Humans Fail monkey bins

A while back I wondered when the monkeys at MacRitchie Nature Reserve would overcome the new monkey-proof trash bins introduced by NEA*. (see this blog)

I have yet to see this happen but something else funnier has occurred.

*National Environment Agency

The trash bins seem to be human proof as well.

I have tried these trash bins and it is so easy to understand why it fails.

1. The lock is tight and needs strong finger pressure to unlock it.

2. The lock appears dirty and you'll feel uncomfortable touching it.

3. The lid is made of thick steel and is heavy to lift it open. 

(The lid doesn't pop open - you gotta lift it manually - I supposed they presume monkeys don't have the strength to lift it)

Already reasons 2 & 3 makes you queasy touching the filthy surfaces, but lastly,

4. you need all three of your hands to use the trash bin.  

    One to press and hold the lock, 

    another to lift the heavy cover, and, 

    your third hand to hold the trash you intend to dispose.

So now you know why the garbage is outside the trash bins. It's a no brainer!
Well done, NEA. Kudos to you.

Mister, can you spare a dime?

Poor sad rich man!

Sheldon Adelson, chairman of Las Vegas Sands and one of the richest man in the world, is disappointed, apologetic and suffering from the loss of dignity.

And why is that so?
Well apparently, he made a substantial error in his profits forecast for his Marina Bay Sands Casino in Singapore.

His casino made MORE money than he imagine it would!
In the last 3 months, his casino made only US$413.9 million in PROFIT!
He didn't get his math right, he expected his casino to make less!
My heart bleeds for him.

Click on pix for detailed view of the ST report.

"But trust me, I will suffer through the indignity of being wrong by such a substantial amount."
Such arrogance! He is laughing all the way to his private banker at the expense of all the losers.

In Singapore, the number of those getting caught up in this vice trap can be seen through the increasing court cases of frauds and bankruptcies, the increasing numbers turning to gambling counsellors and the increase in self-exclusion orders.

This not withstanding the case of Madam Choo who supposedly won S$416,742 at the slots in his casino but was denied her winnings due to 'machine malfunction' ?

Her winnings of $416,742 is just 0.08% of the profits he made in the last 3 months.
That's less than a dime to the dollar!


Related links:
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1161890/1/.html

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_725726.html

http://www.singaporelawwatch.sg/remweb/legal/ln2/rss/legalnews/73716.html
http://www.todayonline.com/Business/EDC111029-0000172/Singapore-helps-Sands-hit-jackpot
http://www.asiaone.com/News/The%2BNew%2BPaper/Story/A1Story20100920-238049.html

For God sake

I have taken this post down temporarily on the advise of the authorities.
Unfortunately, there are some who "can't handle the truth" (Jack Nicholson A Few Good Men


Due to threat and libel made, this piece has now become part of an ongoing investigation.
As such, I am unable to comment on this further until I am given the green light by my legal advisors.

Venice of Punggol? Oh Please lah!

The waterfront park at Punggol was officially opened to the public yesterday.
But I just couldn't help laughing at the newspaper report this morning describing the new waterway as the "Venice of Punggol" !

Venice !

Please lah!  It's just one big longkang and they put it on the same level as Venice?

I have been to Venice and just last week I visited the My Waterway@ Punggol .
It will tire out all my brain cells just trying to think of any similarities.

Maybe they can start a gondolier service to see the old dump, now converted to a wetland, at Lorong Halus?

I must say that the wording in the news report is so clever that you can't really tell who came up with the moniker!  So nobody can be faulted if there's any backlash! (see report here).
Maybe it's a pre-emptive way to avoid future embarrassment in case of floods like previously in Bukit Timah and Orchard Road? Or perhaps it's a new directive to rename flood prone areas to "Venice of..."

Venice of Bukit Timah?

I am not disparaging the residents (Venetians?) of Punggol and congratulate them on their new facilities.

There is a long long way to go before Punggol 21+ achieves its aim of being a truly waterfront eco town, but please, be a bit more original with the names.

(Click here for my photo blog on My Waterway@Punggol)

Related links:
Visiting Punggol after 30 years.

Non-stop elevator ride

I was just told of a neat trick which is supposedly used by the emergency services staff.
How to make an elevator proceed non stop to the floor that you want.


I cannot confirm this as I have not tried it out myself.  (and I live on the 2nd floor!)
Can someone try this out and confirm or debunk this story?
It may just be an urban legend for all I know.

