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A little entertainment catching the hacked site of KFC Singapore around midnight yesterday (31 July 2009) from Frances. Apparently, she heard wind from her friends on Facebook. A quick reminder again of the power of social networking.


The good ole KFC website turned from this...


to this...

The site was left at this stage for a good few hours. Nightmare for KFC's SysAdmin and good humour from Hepatit Ottoman (of little known KFC Website Hacking fame). But the more concerning thought will be credit card information which may stored within the system... Personally, KFC have some explaining to do...

Think of Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia, Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, the Falmouth Harbour in England and the New York Harbour in USA; one might start noticing Chao Tian Men Harbour (朝天门) in Chongqing (重庆), China as one of the few great harbours in the world. Chao Tian Men is the biggest harbour along the upstream of the Yangtze River (长江), also the longest river in China and Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It is said to be the best place to start sightseeing in Chongqing, where the muddy, churning waters of the Yangtze meets the transparent Jialing River.

Right across facing Chao Tian Men Square is Sunshine 100 (阳光100), with a priceless night view.


Looking directly across to Sunshine 100 (阳光100) from Chao Tian Men Harbour (朝天门) in the night


A short walk across to the harbour right across the road


View from my balcony facing directly facing the new CBD, the newly opened (in 1 May 2009) Chao Tian Men Bridge and the Chongqing Opera House on the left


A private rest area overlooking Chao Tian Men Harbour


A tour around 阳光100 (Chongqing Sunshine 100) Apartment

The apartment is close to great amenities with a row convenient shops just next to my block, a shopping mall currently in construction just down a flight of stairs and down the stretch of NanXi Road are up market restaurants and pubs.

See the apartment's sneak peak in January 2009

See the apartment unit's showflat video

More Chongqing Sunshine 100 Apartment Pictures

Muahhahahaha... the Egg Shaker is in the house! Finally gotten myself a pair of Jim Dunlop USA EGG SHAKERS in BLACK! The exact pair on my Amazon Wishlist! Thanks to Jock who picked them up at Swee Lee! The eggs are just the right size for the hand and extremely inviting to use.

And if you're secretly giggling and thinking that egg shaking is child's play... think again. It is all about adding accents to the rhythm on down beats such as two and four. There is a certain technique to it.

Shaun Schaefer, drummer for Platinum recording artist Blessid Union Of Souls teaches a few tips and tricks on the percussion shakers:


Holding the Egg Shakers


Playing the Egg Shakers

Now to get some real practice so I can decently "shake" a beat or two. Then to add a pair of Maracas into the collection!

Sundays should be this good! To attend morning mass and then head over to Dempsey Road's 32,000 square feet HOUSE for a lovely brunch, chat and chill. The occasion was really to give Sharon a belated birthday treat. But as it appeared, we all needed one of these afternoons.

The double-storey compound consists of art inspired multifunction private rooms, a yoga studio, library, living greenhouse, modern retail apothecary among other spaces.


BARRACKS' newspaper like menu

Brunch was at BARRACKS, a chic cafe, with a menu that reflects a modern nouveau naturelle cuisine, bringing together the freshest ingredients with a global appeal.

To be safe, make a reservation. The place was packed full when we arrived and with a reservation, they placed us under their designer Big Table. We were literally eating UNDER a table. What some might call "Pan-Tang".


Wild Truffle Mushroom Skinny Pizza
An instant favourite with generous mushroom toppings and a cracker like crust


Bay Prawn Capellini - a House signature
Rich prawn Bolognese. Braised baby leeks. Micro herbs, Angel-hair pasta, pecorino cheese shavings and chili

The Capellini was close to what you'd expect at a good pasta place such as Wild Rocket. It reminds me to give Mount Emily another visit someday.


For dessert, we had the 7-Layer Pancake
Burrow your way through 7 layers of fluffy batter pancakes. Hidden gems and spreads like nutella, green raisins, dried apricots, maple syrup, hazelnuts and pistachios lay within the seams - it's 7th heaven!


Art installations around the building

After brunch, take a walk around the building to enjoy special rooms dedicated for art. The rooms are also open for movie screenings and art talks on special days.



There's certainly enough on the menu to garner another visit. Their innovative concoctions and drink creations such as The Tiffin Punch and the Prohibition Long Island Iced Tea Party are something I'd like to try someday.

There was more talk on food when we visited Jones the Grocer and then to Harry's for beer in the middle of the afternoon! Mid-day beer was pure weird.

