published over this weekend.

This evening, we completed the final piece of the musical project: the album cover.

Here are the designs I developed over two evenings:

1. "deca"


2. "TEN"


3. "DEKA"


A few hours ago, the band -- with our guest collaborator, urmymuse, who is from halfway around the globe -- have agreed on a majority vote on design No. 3, "DEKA".

The album has 10 tracks, for CC's 10th birthday this year, slated for October.

A 10-10-10 combo.

So what's with the title and "tens"?

The Backstory
My first album design looked like this (created two nights ago):


It was passable as a symbol or logo. But somehow it didn't quite cut it as an album cover. Looked too cold; too detached. The opposite of what our music represented.

So I wondered about the etymology for "decade". That led to my discovering the term "deca", which was Latin for "the combining form for 'Ten'": "decapod", "decasyllabic", "decathlon", "decametre"...

Multiples of ten.

Bingo!

But I wondered if it might be too subtle or indirect for people to catch on.

No harm in posting the question in Facebook. Kind of expecting zero comments, so I was really surprised to get plenty of good ideas and useful comments from my Facebook contacts. Thanks folks!


All things considered, "deca" was quite appropriate.

I used Keynote on my iPad to piece together a few ideas. Ended up using Keynote as my "photoshop"!

Within hours of the Facebook comments and doodling in the iPad, I managed to churn out design No. 1.

Emailed that off to Adrian, I-Ling and urmymuse. Explained the concept to them. And hoped they would agree. Or at least, no violent objections from them.

Adrian was first to give "deca" his approval. Next was urmymuse, who added that the Greek spelling (deka) was preferred but it wouldn't be something to "die in a ditch" for (LOL).

By that time, I also preferred DEKA over DECA. Particularly after considering the Facebook comments. For one, "deca" might lead to some people subconsciously associating it with "decay" or "decadence" -- unrelated words, no doubt but still might prove distracting rather than adding to the album's intrigued.

I churned out designs no.s 2 and 3, and emailed to the band. Promised this would be the last iteration (any more options and it would be counterproductive).

Our vocalist, I-Ling, liked DEKA too.

So that was that.

All ten tracks have been mastered, bounced; the uncompressed files sitting in my hard disk (backed up, for sure) waiting to be prepped with metadata (I use iTunes for that).

It'll be a public holiday this Friday. That would give me time to publish the album this weekend.

Musical Musings
The album will be pretty niche. Limited audience etc.

It's perhaps best described as "almost progressive meditative pop post-rock".

Whatever it might be called, it's our labour of love.

A musician friend once asked me if I composed music for others or for myself. I guessed as much that it was his polite way of saying my musical compositions didn't quite fit a certain accepted standard or norm.

It was an excellent question that he'd asked.

Made me reflect.

It reinforced in my mind that I choose to create music for myself.

That's not to say I'll refuse to learn and improve or accept constructive criticisms. For sure I'd like to perfect this particular craft.

But I don't have to set undue pressure for myself, on when I should "reach perfection". When much younger, I used to think that. For instance, I felt I needed to be able to reach a certain level of technical prowess on the guitar.

Decades later, my views have shifted. It's less about what I can make the guitar do.

It's not about one particular instrument anymore.

I'm interested in making music, using whatever skills and abilities (and equipment) that I have incrementally gained from each musical project; from creating each musical track.

If the world cares to listen to what I share, that's a bonus.

What would be the 50 objects that represent Singapore to you?

Back in September, a friend pointed me to this NYT article about a project in New York City that asked historians and museum curators to name 50 objects that could "embody the narrative of New York".



Top of the New York list was a Mastodon tusk. The 50th item was something called a "Meng Political Sign, 2012".

The former referred to the first recorded discovery of mastodon remains in 1858, in a borough in New York city.

The latter turned out to be a political campaign poster of a Ms Grace Meng. She won the Democratic Congressional nomination in Queens borough. That tidbit was a segway to how the city's residents of Asian origin exceeded one million for the first time, as recorded in the 2010 Census.


Inspired by the British Museum's 100 Objects
That project in New York was inspired by the British Museum’s BBC radio series and book, “A History of the World in 100 Objects".