1. Enter the elevator and  HOLD the Close Door >|< button.
2. Press the floor you wish to go to while still holding the Close Door >|< button.
3. Hold BOTH buttons till the door closes and the elevator starts moving.
4. The elevator should ride non-stop to your floor.

I was just thinking,  it doesn't make sense if you are going home and alone in the elevator.
Your neighbors would be unlikely to be going up from other floors!

Maybe, it's only useful in a commercial building?
Or does it work as well going DOWN to the ground floor?

Will someone try it out and respond to this?

The Bridge at Gillman Barracks

If you drive along Alexandra Road, you might be able to spot an old disused bridge near the Alexandra Arch, just opposite the Hort Park.

This bridge crosses over a very deep gully and was formerly within the compounds of the old British Army Gillman Barracks. In 1969, Gillman Barracks was handed over to the then newly established Singapore Armed Forces and was used by the SAF Combat Engineers as their headquarters.

Back then, Alexandra Road did not exist as it is today.
Gillman Barracks was just a part of the entire British military area that encompassed places like Portsdown, Normanton, Alexandra Hospital, and the entire area we call Ayer Rajah and Buona Vista today.

My very first encounter with this bridge was around 1970, when as part of a group of school army cadets, we were brought to Gillman Barracks as there was a proper parade ground for us to practice for the National Day Parade.

We were transported to the camp entrance and had to cross this bridge to get to the parade square.
At that time, there was hardly any vegetation in the gully and that made the bridge appear very high above the valley floor.

One thing I also remembered was that the bridge was different from the one existing now, although it is in the same location. The one I remembered was a black wooden trestle bridge like the one in the picture below. The existing bridge is a modern design steel truss bridge, which must have been a replacement.

I remembered we were all really afraid to cross that bridge because of the height.
And what made it worse was a sign that said "BREAK STEP WHEN CROSSING BRIDGE"

We didn't understand what "Break Step" was.  We were told not to march as a group across but to walk individually and out of step with each other. They said otherwise the bridge might collapse! That made us even more afraid.

At that time, as schoolboys, we were not aware of the effects of resonance.
Resonance happens when regular vibration, such as soldiers marching, matches the vibrating resonance of the bridge causing it to sway in unison and can lead to collapse.

Gillman Barracks was converted to a Food & Beverage hub in early 2000 and was renamed Gillman Village. However, the response was lukewarm leading to its final demise last year.
There are new plans by the government to convert the area into a new Arts and creative production hub utilizing the old army complexes. Just like the ones at Dempsey Road today.

Any old SAF combat engineers reading this?
Perhaps you can post a picture of the orignal bridge?

NParks' new surveillance system

Saw these at Toa Payoh Central Park. 

There's also another set at Adam Park on Lornie Road. Cute.

The Sony Timer strikes again?

This morning, I awoke to read with a bit of concern, an article in the Straits Times.

Straits Times, 14 Oct 2011.      Click for larger view.

Later, reading more news online, I came across the same Bloomberg news release which said SONY had started a recall of 1.6m sets of 40" Bravia TV( Link here. ).  Other news agencies confirmed the SONY  recall.

I own a SONY 40" Bravia LCD TV which was why I was concerned.

Globally, SONY had announced the RECALL, but according to the ST report, Sony Singapore "insisted this was not a product recall but a 'service inspection' " Is Sony Singapore being truthful here?

SONY has been having a run of extremely bad luck with product quality of late, especially batteries. Remember the recall of millions of Dell computers due to exploding SONY batteries?
Just last month, 2 million mobiles phones were recalled due to overheating batteries.
How many of you can remember when SONY admitted a 'software bug' caused their E-Series TV to automatically shutdown after 1200 hours of use?

All these brings back again the urban legend and rumors about the so called SONY TIMER.
Have you heard of the Sony Timer ? 


Many people, especially tech geeks, believe that Sony products contain a hidden 'timer' that when activated causes the product to start failing. Some believe this can be remotely activated and is done before a new replacement product is announced or when the warranty expires! Though never proven, speculations run from a hidden hardware chip to cleverly programmed software contained in the products.

It is not difficult to imagine some built-in software controlling your TV and making it 'shutdown' after 3 years. What do you do? Go buy a new TV!
Did your VAIO, walkman or TV breakdown after their warranty period ended?

You may not know this, but in Japan, a lot of Japanese actually believe this despite not having any evidence to the contrary. Sony products are not as well received in Japan as abroad for this reason.

Can a product actually have a programmed shelf life?
Yes, products can be designed with a predictable obsolescence period !