Let's just say it was the most unlikely concert I attended - the Super Band (纵贯线) Singapore Concert. If not for a pair of tickets compliments from Vic... When I was given the tickets, I went "What's this about?"; frowned when I heard it was a Chinese concert and starting scratching my head on who to bring along. I was thinking who could be a Zhou Hua Jian (Emil Chau) fan, and thought mom might enjoy attending the concert. Vic was quick to emphasize it was a "ROCK" concert! Still - being a Zhou Hua Jian fan, mom was excited at the concert experience.

Super Band brought together the four biggest names in the Mandarin pop scene - Jonathan Lee (李宗盛), Chang Chen-yue (张震岳), also known as A-Yue, Zhou Hua Jian (周华健) and Luo Dayou (罗大佑) . Those who listened to Mandarin songs would have heard of them. Besides Zhou Hua Jian, I had no clue who the other 3 dudes were until the concert. Combined they had composed more than 600 songs, released more than 70 albums and held more than 360 sold-out concerts. For the first time ever, they have come together to form a band, Super Band, and kick start their world tour 2009!

The foursome have survived the ever-changing music industry with their tenacious style and strong belief in their own works. Putting the four strong music icons together seemed not an easy task, but they wanted to challenge the impossible and create a new high for themselves and the music industry!

It was a sold out one night concert. To my surprise, there were heaps of uncles and aunties. I even spotted a couple of grannies. Grayed hair, wheel-chair kindda grannies. My mom felt right in place.

Not until the music started - music tuned up and bass pumping! It was literally a heart pounding experience for mom. Wonder how those grannies felt?!?!
A good 1st part of the concert were my kind of trashy music performed by Chang Chen-Yue, a 34-year-old Taiwan rock sensation and the youngest member of the band.


Chang Chen-yue (张震岳) - I Want Money


Chang Chen-yue (张震岳) and I have no clue what's the title of this song... but it has a nice trashy beat


The foresome with a crowd favourite - Tong Nian (童年)

The later half of the concert turned into a mega stadium karaoke. This aunty sitting next to me knew EVERY song and EVERY lyric. She was clapping, bobbing her head and screaming out loud. It was unreal seeing these upper middle aged folks having such a good time. Almost scary...


The crowd singing along to Zhou Hua Jian (周华健)'s Pa Hei (怕黑)

Mom really enjoyed the concert; except for those Chang Chen-yue numbers which I thought were the better ones. The production was very nicely put together. Nice lighting and stage effects with a very professional backup band. And I'm starting to appreciate Chinese Rock! It's cool in a ridiculous, weird way. And it's trashy!

Friday Night (a week ago): As the golden sun set and the pale moon rose, the girls and I took a stroll to the Singapore National Museum to soak in the nocturnal extravaganza of the Night Festival 2009.

The National Museum opened its doors to the public with outdoor film screenings showcasing local talent, including P Ramlee (Curse of the Oily Man), Glen Goei (Forever Fever) and Royston Tan (881). In and around the museum were also art installations glowing with pride in the night.


The Beginning by Sun Yu-Li
Stainless steel tube with LED linear light
Approx. H 2.1m x W 2.1m x L 5.8m

The Beginning is a stainless steel sculpture with LED lights; the spiral form of which resembles a massive DNA model glowing in the night. Sun Yu-li adopts the approach ‘sculpture as a place’, in which the work incites the viewer to move or explore within its space.


The Tree by FARM (Singapore)
Steel, Timber, LED light tubes, Microphones
Approx. H 7m x D 10m

A contemporary reinterpretation of the huge Banyan Tree in front of museum, The Tree is a reconstruction of a series of interlocking frames with lights that pulsate gently in the night. Hanging microphones simulating that of aerial roots will also detect environmental sounds and alter the lighting nature of The Tree – glowing intensely and dimming down with the rising and falling sound levels.

Just like in the past, as it is now, this installation will inspire people to slow down, take a breather and simply bask and partake in this recreation of nature’s wonder. It was quite a sight seeing young children climbing around the structure as if it was a real tree!

On the opposite lawn of SMU green, a series of multicultural performances and street art were on stage. They were so cultural, they were literally boring...

Everyone was practically at the festival to catch the fiery display of pyrotechnics and acrobatics by a German arts troupe Pan.Optikum, entitled “Loop of Fortune".


The story tells of a man's trials and tribulations in the circle of life.

Quite unfortunately, due to the physical distance the act had to go through (from the back of SMU green to the large scale finale in front of the National Museum), everyone probably only caught 1/2 the performance. There was no way to move, once you got into a spot.

Where I stood on the left of the stage was exactly where the fireworks shot up for the grand finale. I lifted my my head and above was a blast of fiery explosion of light. It was honestly magical. But I wouldn't even want to imagine an explosion go wrong.