Item One on the British Museum's list was the Mummy of Hornedjitef. The 100th item was a Solar Powered Lamp and Charger.



Detractors might say that was rather presumptuous of any institution to claim that their collections definitively represented "The World's" history. Equally arguable would be that the 100th item should have been a MP3 player or Xbox (dare I say, iPhone?) rather than a solar-powered lamp and charger.

BUT...

I found the concept of a "100 objects" listing -- one that symbolically represent a certain perspective of the world -- a refreshing one. Got to give it to the Brits for such a simple and innovative way to curate and present items from their Museum's collection (notwithstanding the joke about Colonial British plundering and shipping back treasures from all around the globe).

The British Museum has also created an interactive visual browse page (Flash-based), based on time and filtering by other facets.




People's History
The New York example wanted to make their's "a people’s history", to allow for individual perspectives rather than form a definitive list (as implied by the British example):

The “History of the World” was limited to objects in the British Museum’s collection. Like that list, ours “can only be a history” and “not the history.” And because it is a people’s history, we are inviting participation. Tell us what objects represent New York City to you in the comments section.

The New Yorkers invited public comments after an initial list from historians and museum curators. The British Museum didn't solicit public contributions it seemed.

I think to truly make it a "people's list", everyone should be given a chance to create their own right from the start.


A Singapore "100 objects" list?
The article instantly captured my imagination, since the Singapore Memory Project occupied a large part of my work time (and maybe off work too).

I wondered what a "50 objects that represent Singapore's History" would look like. I posted this on Facebook, inviting FB contacts to also name 50 objects they consider to be representative of Singapore's history.



Didn't get very far with that. For what it's worth here's the list, thanks to the contributions from some FB friends (objects are not in any order of importance):

1. Ivan Chew - Rubber seed (I'm thinking of Sir Henry Nicholas Ridley)
2. Walter Lim - A pair of spectacles since we're the most bespectacled nation in the world.
3. Chon Hsing Ng - Air conditioner to symbolise how SG has had to artificially creates my things eg beach, jungle, water, etc
4. Low Hei Chin - Four stones.
5. Hikaru Teo - the rediffusion tabletop radio
6. Dex Khor - A rotan.
7. Bernadette Daly-Swanson - Definitely Pierre Balmain's iconic kebaya and sarong for SIA... Had one made when I was there in 2009. I need to come back for IFLA!
8. Ivan Chew - Adrian Tan's Teenage Textbook
9. Adrian Tan - Chicken rice
10. Dex Khor - The Ultimax 100 SAW. Sold to Bosnia with pride!
11. Alec Ng - Add the merlion...
12. (Alec Ng)... newater
13. (Alec Ng)... and the document on the proclamation of independence for Singapore.
14. Bernadette Daly-Swanson - National Library Board Singapore
15. Ivan Chew - Sintercom
16. Low Hei Chin - ... Stamps and coins from that represent significant events / moments in our history? First day covers? I can only think of dinky toys or toy soldiers (Deetail) that depict WWII.
17. Hikaru Teo - Well the banana note would be a notable representation of life during the Japanese Occupation.
18. Ivan Chew - The POSB logo!
19. Regina De Rozario - I've just gotten into reading excerpts and commentaries on the correspondence between Raffles and Farquhar and I would add the letter written by Farquhar after he was dismissed by Raffles (for not following the latter's town plan and vision to a T).
20. Low Hei Chin - Our national flower!
21. Ivan Chew - The Tembusu tree. Cos it appears on our $5 note.
22. Ivan Chew - Teamy the Productivity Bee.
23. Ivan Chew - Singa the Courtesy Lion.
24. Ivan Chew - The SAF Reservist Booklet (now defunct).
25. Low Hei Chin - Singapore Sling

Ok, 25 items isn't bad. Some items were totally off my consciousness until others mentioned it. Like the Singapore-made Ultimax 100 Section Assault Weapon (SAW).

Some objects -- like the 'rotan' (i.e. cane) -- encapsulates so many things past and present: parental methods in bringing up children, school discipline, criminal code and the penal system, a national event (remember Michael Fay?).

I'm sure each of us can come up with our own list of 50 items. Or at least 20 items easily.