I used to work in aviation a long time ago. One thing I learned from my time as an aircraft mechanic was that all aircraft parts have a 'safe life'. Parts are designed for a certain tolerance in usage and beyond that it must be changed due to the risk of failure. What the layman might term simply as 'wear and tear'.

So, technically, products can and are engineered for a certain shelf life.
Is that how the Sony Timer works?

I have taken to feeling my TV each time before I turn it off for the day.
I hope it won't explode. Gee, the warranty had just run out!

Surviving the train crush

Complaints of overcrowding on the trains have escalated over the past few years and reached a crescendo just before the recent general elections. Denials, spins and excuses from the operators and 'authorities' have led to widespread frustration by commuters. The local Net is full of blogs over this issue ad nauseam.

Apparently, the train operators, being public companies, have to ensure that its bottom line is priority.  Even the gahmen gives all out support to ensure that the operations are not running at a loss.

The train operators claimed that the lines are maximized to capacity and it would be difficult to add more trains or increase frequency. With  a burgeoning workforce, the situation can only get worse. Passenger comfort and quality of service don'y seem to be a priority for them to resolve. The proof is simply to go to any station during rush hour. Enuff said.

Yesterday, my sister Stephenie was so stressed out, especially after reading the Oct 11th Stomp article about how commuters were forced to wait till the 4th train passing before being able to board. She was one of those who experienced this twice at Bukit Batok and Jurong East Stations.

Click here to read the Stomp article

I am luckier in that I don't take the train so often nowadays, but I do empathize with my fellow commuters.
Just last week, I had a 5-day assignment at the Ministry of Education at Buona Vista starting at 8 am each morning. That meant I had to join the crowd to get there from Bukit Batok Station, with a transfer at Jurong East Station.

It is extremely difficult to board the trains at Bukit Batok,  being the last stop before the terminal at Jurong East. The train is already filled to the brim and you just hope some students, heading for school in the vicinity, will get off so that you can squeeze into that vacated space.

Next, the train discharges the full load at Jurong East, adding to the crowd already there who have yet to make the connection to the city-bound trains. It's really CHAOTIC!

Transfer at Jurong East Station (pic from TNP)

SMRT recently opened an additional platform at Jurong East, which helps to distribute the in-coming passengers from the Bukit Batok line, but its a zero sum game as the same number of city-bound trains still take the transfer paxes from Jurong East!  It's just less crowding on the platform but not on the trains.

As I am powerless to do anything about the overcrowding, I'll just share what goes through my mind in these situations.

These are my pet peeves on the MRT trains:-


1. No hand holds near the door area.
It's a funny paradox.
They don't provide hand holds near the door area in order to force you further inside the car. But the car is already full and you can only stand near the door area a lot of the time!
You have to be as acrobatic as a gymnast throughout the ride - balancing with the sway, doing knee flexs, toe curls and bum shiftings. All because you have nothing to hold on to.
Passenger safety was never in the minds of the operators.

There's always a crush near the doors as commuters tend not to squeeze once they move 'further in'. So while the door area is packed, it appears that there are actually more space 'inside'.
Commuters also fear that they can't get out easily once they move too far in!

2. Pole leaners and dual hand holders
Inconsiderate passengers who lean on the grab pole for their own support. I normally won't tell them off but instead let them feel my knuckles against their back or arms. Then there are some will will hold on to 2 hanging hand holds.

3. Backpackers.
Idiotic commuters who don't have the sense to remove their backpacks. What's worst is that they are unaware that it's knocking into others. The backpacks only take up more space.

4. Fear of pickpocket or accidental contact.
As I have a habit of carrying my wallet in my back pocket, I have this nagging fear of pickpockets in the crowd. Men also face the awkward problem of where to put their hands for fear of accidental contact and for some lady to scream accusations of trying to be funny with roaming hands. It doesn't really happen but there's always this fear.

5. B O !
Not too bad in the mornings but woe be you in the evening rush hour!

I fear that unless something tragic happens not much will change in the near future.


In my next blog, I'll tell you of my own experiences on the Tokyo rush hour morning trains.

Here is the link to that blog:

Crowded Tokyo trains worse than Singapore MRT?

Amateur photographer

I really appreciate that friends and even strangers and well wishers visit my photo blog. Comments and compliments from you all really make my day.

At this stage in life, when I can quite contentedly say "been there, done that" to most things, photography is still one of my little joys that I have never really given up.

