Christmas is over and I am in the process of removing the decorations and keeping the Xmas tree. Share with you some pics that I took prior to the Xmas gatherings.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Xmas decorations
Christmas is over and I am in the process of removing the decorations and keeping the Xmas tree. Share with you some pics that I took prior to the Xmas gatherings.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Christmas Spread
Wife and I hosted two Christmas gatherings back to back and that tired us out :) Managed to get enough rest while on leave so now time to update the blog.
We ordered the main 'course' from Cold Storage:
- Christmas Deluxe platter consisting of honey ham 1.5kg, honey ribs 1kg, sun dried tomato chicken breast 1.4kg
- a small and medium butterfly turkey, comes with stuffing and gravy.
The rest of the food were generously contributed by friends.
Take a look at the Xmas spread:
Xmas eve's turkey (small size)
Pasta (made by wife)
Stuffing
Honey baked ham
Salad (contributed by KL):
Sushi platter (contributed by Alvin, Tony, Carol):
Otak (contributed by Carol):
Japanese pizza (contributed by Alvin, Tony, Carol):
Curry chicken (made by Wee's mum):
Apple pie (made by Aik Bing):
Xmas eve's logcake (from Polar Cakes):
We ordered the main 'course' from Cold Storage:
- Christmas Deluxe platter consisting of honey ham 1.5kg, honey ribs 1kg, sun dried tomato chicken breast 1.4kg
- a small and medium butterfly turkey, comes with stuffing and gravy.
The rest of the food were generously contributed by friends.
Take a look at the Xmas spread:
Xmas eve's turkey (small size)
Pasta (made by wife)
Stuffing
Honey baked ham
Salad (contributed by KL):
Sushi platter (contributed by Alvin, Tony, Carol):
Otak (contributed by Carol):
Japanese pizza (contributed by Alvin, Tony, Carol):