New items would make it to the list, as per recent events. I can think of Amy Cheong. Ok, technically not an "object" (I'm sure you know I didn't mean to say she's an object) but what the heck, it's a 'people's list'. We could flexibly cover Events, People, Places in the same list or separately if we choose.

If there's a representative number of people creating such a list, what I'm really, really interested is to analyse the choice of items on the combined list. The list could reflect the success of certain national brands or campaigns. Missing items might shed light on what else we might need to do (e.g. what if no artwork or artist make it to anyone's list?)

Analysing an aggregation of lists might reveal the psyche of individual citizens. And quite likely our psyche as a nation.

***
Update - New items to the list:

[18 Oct 2012, items 26-29]
26. Low Hei Chin - Meant to write this earlier but did not get around to doing it. How about those khong Guan biscuits with a colorful icing sugar on top?

27. Adrian Tan - I wanted to say, "Kelong!" I think it is unique to Singapore.

28. Peter Pak - Interesting read- can I add Singapore Chinese girls school as an one. It was the first girl school at a time when more forward looking men wanted to reform the social education of girls beyond being home bound

29. @JustinZhuang - Anti-Littering man!

[19 Oct 2012, items 30-32]
30. Dave Chua - I think it's also important to pick out items that show key moments of Singapore in transition. The last copy of the original New Nation newspaper...

31. ...A citizen pass for the casinos.

32. ... WP 2012 flag.

(Folks, feel free to add to the list by commenting. Even if it exceeds 50)

Book review: "Praying to the goddess of mercy: A memoir of mood swings"

There is power in knowing a name.

When it comes to an illness, knowing what it is called allows for some measure of rationality. We can start making sense of it and adopt ways to cope.

Praying to the goddess of mercy: A memoir of mood swings/
Mahita Vas
ISBN: 9789814358910

Cover image - All Rights Reserved: Monsoon Books

The term "Bipolar Disorder" (or the cruder term, "Manic Depressive Psychosis") has always been merely words to me. I mean, I understand what it is from reading definitions and articles. But I think nothing becomes real until we associate it with someone or something that we can relate.

If I come across the term again, I would think of this 200-plus page story, and a woman named Mahita Vas.

About a month ago, a representative of Monsoon Books Publishing emailed me to ask if I would like to review a copy of "Praying To The Goddess Of Mercy". The mail briefly described what the book was about:

"Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of forty-two, Mahita survived suicidal mood swings, flourished in her career and raised a family while battling the mental disorder.

Throughout her career as a flight attendant with SIA, then as a high-flying advertising industry executive with companies such as BMW, Ogilvy, Four Seasons and L’Oreal, the author led a volatile life: sometimes blissfully and enviably contented, at other times screaming like a lunatic.

Set in Singapore, Praying To The Goddess Of Mercy charts Mahita’s journey from chaos to stability. Ultimately, the memoir is about being true to oneself and having the courage to take charge in the pursuit of happiness."

I was intrigued and said OK to the book review request. The book came in the mail. I took about three days to read it from cover to cover.



The short-take: It's pretty good stuff. As a memoir, the author came across as credible and honest, without being self-indulgent. As a book about Bipolar Disorder, it's insightful with specific and personal examples of discovering and coping (or at times, not being able to) with the illness. The writing is crisp. The flow was good, such that I was easily led from page to page all the way till the end.

Here's a longer take:

From reading similar works about people living with mental illness (biographical or otherwise), there seems a rough pattern to their experiences: Normalcy, Uncertainty (of what is plaguing them), Diagnosis/ Discovery, Rejection/ Fear, Acceptance.

In a way, I expected this book to be no different. So what could be new or insightful, I wondered.

After the first few pages, it was clear there is always something new, something different and insightful when it comes to reading about another person's journey in living with an illness.

It also occurred to me that most of us would ONLY bother to find out more about a medical condition when it directly affects us, or a close family member or friend.

In a way, this book has personified Bipolar Disorder for me.

It came across as a coming-of-age personal story about discovering and living with that medical condition.

