The wife and I had a glorious time laughing and singing along at Hossan Leong’s big Five-Oh show: “Hossan-AH 50! - Love You LEONG Time”.
I don’t think we stopped laughing or smiling the entire time.
So many friends, old and new, were there to support a man who directs, acts, sings, speaks French, sings French, does standup comedy, and plays the piano. That’s not an exhaustive list of Hossan’s talents either. He is even a knight.
His performance oozed with the easy confidence of a man with decades of entertainment experience behind him.
I have known Hossan since Primary school, when the two of us were the only boys in class with glasses. And it warms my heart to see him carry his 50th birthday show with such class.
Here’s to the next century, old friend. May it be an even better one.
I was so moved after the show, I gave my primary school classmate a big hug. He is truly a National Treasure, and he is the personification of our school motto, The Best is Yet to Be.
The run ends on 31st August 2019. There are already sold-out shows. Don’t wait. Go and watch.
Tickets here: https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/chossan0819⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Singtel and HBO sent the wife and me to New York City to watch the gala premiere of Game of Thrones, Final Season, Episode 1. When we first heard from them, I was like, REALLY? We get to fly to watch the long-awaited final season of GoT??? Before ANYONE else on earth?
My wife is an even bigger fan of GoT than I am. And this was MAJOR brownie points. Even my second brother, who is a hardcore fan (he has watched ALL of GoT from Season 1 to 7 at least three times per episode) was jellies. He wanted me to pack him in my suitcase and take him along.
So we packed our bags in a hurry, grabbed the Singtel ReadyRoad SIM Card, and flew to the Big Apple for the Big Event. We visited the huge Iron Throne at 30 Rock and queued to redeem our tickets at the HBO HQ.
You can see how excited we both were. Like little kids off to see the circus. Of course, we had to go to the HBO store to get us some merch. I got my brothers some GoT tees, to share a bit of the excitement.
That very night, we got dressed up and went to Radio City Music Hall for the show. The wife asked, "Are we watching all six episodes of Season 8?"
"Er, no dear. You wish. Only Episode 1. I think the stars want to go home and won't be able to sit through more than six hours at the screening," I said.
A large number of the cast came, and they graced the stage to a standing ovation. It felt like forever that the series began in 2011, and to see the cast from the first season till now, made the hairs of my arm stand.
And the a hush came over the hall and the show began. We laughed, we cheered, we clapped. It was like a reunion with the show that took an almost two-year break from Season 7. And then, it was over.
We walked out of Radio City Music Hall with so many questions. So many feelings. I sent out a live video with my wife, to the fans back home. And then we walked past the red carpet area where the stars walked, as they dismantled the scaffolding. Then we realized we had to wait a few more weeks before we could see the rest of Season 8. Sigh.
Do sign up with Singtel and HBO if you want to catch the rest of the final season of GoT. It is with a mix of anticipation, at the conclusion of a story we have followed for years, and some sadness, that it was all going to end, that we felt as we walked home to our hotel in Broadway.
At least we still had a few nights left in NYC, to see some shows, to walk in Central Park, and to visit the MET before going home. It was one of the best trips the wife and I have ever had in the States. Thanks Singtel and HBO!
Going home is such sweet sorrow. It was such a chore not spilling the beans on what I saw at the gala. But mrbrown is no spoiler of shows. So my lips are sealed. That's what I do: I drink and I know things.
Caption: The author in Mount Gassan, Japan, contemplating the meaning of life and the future of mobile wallet apps.
People who know me know I am a bit of an electronic payments kind of person. I hate carrying cash because it takes away precious space from my falling-apart wallet and I won't have space for the useless receipts I never throw away.
DBS PayLah! lets you pay another PayLah! user with just that person's mobile number. Sure, you can pay with internet banking or ATM funds transfer, but then you'll have to know the other party's bank account number and/or your banking dongle.
I can do small payments and fund transfers easily with PayLah! I use it all the time. For example, I got a text the other day from the wife that said, "Please pay for the son's tuition."
Sure, easy. Except that I was in Japan at the time. But no problem, I just sent the money to the wife via PayLah! from my iPhone. Boom. Done.
Caption: The author in Yamagata, Japan, just before the wife told him to pay the tuition fees.
I don't pay any fees and my wife doesn't either and she can easily transfer the funds from her PayLah! wallet to her POSB bank account, also from her iPhone.