Curry chicken (made by Wee's mum):
Apple pie (made by Aik Bing):
Xmas eve's logcake (from Polar Cakes):
Finland and Estonia
From 早报副刊 2006-12-25
芬兰Finland自游行 没淑女也没绅士的国度
文／潘星华
芬兰1808年被俄罗斯强占，1918年争取独立。1906年，芬兰继纽澳之后，在法律上给予妇女选举权和其他政治权利。当地女性独立自强，记者在当地逗留期间，发现芬兰旅游业上自旅游局处长、经理，下至地陪，几乎全是指挥若定、自信过人的女性。
今年6月游莫斯科和圣彼得堡回来，正被大俄帝国久远的历史、绚烂的文化和恢宏的版图慑服之际，8月又接到芬兰航空公司的邀请，有了到距离圣彼得堡不到300公里的芬兰首都赫尔辛基和不到400公里的爱沙尼亚首都塔林旅游的机会。
两次欧洲之旅，给我全然不同的感受。
委婉简朴的小国
如果说，俄罗斯大帝国是强悍的、霸权的、富于侵略性的，芬兰和爱沙尼亚两个小国则是委婉、简朴，看似孱弱，却坚韧不拔的。他们在被俄国和苏联征服过的同时，仍然坚守自己的语言文化，等待政权随时的回归。
芬兰自1808年被俄国强占，至1918年争取到独立；爱沙尼亚的政权曾经落在德国、丹麦、瑞典、波兰和俄国手中，这些都没有泯灭他们要求独立的心志。几经千辛万苦，爱沙尼亚共和国于1918年宣布独立，可是却在1940年再度被苏联侵占，直到50年后，苏联解体，爱沙尼亚才得以翻身。
芬兰于1995年加入欧洲联盟，爱沙尼亚则于2004年加入欧洲联盟。芬兰已是欧洲的富国，爱沙尼亚则在欧盟的协助下，正逐渐恢复自主国的光辉。
全无小鸟依人态势
来到芬兰，最引我注意的是芬兰女子的独立性和自强性。她们留给我最深刻的印象，是她们完全与男性平等、“我们是人”，而全无“我们是女人”那种小鸟依人，柔弱需要男性关注爱护的态势。
旅途除了招待我们芬爱之游的芬兰航空公司经理耶里·塔拉(Jere Tala)和波罗的海旅游会执行董事托马斯·米尔克（Thomas Mielke）是英俊潇洒的男士外，举凡旅游局处长、经理、各城市地陪，几乎全是孔武有力、指挥若定、自信心十足的女性。
带我们游览芬兰坦佩尔（Tampere）的莎丽（Sari Rinta），有一辆承载18人的小客车，她驾车的技术，自是稳当纯熟，搬起我们10个人沉重的行李，绝对是闲话一句，轻巧自如。39岁的她和丈夫在3年前创业，一起经营这门在她眼中看来很有前途的旅游行业。
男人不送花给女人
阅读资料，我了解到芬兰妇女在欧洲有很大的性别优势。1906年，芬兰成为继纽西兰（1893年）和澳洲（1902年）之后，在法律上给予妇女选举权和其他政治权利的世界第三个国家，同时也是欧洲第一个国家。
芬兰旅游局经理卡丽娜·佩尔科宁（Kaarina Pelkonen）
（59岁）感慨地对我说：“我们这里90-95%的女人是职业妇女，男女非常平等。正因为这样，在芬兰已没男人会送花给女人，芬兰的女人已经把芬兰绅士‘杀死’了。我们没有了温柔的淑女，也同时失去了有风度的绅士。”
卡丽娜仍然云英未嫁。她说：“年轻的时候，有男孩子在家门口等我，可是我的工作太忙，可以一个月不回家，怎么结婚？虽然我认为女人应该结婚，否则社会没有新生代，世界也没有希望。”
波罗的海旅游会执行董事托马斯（41岁）复杂的经历，最足以代表身处欧洲共同体，“大欧洲”时代的欧洲人。在东德一个距离柏林100公里的小镇出生的他，非常幸运地于1986年被派到直属苏联外交部的莫斯科国际关系学院学习，并被分配读芬兰语为第三语文。
1991年他毕业的时候，苏联已经解体，他到芬兰的歌德学院教德语，并且和一名芬兰女子结婚。9年后，他举家离开芬兰，搬到瑞典。目前，他的“波罗的海旅游会”，设在瑞典首都斯德哥尔摩。
和这名曾在莫斯科受大学教育，目前在瑞典工作的东德男士，谈起已经共有两女一子的芬兰太太。
他说：“我们俩是采用‘协商’的方式，经营这个家庭。我了解自己的意见并不全对，所以，总会听她的。平日，我也让着她。在北欧虽然男女平等，女人的薪水还是不及男人，她们在外面工作，要特别努力。”
新加坡直飞芬兰每天两班
亚洲经济的崛起，已使欧洲航空公司视为发展市场的契机。从今年10月26日起，芬兰航空公司每天已有两班飞机，从新加坡经曼谷，直飞芬兰首都赫尔辛基。