Lusting over the sexy KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer...

I've been advised to consider my ROI (on the no. of times I bake) if I do choose to make the purchase! When did the people around me become such business vultures?!?!


Tempting, tempting...
Would be a lovely piece of equipment to go with my stainless steel TEKA HI-735 Oven.

The use of space infused with design fascinates me. A well designed space shows attitude and character. It sets the mood for our behaviour, interaction and thoughts.

Earlier in the year, I enjoyed the Come-in: Interior Design exhibit showcasing designs by 27 German artists all born in the 1960s and early 1970s. And when exhibits from the Verner Panton showcase arrived, I took some time off on a Thursday afternoon for a little "art furniture" tour.

"The main purpose of my work is to provoke people into using their imagination and make their surroundings more exciting" - Verner Panton

Verner Panton (1926-1998) was the most remarkable Danish innovative talent of 20th Century design and architecture. He envisioned a colourful and happy future. He was passionate about experimenting with new materials and production techniques for his furniture collection. Panton’s playfully optimistic faith in Pop and technology are visible in his design for lightings, textiles and furnitures.

The career of Verner Panton was highlighted by the Fantasy landscapes he created for Bayer in 1968 and 1970 (Dralon & Visiona II) that have now achieved cult status. Verner Panton was not obstructed by limitations that adults incur throughout life. Instead, he thought and created with the imaginary vision of a child, in bold beautiful colors and shapes.

It is so true when he says "One sits more comfortably on a colour one likes."


Interactive Visiona II exhibit - vividly coloured cave-like space for reclining


A classic Verner Panton Pantower


If you ever wondered about inflatable furniture, this is the guy that developed them - made from transparent plastic film in 1960.


The "total environment" for the Astoria Hotel at Trondheim in Norway where the walls, floors and ceilings were covered in an Op Art-inspired pattern in variations of the same colour. This was the precursor to the later, more fantastical "total environments" which Panton was to create at the Hamburg headquarters of Spiegel magazine in 1969


Swimming Pool at Spiegel Publishing House, Hamburg, Germany 1969


What I call "Banana Chairs"! Flying Chair, a playful piece of fantasy furniture, which was the hit of the 1964 Cologne Furniture Fair


1967 Panton Chair, the first cantilevered chair made from a single piece of plastic. Sleek, sexy and a technical first, the Panton was the chair of the era. Kid chairs came in a smaller size and in pastel colours! The chairs were surprising comfortable and sturdy, with a solid built molded on the curves

The exhibition was small, but showcased the most important of Panton's works. His designs fused creativity and usefulness, as seen in his 1-2-3 System Furniture; and really gets you thinking about adding that extra punch into your space.

More Verner Paton Exhibition 2009 Pictures

"More so than ever now, we need to know the truth" - Fr. Simon Perrier (St. Teresa Youth Mass 5 July 2009)

More STYG Youth Mass 2009 Pictures

I've never been a 'personality test' kind of person. Thus I have done few of them in my course of life. I never really quite see the point. Think the last such test I did seriously was the Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

So this time when asked to the D.I.S.C Assessment, I decided to make my colleague fill up my record, while I did hers! I thought it would be interesting to find out if what others thought of me is similar to what I figured myself to be.

D.I.S.C is the four quadrant behavioral model based on the work of William Moulton Marston Ph.D. (1893 - 1947) to examine the behavior of individuals in their environment or within a specific situation. It therefore focuses on the styles and preferences of such behavior.

The result turned out to be surprisingly accurate. Everyone agreed that it reflected my personalty type very well... duh...

Result: I(Influence) D(Direct)

As an Influential/Direct person you work with and through people. You are naturally outgoing, interested in people and able to gain their respect and confidence. You are the most outgoing of all the styles. You are a little more organized and productive because of your Direct style. It balances out the Influential. You easily persuade others to see your point of view. As an Influential/Direct person you keep them as friends and clients. You sell your ideas as well as yourself. You are most trusting of people. You like sports. You will most probably be financially successful.

As an Influential/Direct person you admire people who express themselves well. You like challenging assignments with variety and mobility. You need work that makes you look good to others. You are too optimistic about others and about your ability to do the job. People see you as gullible and tend to take advantage of you. As an Influential/Direct person you are unrealistic about your ability to change others' behavior. Although you need freedom from routine, you also need data or at least logical thinking. You are open and friendly to others, sometimes too open. You tell others personal information that is better kept to yourself.