Today, someone again paid me a compliment after viewing my photo blog.
But inevitably, and I am very sure without any malice, the oft asked question arose.

What camera did you take these picture with? 
You must be a Canon or Nikon user.


I still take that as a compliment in that assumption that good pictures come from better equipment. Well, perhaps, or perhaps not?


Here's a quotation from the world famous South African photographer, Sam Haskins.
He nails it with his anecdote on the comment faced by most photographers.

“A photographer went to a socialite party in New York. As he entered the front door, the host said ‘I love your pictures – they’re wonderful; you must have a fantastic camera.’ He said nothing until dinner was finished, then: ‘That was a wonderful dinner; you must have a terrific stove.”

- Sam Haskins

My hobby is definitely still at an amateur level.
And what cameras do I use?

My equipment is very basic.
I carry the point & shoot Olympus u1030 all the time in my satchel, and occasionally bring along my other Olympus E-PL1.
The E-PL1 is a micro four-thirds camera, if you know what that is. (haha).
It's supposed to give comparable DSLR quality pictures but is less bulky as it does not have a reflex mirror system  like an SLR.  Just to my liking.

E-PL1 on the left, u1030 on the right. Taken with my iphone. 

Thai commercial at it's best

I like to watch Thai TV commercials because they're funny and humorous most of the time.
You don't need to understand the language as most of them depend on visual language to get the message across. Do a search for  'funny Thai commercials'  on Youtube and you'll see what I mean.

Recently, I came across this Thai commercial for Samsung Galaxy Tab 10 Tablet.
It's unusual in that it has a story line and is done over 5 episodes, just like a mini-series.
Although the commercial is about the Samsung Galaxy Tablet, the commercial does not come across as hard sell.

You must watch this!

I've put in only the 1st episode but you can subsequently follow through to episode 5 via the Youtube link.  Enjoy the show, who knows, you might even end up buying a Samsung Tablet!

Here's my 2 cents.

The public bus duopoly, SBS Transit and SMRT, today increased their fares by 1% as allowed by the Public Transport Council. For most commuters, this translates to an increase of 2 cents per trip.

Thus my trip from Bukit Batok Interchange to my office at Andrew Road will now cost me $1.35 instead of the previous $1.33. My math may be wrong but the 2 cents increase for me seem to be a 1.5% increase rather than the 1% permitted? Anyway....

Click to view larger picture of the fare increase chart.

I seemed to have become a watchdog over my fares ever since the bus companies introduced the Distance Related Fare System back in July.

After their initial claim that the glitches were fixed and that the overcharging incidents have been rectified, I still had a few incidences where I was still overcharged.

Just a month ago, I made my 10th or 11th claim (I forget how many now!) for overcharging.
So personally, I know that the glitches have not been fully fixed as claimed by the bus companies.

Related links:
Getting it back from the bus companies
The bus companies are still taking your money!
$300,000 in bus refunds for overcharging

Get a better life ?

Today I did a typically Singaporean thing.
I went to the SMRT Circle Line Open House!

Free unlimited rides between Caldecott and Harbourfront stations.
Free mineral water, free brochures AND free balloons, wow!
And best of all - Irene Ang and Yam Ah Mee, live in person!
The good things in life are really free !

LOL ! Is this all there is to life in Singapore?

Here's a video I shot today....

I was really a bit devious. 

As some of you know,  I am photographing overhead bridges wherever I can find them.

So what better way to get around than to use the free rides on the Open Day trains!

Here's a picture of the overhead bridge at Telok Blangah MRT Station.

Not too bad composition for a boring subject like a pedestrian bridge, right?

Some people had ask what camera I use. 

But hey, it's not just the camera, dude. Give some credit to the photographer. 

I don't like lugging a bulky and heavy DSLR camera, so my pictures are taken with my small Olympus point & shoot camera. I've got 2 models, the waterproof u1030 and the slightly larger EPL1. 

I am happy with them.

I've passed the 100th bridge mark. If you want to see my bridge project, the link to that blog is on the right side panel. You can probably scroll through them all in about 6 seconds. The Jesuits have it on record that you can hold a person's interest only for the first 7 seconds, beyond which thier minds starts to drift.

Looking at the bridges, concrete seems so dull. 

I gotta write to the LTA to suggest they put some color unto the structures. 

Concrete grey is so passe.

Wouldn't you like to see red, yellow or blue bridges instead of battleship grey all the time?

Sigh, there's got to be more to life than concrete bridges!

Anyway, to break my routine, I am now planning for my annual trip to Japan. Yeaaa.