芬兰航空公司区域（新加坡、马来西亚、印尼）经理耶里塔拉（Jere Tala）对记者说：“亚洲和欧洲的旅游来往，每年正以7%的增长率增加。新加坡是我们亚洲发展战略的一个重要城市，我们深信未来有很大的扩展空间。增加新加坡飞往赫尔辛基的航班，让更多亚洲人飞往北欧、东欧、俄国和波罗的海国家，是我们占有更大亚洲市场的策略。”
他说，日本名古屋成为芬航的亚洲新站后，芬航在日本已有东京、大阪、名古屋三站，在东南亚则有新加坡、曼谷，在中国则有上海、北京、广州和香港等站。今年11月新添到印度首都新德里的站后，明年5月，吉隆坡将再加入芬航亚洲阵营。
耶里塔拉说，去年芬航总载客量是850万人。随着芬航在亚洲设立多个新站，预期这两年的载客量将有明显增加。
Estonia
一本“护照”看尽爱沙尼亚
我在爱沙尼亚（Estonia）的大学城塔突（Tartu），购买了一本名为《爱沙尼亚护照》的小册子。这本小册子，就以一本护照的形式出现。
在它的首页，除了要求我把照片、姓名、生日、性别等一切护照必须具备的资料填上，还有几行字，让人感动。
它说：“这本护照虽然不是官方文件，持有者却显示了对这个立足在爱沙尼亚土地上的国家，数百年为争取自由而奋斗的同情之心。这个国家是欧洲最古老的国家之一，有着5000年的历史，是欧洲具有独立主权的最小国家。”
掏钱购买这本仅值50爱币（约7元新币）的《护照》时，听旁边一名来自德国的旅游业者说：“要是美国护照，我才买。”幸好爱沙尼亚并没有“国穷志短”，后来一名马来西亚同行看了我手上这本以最精简的文字，图文并茂介绍爱沙尼亚的《护照》，也想购买一本时，已被告知售罄。
爱沙尼亚的首都塔林（Tallinn）是个有850年历史的城市。它的古城，堡垒处处，就算街上的小店，也保留了非常典雅朴实的古风，它已被联合国文教组织列为世界遗产，走在其中，仿佛走进时光隧道般，有时空交错之感。
这里到处可以听到芬兰语，可见芬兰游客之多。据说，距离这里仅75公里路的赫尔辛基人，每到周末就乘船来此购物、剪头发、补牙齿，就像新加坡人去新山，香港人去深圳那样。
我在赫尔辛基没两下子，用掉500欧元（约1016新元）。到爱沙尼亚去，我以100欧元换来爱币1500元，用了三天，还花不完。由此，我可以了解为什么芬兰人这么爱去塔林。
爱沙尼亚的大学城塔突，人口约有10万，大学生就占了2万5000人。建于1632年的塔突大学，是欧洲非常有名的大学。一名来自芬兰，就读生物科学的女生玛丽，原本对塔突一无所知。3年前到塔突大学来过一趟，就被这座大学城迷住。有心当兽医的她说，在塔突大学毕业后，还需要在芬兰读一年半的书，才能正式成为兽医。
她说：“我常告诉家乡朋友，到爱沙尼亚来，不要只在塔林停留，应该多走几步路，到塔突来。”
出行锦囊
芬兰
〉〉独立：1917年
〉〉加入欧盟：1995年
〉〉人口：520万人 （每平方公里17人）
〉〉面积：33万8145平方公里。欧洲第五大国家，69%森林、10%水域，有10万个小岛、19万个湖泊。
〉〉首都：赫尔辛基
〉〉货币：欧元
〉〉国教：基督教（路德教会）81%，东正教（2%）
〉〉官方语言：芬兰语（93%）、瑞典语（6%）
〉〉最骄人产品：诺基亚手机, 音乐家西贝辽斯
〉〉时间：比新加坡慢5小时
〉〉怎样去：乘芬兰航空公司，经曼谷，直飞赫尔辛基(12小时)
〉〉网站：www.visitfinland.com
爱沙尼亚
〉〉独立：1991年8月20日
〉〉加入欧盟：2004年5月1日
〉〉人口：136万人 （68%爱沙尼亚人、26%俄国人、2%乌克兰人、1%芬兰人、1%其他），每平方公里32人。
〉〉面积：4万5227平方公里
〉〉货币：爱沙尼亚币。100欧元＝1500爱币，100欧元＝202.25新元
〉〉首都：塔林（Tallinn）
〉〉与邻国距离：芬兰赫尔辛基85公里，俄国圣彼得堡395公里，瑞典斯德哥尔摩405公里
〉〉时间：比新加坡慢5小时
〉〉怎样去：乘芬兰航空公司飞机，到赫尔辛基(12小时)再转飞塔林（45分钟），或乘船去（2小时）。
〉〉网站：www.visitestonia.com
芬兰Finland自游行 没淑女也没绅士的国度
文／潘星华
芬兰1808年被俄罗斯强占，1918年争取独立。1906年，芬兰继纽澳之后，在法律上给予妇女选举权和其他政治权利。当地女性独立自强，记者在当地逗留期间，发现芬兰旅游业上自旅游局处长、经理，下至地陪，几乎全是指挥若定、自信过人的女性。
