mrbrown.com

German TV show: Verrückt Singaporeans!

This German TV show plays fast and loose with facts about Singapore.

Part 1

Part 2

All I can say to the producers of this TV program is: Geh' 'ne Kuh melken*!

*"Go milk a cow!"

This cannot be unseen (You have been warned)

Youtube link: mrbrwn.co/juiXuK

Oh, by the way, Nic created a Facebook fan page for this lot. In case you can't get enough of their grooviness.

You know me, always ready to share the good stuff with my readers.

CNNGo column: Manly enough for Sydney?

Latest CNNGo.com "Say What? with mrbrown" column: Manly enough for Sydney?

Excerpt:

I am writing this on the Manly Ferry in Sydney. I am not sure why the place I am going to is called Manly but I decided that I am manly enough to be there.

Being the typical Singaporean abroad, I could not help comparing prices. And Sydney gave me a lot to complain about.

Do I need to be as manly as these guys to visit Manly Beach?
For instance, this ferry ride was A$13.20 (S$17.20) return. Ouch. Earlier on, I found that meals were A$10 on average.

I am too used to paying S$5 a meal at our hawker centers so every visit to even the most budget Australian fast food joint was painful.

Mineral water was A$3 for a small bottle. Cough syrup was A$18 for a bottle at a late night convenience store. The same store sold some no-brand double-A batteries for close to AU$10 for two.

You get the picture.

Hang on, I need to take some obligatory touristy photos of my ferry ride … Okay, I'm back. Where was I? Ah yes, prices. (cont'd)

Nightingale Nursing Home Mistreats Patient

The son of the elderly woman recorded secretly this video at The Nightingale nursing home along Braddell Road, showing two nursing aides abusing his 75-year-old mother. She was seen sitting naked under a ceiling fan, then chucked on the bed roughly, and was even slapped her when she groaned in pain.

According to news reports, the private nursing home has "disciplined the staff member involved".

The Health Ministry's statement: "There were significant lapses in the care standards provided to the patient in question. This should not have happened. There should have been tighter supervision of staff rendering care to vulnerable patients. Patient's dignity and respect must be upheld at all times."

Disciplined? Lapses?

No one was persecuted, no heads rolled for this, and the home was merely suspended from taking new patients.

Outrageous.

The new mrbrown show studio being built

We are moving the studio/office soon and renovations are underway. Just saw the new studio being built and I'm glad it is coming together.

One has to be careful with the rockwool used in the walls though. That stuff is itchy on the skin, man.

I am now looking for spots to park my bicycles.

Everyday Life 14 (Sydney edition)

Joy is a flag flown high from the bottom of my heart.

Noon at the GPO.

He wondered when someone would stop to ask him for a light.

A good Italian meal being prepared in the busy kitchen.

"He has invited me; he is waiting for me; he is longing for me."

Made with my iPhone and shared on Instagram.

Everyday Life 13 (Sydney edition)

Hello Sydney!

Rogier Van Der Heide speaking in Sydney.

Sunset over Sydney.

Drinks at the Flying Fish.

He stood before the setting sun, waiting for his answers.

Whale watching on a lovely day, Kurnell, Kamay Botany Bay National Park.

Made with my iPhone and shared on Instagram.

SPARC 2011: Let there be light

This is the Sydney Opera House like you've never seen her before. When they said Vivid Sydney, they really meant Vivid. The city is illuminated with light installations in so many places, I didn't know where to start taking photos. I spent a long time just staring at the Opera House to see the colours change.

SPARC, the lighting professionals event that is part of Vivid Sydney, also kicked off with a bang. I think people enjoyed looking at the bartenders spewing fire out of their mouths. It reminded me of the How to Train Your Dragon movie I watched on the A380 flight here.

This installation by Singapore's Angela Chong caught my eye too. Located along Circular Quay, near the Sydney Opera House, you could not resist sitting on it.

Or in my case, PLANKING on it.

Some of you thought I was floating on light. Well, Sydney certainly is.

Almost forgot the travel insurance…

Trust us to forget one important thing before our flight to Sydney, travel insurance. Ryan settled it with a quick visit to the ATM and with a few presses, we bought TravellerShield for him.

We are off to Vivid Sydney and SPARC 2011!

Ryan and I are on our way to Sydney tonight for Vivid Sydney and Philips at SPARC. We are carrying a fair bit of video and photography gear for this special trip.

Vivid Sydney is an awesome "festival of lights and music and ideas" and coinciding with this is the SPARC International Lighting Event 2011 where there will be lighting art installations and invited speakers talking about lighting industry's part in an ever=changing urban landscape. I will covering Philips at SPARC.

Join me as I blog, tweet, video, photograph, and instagram my way through Vivid Sydney and SPARC 2011 this entire week. If you are interested in architecture, creativity and lighting installations, this will be an especially awesome trip to follow me on.

My twitter is @mrbrown and the Philips twitter account is @PhilipsLight. I will also be taling iPhone photographs via my instagram account @mr_brown and the Philips instagram is @PhilipsLight.

A few more hours to our Red Eye flight. I am mentally going through our do list and gear list to ensure we didn't forget anything. And may I add, a Canon EF 24-70 mm F2.8L lens is a beast of a lens to carry.

X-Men: Play School: Magneto as a kid

If you knew Magneto as a kid, you'd know he was gonna grow up to be a badass.

{via}

CNNGo column: the art of #shitizenjournalism

Latest CNNGo.com "Say What? with mrbrown" column: the art of #shitizenjournalism

Excerpt:

The first time someone spotted Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew taking public transport, it was a novelty (although I am told that he takes it quite often, and did so even before he was Transport Minister. Good on him.)

But really, do we need a second news article about him being seen in public transport again? Will we see a third news report about said minister taking a bus too?

If you notice, the photo had the STOMP logo on it, marking it as a product of what our local papers like to call "citizen journalism" (they run this site for you to submit your, ahem, scoops).

While this photo of our new Transport Minister was fairly uncontroversial, the stuff that shows up on STOMP tends to range from the banal to the brain-dead.

There, I said it. I am going to get angry emails from STOMPers now. But come on, how many times do we need to see indignant "news reports" like:

"Outraged: Man parks car across two parking lots!"
"Video: Old dude walks around his house without any clothes on!"
"Exclusive photos: Schoolgirls seen wearing uniforms too short in public!"
"Scandalous: Young couple making out in the train. Do their parents and principal know?" (cont'd)

the mrbrown show: a righteous president

So many people want to be President! Apply at mrbrownshow.com!

Play "the mrbrown show: a righteous president"