I even converted my aircon repair man, Ronnie. I taught him how to install and sign up for PayLah! and I paid him with just his phone number.
So now it's so easy. The wife would message me while I am in Taiwan on a work trip, to tell me that the aircon was dripping on my precious wireless speaker system.
I would call Ronnie to tell him I think my aircon needs servicing, maybe a major one.
Then he comes by with his team and does the servicing and a chemical clean.
Then I pay him with PayLah! I don't need to prepare cash or cheque to pay Ronnie. I even include a WhatsApp message to him at the same time as I sent the payment within the app.
Caption: The author in Taiwan, just before the wife told him to pay the aircon man.
Now is a good time to sign up for PayLah! by the way. Don't say I bo jio. DBS will give you $5 if you refer a friend and that friend signs up, he or she gets $5 too.
It's win-win for both of you!
The maximum amount you can earn is $50 when you get up to 10 friends to sign up for PayLah!.
And the maximum maximum reward one can earn is $55: ($5 if you’re a new sign-up through someone’s referral code) + (10 friends x $5) = $55
This friend referral program will run from 4th November to 15th December 2016 so hurry and do it. Do eeeeeeet!
I already started. I am referral King. Use my referral code if you need one: KINXGD221
The "Artist and Empire: (En)countering Colonial Legacies" exhibition is now on at National Gallery Singapore and I am in it! Kind of. The British High Commissioner to Singapore, Mr Scott Wightman and I recorded an audio tour for this exhibition and I think it was jolly good. So do go down to the National Gallery and check it out.
You should download the Gallery Explorer app (iOS or Android) to enjoy my sexy voice telling you about some of the art featured in "Artist and Empire". It is FREE, so kahkin download!
The exhibition looks at art associated with the British Empire and how it has been represented and contested.
We had a lot of fun recording our bits (audio bits, I mean). I also had to do a lot of homework reading up on the art I was supposed to be knowledgeable about.
Artist and Empire: (En)countering Colonial Legacies (in association with London’s Tate Britain) runs from 6 October 2016 to 26 March 2017, but wah lau eh, don't wait until next year then go lah. Fasterly go!
It is at the Singtel Special Exhibition Gallery, Level 3, City Hall Wing. Admission is S$15 for Singaporeans (got discount ok?) and S$25 for non-Singaporeans. For more information on the exhibition, visit www.nationalgallery.sg
(Photos by Ung Ruey Loon)
I am in Japan (I know, again) for ten days of travel shooting. Follow me as I take the Panasonic LUMIX GX85 camera out for a spin through Nagano, Yamagata and Iwate.
I will be posting on Instagram under the hashtag #GXLikeABoss and also on my Facebook page. And the occasional Snapchat (My Snapchat username is mrbrownlah).
And yes, I know I look like Paddington Bear in that hat. It's my favorite hiking hat and you can't take it away from me!
Waiting for our train from Shinjuku, Tokyo, to Matsumoto.
Kamikochi in Matsumoto.
The place where they filmed Oshin, Ginsan Onsen. I want to come back in winter to see it again.
Lovely lake at Mount Gassan (月山 地蔵池), Yamagata.
And yes, all the photos here were made by me with the GX85. Ryan took the photo of me above with a second GX85. It's like GX85ception.
Yes, I am in my old Anglo-Chinese Secondary School uniform. Yes, it is newly bought because I cannot fit in my Sec 4 one anymore. But it is for a good cause.
(I know, my shoes sure kena prefect catch one. And my hair is too long and wrong colour, so Mr Tjia or Mr Sachi, our discipline masters, sure come after me one.)
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#IncomeOrangeAid champions empowerment through education for youth in need.
We support the cause by standing together in our school uniforms.
Join us by posting an old school photo of yourself in uniform and tag 3 friends to do the same. For every photo post, Income will donate $1 to the cause. Find out more at http://www.income.com.sg/orangeaid
Post your photo with the above caption in full and remember to set your post to public!
When Qingjian Realty asked me if I wanted to see their Smart Home showflat, I was at first a bit skeptical. It is not easy to pull this off and get the tech infrastructure right. So out of curiosity, I went to the northern part of Singapore to have a look at their showflat.
The Visionaire is an Executive Condominium (EC) project located near the upcoming Canberra MRT station, at Sembawang. It is touted as the first EC with Smart Homes.