今年6月游莫斯科和圣彼得堡回来，正被大俄帝国久远的历史、绚烂的文化和恢宏的版图慑服之际，8月又接到芬兰航空公司的邀请，有了到距离圣彼得堡不到300公里的芬兰首都赫尔辛基和不到400公里的爱沙尼亚首都塔林旅游的机会。
两次欧洲之旅，给我全然不同的感受。
委婉简朴的小国
如果说，俄罗斯大帝国是强悍的、霸权的、富于侵略性的，芬兰和爱沙尼亚两个小国则是委婉、简朴，看似孱弱，却坚韧不拔的。他们在被俄国和苏联征服过的同时，仍然坚守自己的语言文化，等待政权随时的回归。
芬兰自1808年被俄国强占，至1918年争取到独立；爱沙尼亚的政权曾经落在德国、丹麦、瑞典、波兰和俄国手中，这些都没有泯灭他们要求独立的心志。几经千辛万苦，爱沙尼亚共和国于1918年宣布独立，可是却在1940年再度被苏联侵占，直到50年后，苏联解体，爱沙尼亚才得以翻身。
芬兰于1995年加入欧洲联盟，爱沙尼亚则于2004年加入欧洲联盟。芬兰已是欧洲的富国，爱沙尼亚则在欧盟的协助下，正逐渐恢复自主国的光辉。
全无小鸟依人态势
来到芬兰，最引我注意的是芬兰女子的独立性和自强性。她们留给我最深刻的印象，是她们完全与男性平等、“我们是人”，而全无“我们是女人”那种小鸟依人，柔弱需要男性关注爱护的态势。
旅途除了招待我们芬爱之游的芬兰航空公司经理耶里·塔拉(Jere Tala)和波罗的海旅游会执行董事托马斯·米尔克（Thomas Mielke）是英俊潇洒的男士外，举凡旅游局处长、经理、各城市地陪，几乎全是孔武有力、指挥若定、自信心十足的女性。
带我们游览芬兰坦佩尔（Tampere）的莎丽（Sari Rinta），有一辆承载18人的小客车，她驾车的技术，自是稳当纯熟，搬起我们10个人沉重的行李，绝对是闲话一句，轻巧自如。39岁的她和丈夫在3年前创业，一起经营这门在她眼中看来很有前途的旅游行业。
男人不送花给女人
阅读资料，我了解到芬兰妇女在欧洲有很大的性别优势。1906年，芬兰成为继纽西兰（1893年）和澳洲（1902年）之后，在法律上给予妇女选举权和其他政治权利的世界第三个国家，同时也是欧洲第一个国家。
芬兰旅游局经理卡丽娜·佩尔科宁（Kaarina Pelkonen）
（59岁）感慨地对我说：“我们这里90-95%的女人是职业妇女，男女非常平等。正因为这样，在芬兰已没男人会送花给女人，芬兰的女人已经把芬兰绅士‘杀死’了。我们没有了温柔的淑女，也同时失去了有风度的绅士。”
卡丽娜仍然云英未嫁。她说：“年轻的时候，有男孩子在家门口等我，可是我的工作太忙，可以一个月不回家，怎么结婚？虽然我认为女人应该结婚，否则社会没有新生代，世界也没有希望。”
波罗的海旅游会执行董事托马斯（41岁）复杂的经历，最足以代表身处欧洲共同体，“大欧洲”时代的欧洲人。在东德一个距离柏林100公里的小镇出生的他，非常幸运地于1986年被派到直属苏联外交部的莫斯科国际关系学院学习，并被分配读芬兰语为第三语文。
1991年他毕业的时候，苏联已经解体，他到芬兰的歌德学院教德语，并且和一名芬兰女子结婚。9年后，他举家离开芬兰，搬到瑞典。目前，他的“波罗的海旅游会”，设在瑞典首都斯德哥尔摩。
和这名曾在莫斯科受大学教育，目前在瑞典工作的东德男士，谈起已经共有两女一子的芬兰太太。
他说：“我们俩是采用‘协商’的方式，经营这个家庭。我了解自己的意见并不全对，所以，总会听她的。平日，我也让着她。在北欧虽然男女平等，女人的薪水还是不及男人，她们在外面工作，要特别努力。”
新加坡直飞芬兰每天两班
亚洲经济的崛起，已使欧洲航空公司视为发展市场的契机。从今年10月26日起，芬兰航空公司每天已有两班飞机，从新加坡经曼谷，直飞芬兰首都赫尔辛基。
芬兰航空公司区域（新加坡、马来西亚、印尼）经理耶里塔拉（Jere Tala）对记者说：“亚洲和欧洲的旅游来往，每年正以7%的增长率增加。新加坡是我们亚洲发展战略的一个重要城市，我们深信未来有很大的扩展空间。增加新加坡飞往赫尔辛基的航班，让更多亚洲人飞往北欧、东欧、俄国和波罗的海国家，是我们占有更大亚洲市场的策略。”
他说，日本名古屋成为芬航的亚洲新站后，芬航在日本已有东京、大阪、名古屋三站，在东南亚则有新加坡、曼谷，在中国则有上海、北京、广州和香港等站。今年11月新添到印度首都新德里的站后，明年5月，吉隆坡将再加入芬航亚洲阵营。
耶里塔拉说，去年芬航总载客量是850万人。随着芬航在亚洲设立多个新站，预期这两年的载客量将有明显增加。
Estonia
