Restaurant City, Pet Society, Cafe World, Farmville… The list goes ON. If you don’t already know, these are games on social networking site, Facebook. These flash games are all kinda the same though, visit your friends for money or items to make your house or restaurant look a little more fancy. The strangest thing is that they are really addictive.

So addictive that a buncha NUH nurses were caught playing Farmville at work just last October and were “disciplined”. This actually happened cause some Stomper posted up pictorial evidence of them milking pixel cows or something on STOMP. You know that website where “you generate the content, you write the reports” blahblahblah? Yeah.

“This is so unprofessional. Instead of attending to the patients, they were playing computer games.”
-Stomper Keny (You’re one to talk, Keny.)

You can read the full story here

In the nurses’ defense, Facebook is really smart, oh yes it is. Manipulating our highly trained professionals that we call our nurses like puppets on strings. I mean, they KNOW that work can get boring especially at a desk which is why they make these Flash based games. Perfect for you if your workplace bans websites and Facebook is one of the only pages that you go to when your supervisor isn’t looking.

I mean these games aren’t exactly genius or the best fun in the WURLD. They don’t have Ratchet and Clank graphics or the coolness factor of Rock Band. It’s kinda silly actually, but put mundane and LESS mundane together, what do you get? Before you know it, you’ll be addicted to farming virtual crops too.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back to cooking my pixel pancakes now.

Jaki Byard foi um dos pianistas mais criativos no jazz. Tinha total domínio do piano e era capaz de tocar em qualquer estilo. Prova disso é esse fantástico disco gravado em 1960 pelo selo Candid, onde Byard explora diversos estilos, do antigo stride ao experimental tocando nove faixas em piano solo, todas composições suas. Este foi o primeiro trabalho solo do pianista que ficou famoso ao acompanhar o grupo de Charles Mingus e de participar de gravações memoráveis de Rahsaan Roland Kirk.

O disco é uma lição de piano e é difícil destacar uma faixa já que o disco é brilhante. Particularmente gosto da primeira faixa “Journey/Hollis Stomp/Milan to Lyon” que combina os estilos mais antigos do jazz no piano e é dividida em três momentos. “Pete and Thomas (Tribute to the Ticklers) lembra em alguns momentos o piano de Fats Waller e é outra ótima faixa. E o bom e velho blues, presente na faixa “Blues for Smoke”.

Apesar de não ser considerado um dos titãs no piano, acho que Byard ao lado de Bobby Timmons e Sonny Clark são pianistas geniais por sua ousadia e criatividade e não somente pela destreza no instrumento. Tenho certeza que este disco comprova isso.

1 – Journey/Hollis Stomp/Milan to Lyon
2 – Aluminium Baby
3 – Pete and Thomas (Tribute to the Ticklers)
4 – Spanish Tinge No.1
5 – Flight of the Fly
6 – Blues for Smoke
7 – Jaki’s Blues Next
8 – Diane’s Melody
9 – One, Two, Five

Jaki Byard – piano solo

(Jaki Byard não gravou muito como líder e é bem difícil achar seus discos. Como líder, um outro ótimo disco é “Jaki Byard Experience” que conta com Rahsaan Roland Kirk. Na mesma linha temos o “Rip, Rig and Panic” liderado pelo Kirk e com Byard no piano. Como acompanhante no grupo de Mingus, destaco “Black Saint and the Sinner Lady”)

There’s a rumblin’ in the ground and it’s
getting to me
It’s sparkling in my eyes coz it’s
energy.
It’s zappin’
and whackin’
my soul into shape
gotta move
gotta go
before it’s too late
‘Coz I

Gotta join in on the energy stomp
bring your friends around to join in the romp
coz it’s
In the air, in the air
and it’s gonna come down
so bring your friends around
for the energy stomp.

The sparks are flyin’ high and the
mercury’s risin’
no more time for lies or games
it’s too energisin’
It’s workin’
and hurtin’
my feet to the pavement
Gotta run
Gotta go
before it’s too late

Gotta join in on the energy stomp
bring your friends around to join in the romp
coz it’s
In the air, in the air
and it’s gonna come down
so bring your friends around
for the energy stomp.

Admit it already: you’ve played percussion with an ordinary house tool and maybe even considered being a STOMP performer because you were that good at it.

Okay, maybe you didn’t go that far, but it’s quite human to love percussion and love what STOMP stands for.  STOMP is returning to Hawaii and will be playing at the Hawaii Theater for the holiday season from December 22-January 3.  Tickets for most performances are between $32-52, but STOMP has reserved 500 of the best seats in the house, right in the center of the theater, for the New Years Eve show on December 31, 2009 at 8 p.m. for just $33 per ticket.

Only Savvy Circle players can purchase these $33 tickets (a $55 value), and the deal ends on Sunday, so you need to make up your mind soon!   It would make a great Christmas present!  Make a night of it and wander down to Aloha Tower marketplace for the fireworks at midnight. These tickets are for the New Years Eve show only, and you can purchase a maximum of 8 tickets at this special price.

STOMP – Hawaii Theatre
Hawaii Theatre
1130 Bethel Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

I meant to dish out more written poison yesterday night, but conceded defeat to the temptation of sleep. Yet I had put too much into this to just let it slip into ignominy in my draft posts collection. Thus I present it now to the three of you reading this at home.