This time to see the autumn colors in November.

I had thought perhaps this year I might have to forgo Japan due to the radiation danger, but I guess it safer now. So at least my life is beginning to look better ?

The lady doth protests too much, methinks.

Are you depressed over your size? 

Do you feel the world is unfair because you are fat?

Want to loose 20kgs and find happiness? 

Now there's London Weight Management..   but wait! there's more...
they remind you that they are "neither discriminating nor nauseating the obese women in this territory"(sic) ???!!  LOL

London Weight Management Capsule from Stan Chee on Vimeo.

When I first saw their advert, I thought it was stupid and paid no mind to it,  although I knew that it was asking for trouble. Sure enough, the brickbats came fast and furious.

What made me take up my keyboard again was the defense (protests?) that London Weight Management's  Marcomm Manager, Ms Hazel Tang,  raised to counter all the objections over their insensitive advert.

"we have not breached any regulation in accordance to the local regulation".

followed by the classic line,

"We wish to remind you that we are neither discriminating nor nauseating the obese women in this territory," said Tang.

I would just like to tell Miss Tang that being within 'regulations' does not justify putting obese people down, or even that we men are just that superficial.
Don't stereotype everyone just because one of your client experienced a regrettable incident.


You can read the full stories at these links:
Controversial slimming ad sparks debate
Slimming company defends its controversial ad

The Shoeman of Bukit Batok

Quirky things happen all around us but at times we just don't open our eyes wide enough to notice it.
But lately I did notice a peculiar activity going on just below my apartment.

Each morning, an old man carts a large box containing numerous pairs of footwear.
Meticulously, he lays it all out on the lawn and suns the shoes till evening when he returns to collect them back.

The footwear seem to be of all types from sneakers, to cleats, to boots, sandals and pumps, to dress shoes.
And it appears to be different each day.

What is he doing? Where does he get these from? and why sun them every day and for the whole day long? Won't they dry out and crack under the burning heat?
I have yet to reach that stage of curiosity to approach him.

Till then, here's a short clip of him whom I shall call The Shoeman of Bukit Batok.

Dealing with mid life crisis.

I guess I am at that age when we "senior citizens" start showing symptoms of a mid life crisis!
No, I haven't considered buying a flashy red Mercedes yet, but lately I was thinking hard about buying a top end Nikon. Whatever for I don't know, but it's been nagging me. I am really doing all right with my point & shoot Olympus.

Another symptom is nostalgia.
I keep thinking about my younger days and start reminiscing. sigh, sigh.
I guess it must be a crisis after all.

Today I dug out some of my old, ancient, vintage kodachromes.
It's sad to see these fading fast and so I decided to digitized as much as I can.
For posterity.
My grandchildren will get a blast from it, if my son ever decides to make the jump.

I saved all these into a folder called "OMG! hahahaha."
That's because I know that will be the reaction from anyone who sees it.


Here's a sample.

That's me on the right with my M16.
We were having field training somewhere in Tampines long before the area became a public housing estate.  Hey! during my time we were still under the Israeli instructors and army life was a real torture.

If I come across any more gems, I'll see if it is fit to be published, who knows.
OMG! ha ha ha ha ha.

Teaching an old dog to speak american

For the past 192 years, Singapore has been using the British manner of English, or what we would say, "the Queen's English" or "BBC English". This has served us well, being the only nation in SE Asia, to have English as the main medium for official communication and work.

Last week, our elder statesman LKY, again stirred the hornet's nest by proposing that "it is inevitable.. to teach and recognize American English". The jury is still out on his call.

Inevitable or not, the American pervasiveness in all things today cannot be dismissed easily. On the Internet, English is really americanized. And my own belief is that sooner rather than later, American English will supersede all forms of communication, be it via the Internet, the airwaves or the media.

Thus, I tend to agree on this point with the ex-minster, who has been known at least to have some foresight now and then. Therefore, from today on, I will also try and convert to using the American form in my blogs.

Switching from british english to american english is not just simply a change in the form of the words.
It is not as easy as you think! 
Saying gas instead of petrol, elevators instead of lifts, apartments instead of flats does not make your thoughts american. It involves not only spelling but also the nuances of syntax and grammer. Phrases in british english are different from american english.

Though the lines dividing these are getting blurred as worldwide communication become much easier, there are subtle differences that can tell that I was not raised speaking or writing american english.
This is the dead giveaway, for which, I hope you will forgive as I progressively take this journey of learning new tricks.