一本“护照”看尽爱沙尼亚
我在爱沙尼亚（Estonia）的大学城塔突（Tartu），购买了一本名为《爱沙尼亚护照》的小册子。这本小册子，就以一本护照的形式出现。
在它的首页，除了要求我把照片、姓名、生日、性别等一切护照必须具备的资料填上，还有几行字，让人感动。
它说：“这本护照虽然不是官方文件，持有者却显示了对这个立足在爱沙尼亚土地上的国家，数百年为争取自由而奋斗的同情之心。这个国家是欧洲最古老的国家之一，有着5000年的历史，是欧洲具有独立主权的最小国家。”
掏钱购买这本仅值50爱币（约7元新币）的《护照》时，听旁边一名来自德国的旅游业者说：“要是美国护照，我才买。”幸好爱沙尼亚并没有“国穷志短”，后来一名马来西亚同行看了我手上这本以最精简的文字，图文并茂介绍爱沙尼亚的《护照》，也想购买一本时，已被告知售罄。
爱沙尼亚的首都塔林（Tallinn）是个有850年历史的城市。它的古城，堡垒处处，就算街上的小店，也保留了非常典雅朴实的古风，它已被联合国文教组织列为世界遗产，走在其中，仿佛走进时光隧道般，有时空交错之感。
这里到处可以听到芬兰语，可见芬兰游客之多。据说，距离这里仅75公里路的赫尔辛基人，每到周末就乘船来此购物、剪头发、补牙齿，就像新加坡人去新山，香港人去深圳那样。
我在赫尔辛基没两下子，用掉500欧元（约1016新元）。到爱沙尼亚去，我以100欧元换来爱币1500元，用了三天，还花不完。由此，我可以了解为什么芬兰人这么爱去塔林。
爱沙尼亚的大学城塔突，人口约有10万，大学生就占了2万5000人。建于1632年的塔突大学，是欧洲非常有名的大学。一名来自芬兰，就读生物科学的女生玛丽，原本对塔突一无所知。3年前到塔突大学来过一趟，就被这座大学城迷住。有心当兽医的她说，在塔突大学毕业后，还需要在芬兰读一年半的书，才能正式成为兽医。
她说：“我常告诉家乡朋友，到爱沙尼亚来，不要只在塔林停留，应该多走几步路，到塔突来。”
出行锦囊
芬兰
〉〉独立：1917年
〉〉加入欧盟：1995年
〉〉人口：520万人 （每平方公里17人）
〉〉面积：33万8145平方公里。欧洲第五大国家，69%森林、10%水域，有10万个小岛、19万个湖泊。
〉〉首都：赫尔辛基
〉〉货币：欧元
〉〉国教：基督教（路德教会）81%，东正教（2%）
〉〉官方语言：芬兰语（93%）、瑞典语（6%）
〉〉最骄人产品：诺基亚手机, 音乐家西贝辽斯
〉〉时间：比新加坡慢5小时
〉〉怎样去：乘芬兰航空公司，经曼谷，直飞赫尔辛基(12小时)
〉〉网站：www.visitfinland.com
爱沙尼亚
〉〉独立：1991年8月20日
〉〉加入欧盟：2004年5月1日
〉〉人口：136万人 （68%爱沙尼亚人、26%俄国人、2%乌克兰人、1%芬兰人、1%其他），每平方公里32人。
〉〉面积：4万5227平方公里
〉〉货币：爱沙尼亚币。100欧元＝1500爱币，100欧元＝202.25新元
〉〉首都：塔林（Tallinn）
〉〉与邻国距离：芬兰赫尔辛基85公里，俄国圣彼得堡395公里，瑞典斯德哥尔摩405公里
〉〉时间：比新加坡慢5小时
〉〉怎样去：乘芬兰航空公司飞机，到赫尔辛基(12小时)再转飞塔林（45分钟），或乘船去（2小时）。
〉〉网站：www.visitestonia.com
Friday, December 22, 2006
Anniversary
Today is our 1st wedding anniversary, how time flies. However we have a wedding dinner to attend tonight so wife and I will celebrate tomorrow instead. Today being a Friday and Xmas is just around the corner, many colleagues are clearing their leaves. I took the company bus to office this morning and there were like 10 souls on the bus! :) I took leaves for the whole of next week so won't be back in office till Jan 2007.