Status symbols are important to you, such as a big car and fancy house. You can be motivated with your name in lights, recognition in front of your co-workers, certificates and plaques. You are optimistic and enthusiastic. You're a born salesperson and can persuade almost anyone about anything. You trust others implicitly. The Direct in you is direct and may be controlling but the Influential in you is supportive. You may act in either fashion. You try to be helpful with slower paced, less expressive people but often override and interrupt them. You are most receptive to a friendly, open manner. You accept aggression in others and can be aggressive yourself. You like fun and child-like things. You don't seem to mind when things go wrong, saying, "That's life." Your handshake is firm. Your expression shows you to be eager. You look others directly in the eye.

Social Networking:Understanding Communication Changes is a presentation I did in late May as a topic I covered in my department's communication session. Social networking on the Internet continues to be my pet subject with my latest review on how the Internet medium was used in Michael Jackson's death.

The presentation aims to explore the influence of Social Networking through the Internet and how it impacts modern day communication.

Content:
Overview

Impacts on Technology
1) Raise of Citizen Journalism

2) Change the way we “search”

3) Change the way we communicate
- Case Study # 1: Burger King Whopper Sacrifice
- Case Study # 2: Obama Presidential Campaign

Previous Communication Topics:
Understanding Sun Tzu's Art of War

For those who don't have an actual copy and want a glimpse into the memorial program. Michael Jackson King of Pop: A Celebration of the Life of Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009 at the Staples Centre, 7th July 2009.

This reminds me of Wendy's effort in 2007 to put together her own funeral booklet. She had planned to put in specially selected readings, hymns and a photo spread of people who mattered to her in life. She has since lost the soft copy file in a freak computer accident! Wonder if she'll make one again... I'm thinking now, it would be a lovely gift to leave behind.

LONDON, England (CNN) reports, "How many people does it take to break the Internet?" On June 25, we found out it's just one - if that one is Michael Jackson.

Just when I thought last year's 2008 US Presidential Election where Barack Obama took office was the biggest Internet phenomenon, the King of Pop, Michael Jackson showed no mercy to the World Wide Web, even at death!


On the News Front:
As soon as news broke by TMZ.com, a Los Angeles-based celebrity news website, the website experienced several outages.

The Los Angeles Times was one of the first trusted news source to verify Jackson's death. They reported nearly 2.3 million page views in just one hour - the highest traffic the newspaper has experienced in such a short time. That page view record beats any hour during the Times' highest traffic day of all time - November 5, 2008, the day after Barack Obama was elected President.

According to Venture Beat, the load times for major news sites slowed down from four seconds to nine seconds. Sites impacted included ABC, AOL, LA Times, CNN Money, and CBS.


CNN reported a fivefold rise in traffic and visitors in just over an hour, receiving 20 million page views in the hour the story broke.


Google's search query for "Michael Jackson". Of this staggering keyword, almost 50% had spelt "Michael" wrongly!


Mobile:
It was also a historic milestone for mobile Internet traffic. AT&T reported 68,000 text messages per sec upon news release of Jackson's death.

Twitter:

The illustration is an inspired piece from the twitter “Over Capacity” error message, but instead of a whale being carried it is Michael Jackson


Tweets about the pop icon comprised 30 percent of total volume on Twitter, and that might be a conservative estimate

Twitter reports that there were 5,000 Michael Jackson related feeds in Twitter per min. Twitter's search capabilities were temporarily removed to cope with the high search request.


This is a replay of twitscoop.com's real-time tag cloud of Michael Jackson's Memorial

Not surprisingly, Michael Jackson’s memorial took over conversations on Twitter 7 July 2009. Jackson related tweets occupy all 10 of Twitter’s top trending topics. Aside from “MJ Memorial” and the “#michaeljackson” hashtag, users are discussing the activities of the proceedings, various performers, presenters, and the venue (Staples Center) all of which occupied the top slots.


Facebook:

However, Jackson's story was actually most shared on Facebook and not Twitter

That’s not altogether surprising considering that Facebook’s userbase is still much larger.

The King of Pop has vaulted from a mere 80,000 fans prior to his passing to nearly 6.7 million in just 1 week. That makes Jackson’s fan page the most popular on the entire site, surpassing Van Diesel and President Barack Obama. The huge following leaves the singer’s heirs and his record label with a massive network to communicate with fans and continue the massive resurgence of interest in Jackson’s music.


Wikipedia:
Wikipedia saw a flurry of activity, with close to 500 edits made to Jackson's entry in less than 24 hours. On hearing Jackson's death, fans logged onto Wikipedia immediately and change all of his details from present to past tense - "Michael Jackson is a recording artist" to "Michael Jackson was a recording artist".

Wiki was also forced to later lock Jackson's edit page to ensure accuracy.