There are grammatical differences in the way the british and the americans structure their sentences, although you may not have noticed. For example, collective nouns are used differently, we say "Manchester are the winners of the match", the American will phrase it as "Manchester is the winner of the game".

Thus, it will take a long time before all the subtleties are ironed out and my blog will be 'americanized'
From young I have been schooled in british english and it will take a great conscious effort to cross the Atlantic. My sister Jen had already made the transition decades ago, and hopefully can help point out whenever I unconsciously lapsed back into the Queen's English.

The other reason why I decided to make the switch is simply because all the tools on my Mac are in American English. The spell check, the keyboard, the nomenclature of working with the system are all easier, rather than having to correct the american spelling back to british spelling. Make sense doesn't it?

So from now on, you'll see me type learned instead of learnt, center instead of centre and dropping the u from honor, etc, etc. (is et cetra typically british?) The change will only apply in my written blogs. I'll start with spelling and eventually get around to the phrases.

If you think it's just a change of spelling, I'd suggest you read this primer from wikipedia regarding the differences in American and British English.

God help us all!

Reminder of my old army days

I was on my way to Kampong Glam for a photo shoot when I stopped by Alexandra Village for a bite.
Across the street, I noticed a building that immediately brought back memories of my old army days.
Are you old enough to remember this building?

This building, now abandoned and defunct, was the old SAF Reservist Association clubhouse, or commonly called SAFRA.

In my time (1975-1977), all soldiers were automatically members of SAFRA. You had no option and monthly dues were automatically deducted from your allowance. Servicemen were not paid a 'salary' but  were given an allowance. In my days, it was $90!

After your full-time service, all matters pertaining to the Reserves were dealt through SAFRA.
You applied for deferment or exit permits and any other matters with regards to your reserve status.
It was all manual as computerization had not arrived yet.
And of course, most important over all other matters, was your monthly entitlement of duty-free beer!

This clubhouse at Redhill was the pioneer servicemen's club with enrichment classes, games (tombolo, if you know what that is), sports and the very first rock climbing wall, which can still be seen in the photo above.

There is a signboard hanging outside the fence stating " New Hotel Development Soon"
Wonder if they will refurbish or tear down this old building?

Penitenziagite !

I just finished my 3rd reading of Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose.
This time it took me all of 20 days to get through this tome.
Just 1 day short of the loan period from the National Library.
It was one of the  most difficult  book I have ever read, but I loved every passage of it.

 I was introduced to this novel by a franciscan friar, Fr Alban, back in early 1990s, but in truth, I gave up half way through the book because it was too difficult to comprehend. My first attempt ended up in utter failure.

It was not till almost 8 years later that I managed to read through the entire book. By this time,  a movie starring Sean Connery had been  made, based loosely on this book. I watched the movie and was totally enamored by it and that made me resolve to re-read the book.

I remembered that it was still difficult to digest but at least now I understood the gist of the novel which helped to move the pages along.

The book is vastly different but superior to the movie. 

While the movie is an excellent whodunit, it really does not do justice to the book. I'll elaborate on this a little further down after I tell you of the novel.

The 2nd time I re-read the book I skimmed over a lot of difficult passages. Perhaps I had actually wanted to make a comparison between the movie and the actual novel. But I did remember that the novel was so enthralling that from then on I kept it listed as my all time favorite.

Now, after 20 years from my initial attempt, I again decided to re-read this great book but at a slower pace to get a deeper insight and to grasp the finer nuances of Eco's writing.  

While the movie portrays a medieval murder mystery, the focus of the book is not on the murders but more of the discourses of philosophy, logic, church practices during the middle ages,  politics of the Holy Roman Empire, the dreaded working of the Holy Inquisition and the great debate about the poverty of Christ.

There are beautiful discussions of literature and books, and how the medieval monks so lovingly sought to keep alive knowledge through books. These discourses between the protagonist of the novel, Bro William, and the other characters are intertwined with the investigation of the murders at the abbey.
At the end, when the monastery burned, Eco's writing keeps you spellbound with pages and pages just about the great fire. That's how good a book it is!

The novel is sprinkled generously throughout with extremely difficult words that needs explanation.

Words like enthymeme, palimsests, semiotics, syllogism, aedificium.
Also many phrases are in Latin, the language of the church in the middle ages. Whew!