If you happen to bump into me in my morning journey to work, you will see me at the bus stop, plugged with my earphones, listening to the radio. Perhaps its coincidental, this morning, I heard one of our wedding montage song played on the radio!
Share it with you here, enjoy :)
For your babies by Simply Red (Video Montage song)
Lyrics:
You've got that look again
The one I hoped I had when I was a lad
Your face is just beaming
Your smile got me boasting, my pulse roller- coastering
Any way the four winds that blow
They're gonna send me sailing home to you
Or I'll fly with the force of a rainbow
The dream of gold will be waiting in your eyes
You know I'd do most anything you want
Hey I, I try to give you everything you need
I can see that it gets to you
I don't believe in many things
But in you I do
Her faith is amazing
The pain that she goes through contained in
The hope for you
Your whole world has changed
The years spent before seem more cloudy
Than blue
In many ways your baby's controlling
When you haven't laid down for days
For the poor no time to be thinking
They're too busy finding ways
You know I'd do most anything you want
Hey I, I try to give you everything you need
I’ll see that it gets to you
I don't believe in many things
But in you I do
You know I'd do most anything you want
Every day I, try to give you everything you
Need
We'll always be there for you
I don't believe in many things
But in you I do
If you happen to bump into me in my morning journey to work, you will see me at the bus stop, plugged with my earphones, listening to the radio. Perhaps its coincidental, this morning, I heard one of our wedding montage song played on the radio!
Share it with you here, enjoy :)
For your babies by Simply Red (Video Montage song)
Lyrics:
You've got that look again
The one I hoped I had when I was a lad
Your face is just beaming
Your smile got me boasting, my pulse roller- coastering
Any way the four winds that blow
They're gonna send me sailing home to you
Or I'll fly with the force of a rainbow
The dream of gold will be waiting in your eyes
You know I'd do most anything you want
Hey I, I try to give you everything you need
I can see that it gets to you
I don't believe in many things
But in you I do
Her faith is amazing
The pain that she goes through contained in
The hope for you
Your whole world has changed
The years spent before seem more cloudy
Than blue
In many ways your baby's controlling
When you haven't laid down for days
For the poor no time to be thinking
They're too busy finding ways
You know I'd do most anything you want
Hey I, I try to give you everything you need
I’ll see that it gets to you
I don't believe in many things
But in you I do
You know I'd do most anything you want
Every day I, try to give you everything you
Need
We'll always be there for you
I don't believe in many things
But in you I do
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Remembering Joseph Barbera
Joseph Barbera, co-founder of Hanna- Barbera Studios and creator of Oscar-winning characters Tom and Jerry as well as Huckleberry Hound and the Flintstone family, died on 18th Dec of natural causes at home. He was 95.
Unless you are living in a cave, you must have seen one of Hanna-Barbera's cartoons. Notable ones are Flinstones, Scooby-doo, Yogi Bear, Smurfs, Jetsons, Atom Ant, Tom & Jerry, Popeye and many more. Personally these are my favourites:
Wacky Races - If you can remember, there are a few teams to compete who finished the race first. There is this villian team ,the guy with the red/blue hat and the doggie with a cynical laugh (goes something like hee hee hee hee) will always dish out dirty tricks and tactics to foil other teams's plan. The DVD is out, it's on my waiting list :)
Scooby-doo needs no introduction. Who can forgot the Scooby-doo bee where are you theme :) In the later part of the series, they introduced Scooby little nephew Scrabby-doo. Both have signature tunes, Yabba yabba doo and puppy power! :)
Super Friends - The original series were produced by Hanna-Barbera and the characters were under license from DC Comics.