YouTube:

Visible Measures (an Internet statics company), which goes beyond YouTube views and instead aggregates views from 150+ video sites, reports that videos of Thriller have been viewed almost 28 million times since his death (report as of 1 July 2009).


"Thriller": Record released on November 30, 1982. The 13min short film directed by John Landis changed MTV forever


"Smooth Criminal" from the short film "Moonwalker"

But my all time favourite MTV is Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal". I remembered catching the MTV on VHS tape specially recorded by Daffy's dad and hand delivered back from Hong Kong. Back then, MTV screenings in SG were a rare commodity. We always insisted Daffy's dad to faithfully record this MTV segment on HK television called "Salem A Video A Day", where the cigarette company, Salem would feature one MTV a day. We would gather to catch these tapes when he returned. Remembering how my jaw dropped when I saw the anti-gravity lean! It was totally crazy!


Jackson's death jumps sales of music and memorabilia, online and offline. Amazon.com and eBay had a sudden surge in demand on everything related to Michael Jackson. RollingStones.com and Apple iTunes.com sees Michael Jackson topping the best selling chart.

Financial analysts commented, at this rate in sales, Jackson's 1/2 a billion debt will be paid off in a couple of months.

This never before seen WWW eruption is causing the Internet big boys to review web infrastructure to preamp another such celebrity death and study key consumer behaviors. Searching, sharing and reacting to the news followed by online tributes has become the modern way to mourn.

Amidst the celebration and honour to probably the most talented entertainer in our century, the world continues to seek the truth behind everything about this man. Too much of his life was intertwined between the real and reel. A lot remains to be uncovered from his drug abuse, his assets, his family...

We can't stop. Not 'til we get enough.
And we probably never will...

CNN's release of video footage of the rehearsal two days before his death on 25 August 2009. Performing "They Don't Care About Us" mixed with "HIStory".

LOS ANGELES - THE 911 call from a member of Michael Jackson's entourage was released here on Friday, providing an insight into the pop star's tragic final moments as he lay unconscious.

On a tape released by the Los Angeles Fire Department, the unidentified male caller tells a switchboard operator that repeated attempts to revive Jackson via CPR had been unsuccessful.

The caller also tells the operator that Jackson's personal doctor - who was reportedly being sought by police on Friday - was the only witness to the star's collapse.

Here is the transcript of the emergency call placed from Michael Jackson's Los Angeles mansion at 12.21pm (1921 GMT, 12.21am Singapore time) on Thursday:

Operator: Fire and paramedics 33. What is the address of the emergency?

Caller: Yes sir, I need an ambulance as soon as possible, sir.

Operator: OK, sir. What is your address?

Caller: It's 100 North Carolwood Drive, Los Angeles, California, 90077.

Operator: You said Carolwood?

Caller: Carolwood Drive, yes.

Operator: OK, sir. What is the phone number that you're calling from?

Caller: (REDACTED)

Operator: And what exactly happened?

Caller: We have a gentleman here that needs help and he's not breathing yet. He's not breathing and we're trying to pump him but he's not. He's not.

Operator: OK, how old is he?

Caller: He's 50 years old, sir.

Operator: 50? OK, he's not breathing? Not conscious.

Caller: No, he's not breathing. He's not conscious sir.

Operator: Do you have him on the floor? Where's he at right now?

Caller: He's on the bed sir. He's on the bed. We need them.

Operator: Let's get him on the floor. We're already on the way.

I'm going to as much as I can to help you on the phone. We're already on our way. Did anybody see him?

Caller: Yes, we have a personal doctor with him, sir.

Operator: Oh, you have a doctor there?

Caller: Yes, but he's not responding to anything. He's not responding to CPR or anything.

Operator: Oh, OK, we're on our way there. If your guy is doing CPR and you're instructed by a doctor, he's a higher authority than me. And he's there on scene. Did anybody witness what happened?

Caller: No, just the doctor, sir. The doctor has been the only one there.

Operator: OK, so the doctor saw what happened?

Caller: Doctor, did you see what happened, sir? (Someone spoke in the background but the words were not intelligible.)

Caller: Sir, if you can please.

Operator: We're on our way. I'm just passing these questions on to my paramedics while they're on the way there, sir.

Caller: Thank you sir. He's pumping his chest but he's not responding to anything. Please.

Operator: OK, OK. We're on our way. We're less than a mile away from Cedars and we'll be there shortly.

Jackson was reportedly rushed to UCLA Medical Center this afternoon; paramedics reported that Jackson was not breathing when he arrived at the hospital. He was pronuced dead at 2:26 pm.