I AM THE OPIUM, TAKE THE OPIUM; TAKE ME AND YOU'LL BE FREE

Will you say that

these cars look awesome

just because their paint job designs

were the work of agnès b.?

The first of the two designs see the Peugeot 107 take on a gold polka dotted paint job on its existing red base, a 1950s throwback that makes this car look like a giant hongbao..

The second design dresses the car in purple stripes on its existing silver base, which is a tribute to the striped tee that is one of agnès b.’s brand signatures.. I don't know why but this car reminds me of Deepavali and I think that it's as ugly as the first one..

In any case if you do like them, the two limited edition models are available for sale and are priced at SGD$60,900 including COE.. They are currently on display till the end of December at Raffles City where you can vote for your favourite design and stand to win shopping vouchers.. As for me, I won't vote for either, much less consider buying one..

Now I know how much I'm worth..

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This fun quiz attempts to place a value on your life using a variety of criteria in 4 basic facets of life.. Among the criteria used include athletic ability, education level, income, amount of exercise, weight, and sense of humor..

The reason why it is getting harder to score an A..

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Lo and behold.. I was greeted by this scene at the Central Forum this morning..

Muggers literally CAMPING in school!

Sleeping bags, bath towels, a tin of biscuits and a jaga on shift..

Warning: Not Suitable for Minors..
All names and e-mail addresses have been removed to protect the privacy

of the sender and recipients of this e-mail.. Click on the screenshot to enlarge the image..

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I was one of many who received this rather disturbing e-mail from a classmate of mine today..
What was he thinking? This is plain suicide..

Watching a documentary on Kampong Buangkok made me ponder:

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"Are we birds in golden cages? Happy to own our own houses.. Happy to own our own cars.. But how about our own lives? We anticipate for LUPs, MUPs, en bloc sales and progress packages.. We pray for transport hubs, retail hubs, entertainment hubs, education hubs and a host of other hubs to be opened near but not too near our doorsteps.. And we are happy.. Very happy.. Still, locked inside our golden cages, we remain in the same cage for each step we take and every turn we make.. Maybe, perhaps someday in the future, we will be moved to another golden cage.. This time bigger.. And we will remain happy.. Very happy.."

A piece of Singapore conserved in Victoria, Australia..
Prefabricated (Singapore) Cottage..
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This recently conserved building by RBA Architects & Conservation Consultants and JAM Architects won the John George Knight Award for Heritage at the 2009 Victoria Architectural Awards.. It is typical of the prefabricated buildings that were imported to Victoria from Singapore and other countries in the 19th century to satisfy the great demand for housing and other buildings, especially during the Gold Rush period..

In existence by 1854, this building has four rooms with a central corridor of 6 x 9 metres and a skillion extension to the rear divided into two rooms.. No original windows, window openings or doors remain.. There are, however, scattered sections of early internal cladding and wallpapers, some of which may be original..

Its construction is distinctive, with the use of timbers from the Malay Peninsula such as dedaru and meranti, framing and jointing design based on traditional Malay building techniques, and a variety of Chinese and other characters painted or marked on the timber members; these markings provided an assembly guide to erecting the building..

The conservation works included raising the building so that the floor level is above the footpath level, removing the modern render from the external wall surfaces, replacing or repairing rotted timbers and reinstating missing timber framing members..

The Australians have conserved an integral part of their built heritage that is in fact a kampong house from Singapore.. To top it off, buildings as plain and simple as this have found their way into the Victorian Heritage Register that lists Victoria's most significant heritage places and objects.. How about us?

It is time that we make a more serious commitment towards the conservation of our built heritage that is at once inclusive and holistic.. Although lacking in any monumental quality, kampong houses are an integral part of Singapore's built heritage.. Kampong houses and the kampongs where they can be found in are rich in our nation's social history.. Therefore, isn't it time for places like Kampong Buangkok and Pulau Ubin - the last living reminders of our rural past - to be conserved for posterity?

Pictures from a very short and

last minute getaway to Batam

with Roman and my parents in July..

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Booked our accomodation and tickets just an hour before the ferry was scheduled to depart..

Woke Roman up from his sleep just before that to ask if he was interested to tag along..

It was so last minute! We had to rush like crazy to the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal..
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Mummy inspecting the living room of the villa we booked..

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Roman and I..
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Our beds came with mosquitoe nets although there weren't any mosquitoes around..
The nets must have been thrown in just to enhance the resort feel of the place..

View from our bedroom..
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View from our balcony.. The view was fantastic!

Mummy and daddy.. So sweet..
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Got Roman to take this shot of me..

Was more of posing here than enjoying the view actually.. Haha..

A very rare shot of Roman because he rarely swims.. What a shame right? We went swimming at the pool instead of the beach because it was not exactly clean.. The beaches at Bintan are way better..

National monuments embody historical value: as enduring landmarks of the city which link the present to the past, they give lithic memory to the life of a nation and are integral to the process of building national solidarity, identity and pride. But to serve their purpose as the country's psyche and memory, deeper knowledge of the history and meaning behind these monuments must be inculcated in the Singaporean consciousness.

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6 MORE BUILDINGS GAZETTED!
Bringing the total number of national monuments to 61.

What does it mean to you?

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The following buildings (clockwise from top left):

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(1) Former Raffles College

(2) Former Command House

(3) Former St James Power Station

(4) Church of St Teresa

(5) Keng Teck Whay and

(6) Bowyer Block at the Singapore General Hospital
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were selected for their social-historical significance, architectural merit and importance to the community.

Are You a Worshipper of the Golden Calf?

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It's something you should take some time to consider.. Myself included..

Bogoroditse Devo by Rachmaninov..

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One very beautiful and stirring hymn to the Theotokos by one of my favorite composers..

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Bogoroditse Devo, raduisya,

Blagodatnaya Mariye, Gospod s Toboyu.

Blagoslovenna Ty v zhenakh,

i blagosloven plod chreva Tvoyego,

yako Spasa rodila esi dush nashikh.

RST4 Uniform Day!

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To do something fun as a complete cohort, we decided to put on uniforms from our previous schools to attend the last lecture of our classmates who will be graduating this semester.

This was Mousey's grand idea.. Some came in their secondary school uniforms, others like me came in their JC uniforms and Joyce came in her primary school uniform!

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I went home the previous night to search for a uniform.. Rummaging through boxes after boxes of old school uniforms, and finally taking my old JC uniforms out of their plastic wrappers to find that not a single one can fit me anymore, I realised that it's been so long since I've left St. Andrew's.. And in a few months time, it will be my turn to say goodbye to school life.. Nostalgia hit me.. In any case, I found my council badge and had bought the tie recently.. So all I had to do was to go down to Finest the next morning to buy a new set of my JC uniform..

See the enthusiasm I had for RST4 Uniform Day?

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