See you can recognise any of the cartoon characters from the following pics:
Unless you are living in a cave, you must have seen one of Hanna-Barbera's cartoons. Notable ones are Flinstones, Scooby-doo, Yogi Bear, Smurfs, Jetsons, Atom Ant, Tom & Jerry, Popeye and many more. Personally these are my favourites:
Wacky Races - If you can remember, there are a few teams to compete who finished the race first. There is this villian team ,the guy with the red/blue hat and the doggie with a cynical laugh (goes something like hee hee hee hee) will always dish out dirty tricks and tactics to foil other teams's plan. The DVD is out, it's on my waiting list :)
Scooby-doo needs no introduction. Who can forgot the Scooby-doo bee where are you theme :) In the later part of the series, they introduced Scooby little nephew Scrabby-doo. Both have signature tunes, Yabba yabba doo and puppy power! :)
Super Friends - The original series were produced by Hanna-Barbera and the characters were under license from DC Comics.
See you can recognise any of the cartoon characters from the following pics:
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Christmas Time!
This is my personal favourite Xmas song, not one of those traditional ones but its a rare hit by my favourite singer Bryan Adams.
Christmas Time - Bryan Adams (this is not the original MTV but a clip done up nicely by a fan, check it out):
Lyrics:
We waited all through the year
for the day to appear
when we could be together in harmony
You know the time will come
peace on earth for everyone
and we can live forever in a world where we are free
let it shine for you and me
There's something about Christmas time
something about Christmas time
that makes you wish it was Christmas everyday
To see the joy in the children's eyes
the way that the old folks smile
says that Christmas will never go away
We're all as one tonight
makes no difference if you're black or white
'cause we can sing together in harmony
I know it's not too late
the world would be a better place
if we can keep the spirit more than one day in the year
send a message loud and clear
[Chorus:]
It's the time of year when everyone's together
we'll celebrate here on Christmas day
when the ones you love are there
you can feel the magic in the air - you know it's everywhere
There's something about Christmas time
something about Christmas time
that makes you wish it was Christmas every day
To see the joy in the children's eyes
the way that the old folks smile
says that Christmas will never go away
[Repeat chorus]
Please tell me Christmas will never go away
Take a sleigh ride to Loon's Lagoon to listen to my other favourite Xmas tunes!
Christmas Time - Bryan Adams (this is not the original MTV but a clip done up nicely by a fan, check it out):
Lyrics:
We waited all through the year
for the day to appear
when we could be together in harmony
You know the time will come
peace on earth for everyone
and we can live forever in a world where we are free
let it shine for you and me
There's something about Christmas time
something about Christmas time
that makes you wish it was Christmas everyday
To see the joy in the children's eyes
the way that the old folks smile
says that Christmas will never go away
We're all as one tonight
makes no difference if you're black or white
'cause we can sing together in harmony
I know it's not too late
the world would be a better place
if we can keep the spirit more than one day in the year
send a message loud and clear
[Chorus:]
It's the time of year when everyone's together
we'll celebrate here on Christmas day
when the ones you love are there
you can feel the magic in the air - you know it's everywhere
There's something about Christmas time
something about Christmas time
that makes you wish it was Christmas every day
To see the joy in the children's eyes
the way that the old folks smile
says that Christmas will never go away
[Repeat chorus]
Please tell me Christmas will never go away
Take a sleigh ride to Loon's Lagoon to listen to my other favourite Xmas tunes!
Monday, December 18, 2006
Christmas mood
It's just less than a week to Christmas and am starting to feel the Christmasy mood :) Radio stations starts to play Xmas songs, shopping malls all dolled up with nice Xmas decos, no snow but lots of rains lately and the cool weather all help liven the mood here in the tropics.
To me, probably what brings out the mood are the Xmas songs. You can't help but sing or hum to it when you hear the tunes played on the radio or when you entered a shop. Music is never lacking in the house and when I'm cleaning or tidying the house, I will play some cds or switched on the radio. Since Xmas is drawing near, I have also start to play some Xmas cds.
One of them is this Charlie Brown CD, a birthday gift from my friend KL.
Incidentally I got this mailer from Borders this morning in my inbox and this CD is one of their recommendations. Share with you their review:
Will be inviting group of friends for dinner + gathering on both Xmas eve and Xmas day itself. Besides the food, I will try to be a good DJ and play some nice Xmas music selections :)
To me, probably what brings out the mood are the Xmas songs. You can't help but sing or hum to it when you hear the tunes played on the radio or when you entered a shop. Music is never lacking in the house and when I'm cleaning or tidying the house, I will play some cds or switched on the radio. Since Xmas is drawing near, I have also start to play some Xmas cds.