Now I love tech as much as the next geek, and I have tried to make my own home “Smart”, so I know how hard it is to implement the Internet of Things on your own. I think if a developer can help you implement the Smart Home stuff from the beginning, using standards like ZigBee and Z-Wave, you will be able to build on that infrastructure easily.
On my tour of their Smart Home showflat, Qingjian showed me how they envision future homes, with their technology partner Samsung Asia. There is Smart Home tech like a digital lockset for your door, Smart IP cameras for monitoring your home inside and outside, Smart air conditioner, Smart motion and temperature sensors, a Smart sound system, Smart washing machine and Smart lighting, all controlled by a Smart Home Control Center app, that is available for both Android and iOS.
Turn on the aircon to get the best temperature just before reaching home, or turn on the lights and music and draw the curtains as a morning wake-up alarm, or turn on your washing machine for it to finish the laundry just before you get back, it can all be done in this Smart home.
I particularly liked the ability to monitor the power usage of the various appliances and devices in the apartment.
The Visionaire EC also offers the hiLife app, already in use by many other properties, for future Visionaire residents to do things like book facilities, get home services, and order from food caterers (like for your upcoming BBQ).
Tech aside, I was very impressed by the layout of the entire property. That 50m pool, wow.
There is ample greenery and generous communal space, an iconic-looking clubhouse with rooms for courses, parties and functions, and BBQ pits peppered throughout the area.
I was struck also by the clever use of space in the apartments. You can combine two spaces into a larger area, a concept Qingjian calls CoSpace.
The fittings and materials used are very high quality, I must say. If you didn’t tell me this was an Executive Condominium, I would have sworn it was some high-end condo. I also liked that the blocks are spaced out nicely, without the over-density that plagues other developments.
Sembawang MRT station is nearby, and when Canberra MRT station is open very soon after The Visionaire is completed, it will be even more convenient. There are also shopping centres nearby, like Sun Plaza, and the upcoming North Point City and Canberra Plaza, and a future sports and community hub.
Do drop by at their future life exhibit and see it for yourself. E-applications start from 8th of April 2016, and details are at www.thevisionaire.com.sg.
I just realized that this is the fourth year in a row I am writing on dengue prevention (last year I wrote this). But I had a scare a few weeks ago, when I was suspected of having dengue (it turned out to be food poisoning and fever). And another friend had a dengue attack just weeks before a church Christmas production (he got well, thank goodness). Both cases reminded me that dengue is still out there
2013 was a year when dengue cases were very high. NEA projects that dengue cases this year could go up to 30,000. That is higher than the record in 2013 when 22,170 cases were reported.
Already the weekly cases from Jan – Mar were much more than compared to 2015. That is not a good way to start 2016. Apparently this is due to El Nino causing warmer weather conditions, high mosquito population and a change of the main circulating virus. Warm conditions make mozzies breed and mature faster. It's like a summer honeymoon for them.
Go check out the dengue clusters from dengue.gov.sg, and see that many of the hotspots are in residential areas. Because a majority of mosquito breeding habitats are found in homes.
Our homes, people. The mozzies are breeding in our homes and disrespecting us!
It's such a serious situation that the big stick is coming down. At this year's Mozzie Wipeout campaign launch, the NEA announced a step up in enforcement measures — any homes found with mosquito breeding are liable for a fine, as opposed to only those found in dengue clusters. Nobody likes to be fined but tough times need tough measures.
But besides enforcement, NEA is also deploying gravitraps to monitor and suppress mosquito population, as well as drones to check for mosquito breeding in areas that are hard to reach. There are also breakthroughs in dengue vaccines that are being tested for viability for use in Singapore.
I would like to see those drones in action myself. That's pretty cool use of tech.
So please please please lah, help yourself and your family and help your neighbours and do your part.
Doing the Mozzie Wipeout is very easy: Turn the pail, flip the plate, tip the vase, cap the pole holder, clear the gutter. So catchy, maybe I should write another Mozzie Wipeout song like I did last time.
I didn't manage to get on TV news with the new Minister this year (heng ah, I have a tendency of photobombing these events hor?) but I still say: dengue must die. So do the 5-Step Mozzie Wipeout. Stop the breeding, you stop the dengue transmissions, it is as simple as that.