My 3rd reading of this book now comes with hindsight, having over the years since read more and knowing better the history of the church, the middle ages, of popes and anti-popes, and a bit of the history of the franciscans. (I worked in a franciscan parish church as a full time administrator years back)

I would recommend this book to you if you are somewhat interested in the history of the middle ages, literature or debates about religious practices. If not, it's better to watch the movie.

The movie itself is excellent, but it departs a lot from the book and take a very liberal re-telling of the novel.
In fact, the producers at the beginning disclaim this disconnect by calling the movie "A Palimpsest of Umberto Eco's Novel"

The main thrust of the movie is about the murders that occur at a monastery, where a debate between the Pope's representatives and the Franciscan friars over the poverty of the church was about to take place.
The protagonist, Bro William of Baskerville, attempts to solve the mysterious murders.
Being erudite but striving to keep his humility as a friar, Bro William gets entangled with the superstitious Inquisitor Bernardo Gui (a real person in history).

I shall not spoil your interest by telling you the story but it may suffice to know that the book ends completely different from the movie.

If you wish to watch the movie, it's actually available on Youtube, but I can't guarantee when it will be pulled for copyright reasons. There are 2 copies of the book at the Clementi branch of the National Library.

You can follow the movie via the Youtube link above.

Why it's called Novena

To many people in Singapore, Novena means either the MRT station at Thomson Road,  the shopping malls that grew around it or simply that upper class district of Newton and its surrounding area.

The name Novena actually derives from a religious practice centered at the Church of St Alphonsus at Thomson Road. The Redemptorist friars have been conducting Catholic devotional prayer sessions every Saturday for the past 7 decades without fail. The prayer sessions are directed through Saint Mary, the mother of Jesus, under the title Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help.


This devotional prayer session is called a novena.

The novena consists of a series of repetitive prayers conducted over 9 days or 9 weeks culminating in a special 'feast' in honor of the saint to whom the devotion is made. Novena is Latin meaning nine.

This is in line with the Catholic theology of "the communion of saints". The belief that the Catholic church comprises members both present and past. Living members seek the intercession of past members (esp saints) whom they believe are now in heaven to pray, petition and intercede on their behalf.

These novenas have attracted so much devotees over the past decades, to the extent that most people do not recall the name of the church but know it simply as the Novena Church.

From this devotional practice, the term novena spread from the church to its surrounding, and thus, we now have Novena MRT Station, Novena Square, Novena Medical Center, and with many roads and condominiums there named after Novena.

Coming back to the origin, the Novena to Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help, runs over 9 weeks and culminates in a big procession in September each year.

This year the novena procession was held on Sunday 4th September.
It was so crowded that I could only take pictures of the event from where I stood.

My own poor estimate of the crowd today
would be about 20,000 people this year

Procession of the icon of Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help

This was taken about 2 hours before the start.
Already packed to the brim. (kneeling room only! ha ha)

Devotees even spilled over across Thomson Road
despite being divided by 2 lanes of  busy road traffic !

Click on the above pictures for detailed view

NEA builds a better mouse trap

More monkey business...

The macaques have always been a nuisance in the areas around the nature reserves.
They forage for food not only in the reserves but from houses and places adjacent to their habitats.

The trash bins are always a favorite as they know that it contains thrown away delicacies.
There have been many previous attempts by the NEA (or NParks?) to contain this problem by building money-proof trash bins. But the monkeys have always learned to open the lids of all the different bins.

(picture taken off stomp.com.sg)

Recently another new design appeared. This time again said to be monkey-proof.

I'll wait and see how long it takes the monkeys to learn to open the new bins.
Just hope that the monkeys have not yet learn to read the instructions.

If you can't open the bin, then the NEA has done a great job creating an idiot-proof bin.
(NEA=National Environment Agency)

Monkey business at MacRitchie

I have to cross an overhead pedestrian bridge along Lornie Road each time I go to work.
This bridge is actually pwned by a troop of macaques from the adjacent MacRitchie Nature Reserve.

This bridge is the territory of the macaques.  
Cross and get mugged at your own risk!

These monkeys are wild and will harass pedestrians encroaching into their territory.
They are specially conscious if you are carrying plastic bags. Be warned.

They are probably in tuned to visitors to the Nature Reserve who bring food to them in plastic bags.
They equate plastic bags with food and will try to snatch it from you when they see you with one.

This bridge is also a favourite location for another troop doing some other monkey business.
However, pedestrians are safe but motorists are not.
Here are some photos of the other troop doing their voyueristic monkey business on the bridge.

Just remember

or the macaques.

Missed by a whisker !