One of them is this Charlie Brown CD, a birthday gift from my friend KL.
Incidentally I got this mailer from Borders this morning in my inbox and this CD is one of their recommendations. Share with you their review:
 | ||
 |  | Only the Grinchiest among us could resist the charm of Vince Guaraldi's delightful A Charlie Brown Christmas. With bouncing, jazzy takes on traditional songs, as well as originals like the cascading piano magic of "Skating" or the rolling beginning of "Linus and Lucy," it infuses everything from decorating cookies to setting the table with a festive spirit. Recently reissued with four alternate takes, the album remains a perfect holiday accompaniment. |
 | Audio: Listen to Christmas ls Coming |
 | PDF: The Making Of A Charlie Brown Christmas Soundtrack |
Will be inviting group of friends for dinner + gathering on both Xmas eve and Xmas day itself. Besides the food, I will try to be a good DJ and play some nice Xmas music selections :)
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Off to Beijing!
Here I am, at the airport, waiting for my flight to Beijing to attend a training. I arrived at about 7am, breezed through the new check-in terminals, yes no more queues! This is the first time I tried to use this self check-in terminals, the airport personnel was very helpful and I asked him why are people still queuing, he said with a smile "perhaps, they are not so convinced of the service yet". I guess so but when I looked at the queue of about 50 people waiting in vain for their turns to check-in, I think to myself, let's embrace technology to serve ourselves better.
I was wrong to think that 7am is too early in the airport business, once I passed through the passport control, you see travellers buzzing around, having their breakfast, typing away on the free internet terminals, shopping, and I can just hear the cashiers ching-ching all the way :) 7am is indeed not early as I see that there are alot of flights going to other parts of Asia in the early morning so our Changi Airport is really like an airport that never sleeps.
It is always a nice experience for me to be at the airport, just before departure, I will look for the Bengawan Solo outlet to have my good old favourtie soon-kwey but alas today seems too early, the soon-kwey not ready. I am a Teochew boy at heart so you can't take away the soon-kwey from me, it is something that other kweys cannot replaced, hee hee.
Gotta go to departure gate now, flight departing in 30mins time!
I was wrong to think that 7am is too early in the airport business, once I passed through the passport control, you see travellers buzzing around, having their breakfast, typing away on the free internet terminals, shopping, and I can just hear the cashiers ching-ching all the way :) 7am is indeed not early as I see that there are alot of flights going to other parts of Asia in the early morning so our Changi Airport is really like an airport that never sleeps.
It is always a nice experience for me to be at the airport, just before departure, I will look for the Bengawan Solo outlet to have my good old favourtie soon-kwey but alas today seems too early, the soon-kwey not ready. I am a Teochew boy at heart so you can't take away the soon-kwey from me, it is something that other kweys cannot replaced, hee hee.
Gotta go to departure gate now, flight departing in 30mins time!
Monday, December 04, 2006
1st 10km race
Yeah! I completed the 10km run yesterday at the 2006 Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon.
The race begin about 7am, I woke up at around 5.30am, get ready and leave the house around 6.30am. Wife decided to join the run also and I managed to get my friend Choo as well, both as guest runners :) As I signed up officially, I have the number tag and also a little chip thing to be tied to my shoes so that the organisers can track my time as well as to make sure I didnt cheat by making any shortcuts.
The weather was quite kind to us, it was cloudy and breezy, and that makes the jog/run an enjoyable one. Compared to the Safra race I run in September, this is more well-organised, probably it is more large scale, about 31000 official participants. Those who did not register can join in the run too, sans number tags, only thing is you are not allowed to run through the finishing line, will be asked to be diverted to a small lane about 100m before the actual finishing point. The roads are properly blocked and well spaced, and you dont have the problem of rubbing against other sweaty bodies.
I clocked about 1hr 10mins for the 10km run, quite satisfied with the timing, cos didnt aim to compete in any way just to complete. Wife did quite well too, about 1.5hr, her first time running on the roads somemore as she usually run on the threadmill.
Dunno how much calories we burnt but after going home to wash up, we quickly went to BigO for lunch, ordered a crab linguine (cannot change to my fav mee-pok fettucine), need my carbo! Went back and have a power nap for two hours before we indulge in an hour of tu-na massage :)
Next year, come run with us ok? :)
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