As the author writes: “It was a life changing revelation to learn there was an explanation and a name for my unusual behaviour.” (Chapter 13, p232)

In some ways, I thought her story was also of how others in her life -- particularly her husband and her children -- have had to deal with her illness, before she was diagnosed.

By the end of the book, I had the impression this was someone who had come to terms with her situation and herself. Bipolar Disorder, as explained in the book, is not something that can be cured. It cannot be prevented but it can be treated.

Back in the 1980s, when the author was in her teens, mental illness was something that was even less discussed or publicly acknowledged. The stigma of having a mental disorder was a much stronger one.

Her symptoms of Bipolar Disorder included extreme mood swings -- periods of energy, happiness and invincibility and then inexplicably of sadness, over-reactive outbursts and rages. Even feelings of being unconcerned about death.

She described several specific incidents where she raged out of control, for situations that did not seem to warrant the severity of the anger. After the violent outburst, she would feel a sense of guilt and remorse. She described episodes of self-loathing for not being able to control how she has acted.

Those episodes were initially accepted as part of her personality (bad temper and unpredictable nature) and a normal life cycle.

A breakthrough came when she decided to consult a psychiatrist. Things did not go smoothly for her. The demands of work, family and managing an illness took its toil. It did not help that she decided to adjust the dosage of medication on her own.

Chapter 9 talked about her suicide attempt. Her husband got to her in time. Reading about his response was a poignant and touching moment (hat-tip to Bob there). One of the best lines in the book was what her husband mildly reminded/ rebuked her of the consequences of taking one's own life: “The minute you become a parent, you revoke the right to think about yourself.”

There is frequent mention of the support from her husband and her children. Once again, this book testifies to the need and importance of support and understanding from family, friends and colleagues when one is coping with an illness.

I appreciated how Mahitas Vas did not make excuses for herself nor subject the reader to a self-indulgent confession. Even after a confirmed diagnosis, she wondered just how much of her outbursts were due to her illness and how much was a lack of self-discipline. The last chapter of the book scratched just a little of the surface of this question.

The book would be great for a book discussion. In reading this memoir, I had vague echos of Pirsig's "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" going on in my head. In dealing with an illness, there seems to be natural themes of Consciousness and Choice. Something that I thought Finding Ben also dealt with.

I thought this book was a good read.

We read life stories like this, to remind ourselves that there is always some measure of choice over one’s ‘fate’.

Monsoon Books is officially launching the book on 24 Sept, Oct 2012. The e-book is already out on ilovebooks.com.

The author has a website and Facebook page.



[Note: this is an unpaid review.]

Remixing Romeo & Juliet

Came across this graphic-novel adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play.


Romeo & Juliet (No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novels), by Matt Wiegle.
ISBN: 9781411498747

I’ve never read Romeo & Juliet because it was not one of my literature text in school. Well... how many of us would voluntarily read Shakespeare?

What I knew about Romeo and Juliet (other than them being the most famous couple in human lore) was that both lovers killed themselves in the end. One tends to get bits and pieces -- most likely the death scene -- from movie adaptions and mentions.

This adaption was a fun read. Part of the fun was discovering different interpretative layers to this Shakespearean play. This play seem ripe for re-makes, remixes and adaptions (as Shakespeare no doubt did the same).

The popular mental model of Romeo and Juliet is that they are star-crossed lovers, innocent in their affections and simply caught up in a family feud.

However, a 'dark' version might go like this:

Romeo could have been a fickle knave and not that innocent a guy. He was simply fooling around with Juliet. His suicide was more of a self-inflicted accident, due to misinformation and bad timing. In a similar vein, Juliet might could have been a manipulative girl who hooked up with Romeo as a way to get back at her father, for forcing her on whom she could marry. Let's not forget Friar Lawrence, who are the lover's go-between in the play. Maybe he was being blackmailed into helping them. Romeo has a hold on him because of a certain scandalous matter, perhaps.

Here's my slightly unorthodox look at the Romeo and Juliet story, with possible variations of a possible 'dark' backstory thrown in:

***

The Montagues (Romeo’s family) and the Capulets (Juliet’s) were two rich and powerful families in the city of Verona in Renaissance Italy. Basically, the two households cannot stand each other and fights would be started in the streets.