After finishing my previous blog on the tip from my wife about the old steel bridge at Bukit Panjang, I showed the missus the pictures I took yesterday and said that the bridge was not the original design.

The current bridge at Bukit Panjang

Another surprise from her, "That's not the bridge I saw."
Me: ??? "but that's the only bridge that's there now, exactly where your old house was."
So I tried googling for a streetview and guess what, she was right again!

There was a 1st generation steel truss bridge at that proximity but it was taken down recently and replaced by a newer temporary bridge at the exact location where she used to live. It was this newer bridge that I photographed yesterday.

Here is a screen capture from Google earth showing the original steel truss bridge.

Click on picture for a closer view.

Sadly, I just missed the opportunity to photograph the bridge myself.
The MRT contractors had taken down the bridge as it was right above the spot where the tunnelling works were being carried out.

Here is a shot of the same location taken from the new bridge yesterday.

The new bridge is located about 50m further down the road.
My only consolation is that at least I now have a photograph of the 1st generation steel truss bridge, albeit taken off Google Earth.

One more bridge to add to my database. Click to see them here.

A bridge too far.... gone?

Some of you may know that I have embarked on a quixotic adventure to photograph all the overhead pedestrian bridges in Singapore. My wife thinks I have gone bonkers going after these windmills.

Anyway, I have already started the project and doing a temporary website to collect this database.
If you wish to follow my progress, I have another blog to do the drafts while I prepare the website.
You can see them here. This project will probably take years to complete as I will snap photos as and when I come across the bridges.

The reason why I am doing this is simply for posterity.
To capture the images before it becomes history and only in people's memories.
This resulted from the interest that people had shown in seeking pictures of old bus stops in Singapore.

I mentioned to my wife that it was a shame that the first generation steel truss bridges, the very first overhead pedestrian bridges, can no longer be seen today. And guess what she said?

"I think I remember seeing one still at Bukit Panjang where my old house was"
"No way!", I said, "they demolished your old house and the bridge a long time ago!"
She insisted she saw one just recently there.

So this morning, before going to office, I made a detour to Bukit Panjang.
When I was approaching near where my wife's old house used to be... OMG! she was right!!!

From afar, in front of me, I could see the old type steel truss bridge !
...except....
it was not the first generation type that was built in Singapore.
But it was almost an identical replica.

It is a temporary overhead bridge built for access across the road due to the MRT tunneling works going on at Bukit Panjang. Here it is....

The difference is apparent when you get near.
The steel trusses form a box 2.5 metres high, whereas the original bridge only had side trusses about a meter high and didn't have supports over head.
The original bridges also had wooden steps and floorboards.
But I must say that from a distance, it really looks like the original 1st generation bridge.

The old steel truss bridges were replaced by concrete types from the 1980s onwards.
This was due to the difficulties in maintaining the steel bridges which corroded easily and needed very high maintenance compared to pre-stressed concrete.

I really wish I can find one in service still so that I can complete my database.
Does anyone know where one may still exist? In some forgotten corner of Singapore?
That will be my one bridge too far!

Before its all gone

I checked the traffic on my blogs today and, for some reason which I am unaware of, the most read article is "Old bus stops in Singapore" which I wrote 2 years ago.

When I looked deeper into the statistics, I found that most readers arrived at that article as a result of Google search. People were searching keywords like 'old bus stops' & 'Singapore heritage'.
I guess that for these people old scenes and heritage of Singapore are an interest.

Perhaps the interest is due to the fact that these things are fast fading from the scene.
I had thought that bus stops were pretty much mundane.

I was thinking perhaps I should start taking and keeping photographs of another mundane object which we take for granted - overhead pedestrian bridges. Should I?

When you look at the new Helix Bridge, Henderson Waves bridge and the Alexandra Arch which are all pedestrian bridges, perhaps one day, the typical bridges we use daily will just be a long forgotten memory.
Already the 1st generation steel truss pedestrian overhead bridges are no longer seen,  having been replaced by the concrete types.

I looked up the LTA website and it stated that there are 480 pedestrian bridges in Singapore under their care.
So I'll try and capture as many as I can. It will be a long ongoing project.
Perhaps one day in future, someone will do a search for 'old pedestrian overhead bridges' and laugh at the current designs.

Here's a bit of trivia.
Which was the 1st overhead pedestrian bridge built in Singapore?

Here's an archive photo of it.

The Collyer Quay pedestrian bridge opened on 8 April 1964.
The same bridge eventually evolved into the Change Alley Aerial Plaza.