The first hint of Romeo possessing that wishy-washy fickleness was his pandering over an unrequited love -- a Rosaline, who never quite appeared in person. Romeo professed how his life was a misery since he wasn't able to obtain Rosaline's favour. But he dropped Rosalind like she never existed, after he saw Juliet.

Romeo and his friends had disguised themselves and gate-crashed a Capulet dinner party. That was how he met Juliet and she instantly became The One for him. Lust at first sight, or so it seemed to me.

Romeo then started to woo Juliet by sneaking into the Capulet family home grounds at night, making his way to under Juliet’s balcony.

What a charmer, that Romeo! Or perhaps Juliet was bored and sought a way to amuse herself. Just stringing Romeo along.

Oh yes, there seemed to be a lot of sneaking around thereafter.

Romeo and Juliet then got themselves married secretly, with the help of Romeo’s friend Friar Lawrence.

But on that same day when they got married in secret, Tybalt (Juliet’s cousin) ends up being killed by Romeo in a revenge-fight. All because Tybalt picked a fight and sneakily killed Mercuto (Romeo’s friend).

That very day, Romeo was banished by the Prince of Verona. Punishment for the clan duel and murder. Juliet was heartbroken to learn of the death of her cousin and the banishment of her still-secret husband.

Prior to Romeo’s leaving his city, he managed to sneak into Juliet’s room and spent the night there. All with the help of Juliet’s nurse. After that, Romeo leaves for his place of banishment.

The plot thickens when Juliet’s father made hasty plans to marry his only daughter to a nobleman, Count Paris. The father does not know of Romeo (or one could imagine he'd heard rumours of his daughter's indiscretions and was trying to control further damage).

When he told Juliet about the marriage decision, Juliet gave him a seemingly smarmy response about non-marriage. She did not tell him about Romeo or of her secret marriage.

Her father launched into a rage furious (Juliet came across as rather snarky). He issued an ultimatum: marry Count Paris or be disowned.

That forced Juliet's hand. She sought Friar Lawrence’s help. The friar gave Juliet a concoction that would allow her to fake death. The dosage was timed such that by the time her corpse was interred into the family crypt, she would be revived. The friar would pass a message to Romeo, so that he could sneak Juliet away.

As Romeo was out of town (banished, remember?) the friar got someone to deliver Romeo a letter.

So, Juliet drank the mix (talk about guts) and appeared dead on her wedding day to Count Paris (poor man, the count). Her father spared no expense preparing for her wedding ceremony, only to find her dead (her poor parents!)

Up till that point, the plan seemed a solid one.

But then the first sign of a SNAFU -- the letter never made it to Romeo. Due to a quarantine from a suspected plague outbreak, the delivery person didn't pass the secret message to Romeo.

What Romeo received was news from his family servant that Juliet was dead. He rushed off to see his beloved, not knowing what Juliet and the friar had planned. He bought poison, planning to die at her side.

Unexpectedly Count Paris showed up at the tomb that night. He caught Romeo attempting a tomb break-in.

They dueled.

Romeo killed the Count. Wow, for a supposedly naive romantic dude, Romeo was quite the fighter!

He then carried the Count’s body into the tomb, said his final words to Juliet, and drank the poison.

“Thus with a kiss I die.”

And so he died, that Romeo.

The friar arrived and discovered the carnage. Juliet woke at that time as well (amazingly no ill-effects from drinking the pseudo-poison). The friar was unable to persuade Juliet to leave. He fled instead.

Juliet famously plunged the dagger into herself: “Oh happy knife, this is your sheath! Rust there and let me die.”

The friar didn't get very far. He was caught fleeing the scene. He spilled everything and revealed all in front of the Prince of Verona and both fathers of the two dead lovers.

The two heartbroken old men, rebuked by the prince, made up on the spot. They swore their families would never fight again.

A seemingly happy ending to a tragic sequence of events.

Though, in the 'dark' version, I think there wouldn't really be a real reconciliation. Before the Prince of Verona intervened, there would be an all-out war between the Montagues and the Capulets (ala Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather). Total blood bath.

***

Might as well be consistent with a 'dark' theme, right? Oh, Hollywood what have you done to me? Heh.