The New Paper’s front page sub-heading yesterday: ‘SLIPPER MAN’ TAN LEAD SHAKE’S WIFE GETS 16 YEARS FOR KILLING HIS BROTHER.

Unless Mrs Tan is a man, there is something fundamentally wrong with the grammar in this sub-heading. You would have thought that this, being a front page splash and all, ought to have received a bit more sub-editing attention than any other page in the paper. Apparently not.

Its sister paper The Straits Times hasn’t, to my knowledge, perpetrated too many such crimes against the English language on its front page. But you couldn’t say the same for the stuff that goes on between the sheets. On page A12 of yesterday’s paper, the entire page is devoted to an interview with Mr Richard Seow, chairman of Parkway Holdings.

A quick question to The Straits Times news editors. Erm, why? The whole thing is some embarrassingly fawning smush about what a good father the successful businessman Mr Seow is, complete with his parenting tips – yes of course, how relevant they are to people who don’t the kind of money and extended family support network you have. The kind of stuff you read in parenting magazines. Or perhaps in the Life! section. But Prime? Page 12? Where I expect to read the hard news?

I’ll tell you why, and the clue is in the sixth and seventh paragraphs. They read: “As chairman of the newly formed Fathers Action Network (FAN), [Mr Seow] hopes to encourage other fathers to do the same.”

“The network – funded by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) – drives the “Dads for Life Movement” that aims to get fathers more involved with their children. Its 16 members include Singapore Children’s Society executive director Alfred Tan, and The Straits Times sports editor Mathew Pereira.”

Go on, you know you want to. Yes, put your head in your hands, turn it side to side in slow, deliberate motions while sighing incessantly to yourself.

I move on to smaller fry. my paper, the SPH bilingual freesheet, might want to rethink its idea of journalism altogether, if its take on the much-vaunted ‘citizen journalism’ is anything to go by. On yesterday’s page A6, the paper ran a half-page section named ‘Ground Zero: Citizen Journalism in action’. Three short picture stories, all taken from Stomp (self-proclaimed to be “Asia’s No.1 citizen-journalism website with user-generated material fuelling its success”), were ostensibly chosen by my paper for their newsworthiness.

What gems they had in store – petty crime, snake surprise and swarming vermin. The lead act was a still from CCTV footage, showing two girls stealing shoes from a HBD flat in Eunos. Ok, what do we learn from this 50-word piece? Petty crime – specifically, shoe stealing – happens in Singapore. No shit, sherlock. And that the owner of the shoes hasn’t the common sense to just keep her shoes in her flat, but instead thought it a good idea to spend more money on installing a CCTV camera outside her flat to catch future thieves (and continue to lose her shoes in the meantime).

Next up, a motorist received a slippery shock when she finds a python in her car, which had been left parked for four days while she went on holiday. Right. Boo-hoo, what terror she must have suffered…next!

The third and final piece of ‘citizen journalism’ on offer – rats swarming Kim Keat! Kevin will have you know that the infestation is worsening – as the compellingly stark photo of a solitary vermin will testify. “The rats have been getting bolder at Kim Keat Link” he claims, notwithstanding the fact that such bravado/bravura is distinctly a human concept and foisting it upon animals is decidedly unfair.

I’m almost reassured by the fact that our society still traipsing in the shallow banks of trivial banality; validation of lazy stereotypes can be very comforting indeed. But I don’t blame these people, who took time and effort to chip in token insights into their humdrum lives. They don’t call themselves ‘journalists’ (I hope, and I feel sorry for them if they do); it is the my paper editors who thrust this nefarious misnomer upon them and hail it as the next journalistic messiah.

I anticipate a flurry of accusations about my intellectual snobbery and professional hubris. But let me put this to you. Journalism is not the simple act of distribution of information and media to a public audience, which in all honesty is all Stomp is doing in these three instances – a photo and some background information distributed in print and made widely available on the internet. If this act is journalism, then advertising, leafleting, spam emailing and texting, or simply the act of speaking on mass media can all be considered as such – since they similarly involve the distribution of information on a massive scale, without the application of news judgement, the verification of facts, establishment of context, and not conscientiously processed to filter irrelevant noise and enhance its value as insight into wider social, political and economic issues.

What is stopping the above tidbits of information from becoming journalism is the application of the journalistic process. The rats at Kim Keat piece could so easily be expanded into a proper story looking at failings of the local council in dealing with rubbish and sewage clearing, pest control, or maintenance of general hygiene. Maybe, with some legwork and investigation, there is news to be found in potential council incompetence, or possible unhygienic practices by local residents in rubbish disposal.

But this takes time, energy and commitment. None of that will likely come from ‘citizen journalists’ – they have day jobs, “better things to do”. If they were willing and committed enough, sure anyone can be journalist – there’s no exclusivity about journalistic work. But the fact of the matter is, few people are willing to go that extent, either for want of time, interest, motivation or imagination. Consequently, much of this over-hyped ‘citizen journalism’ amounts to little more than “look at me looking at them”-type affairs.

While my paper seems confused about the basic principles and purpose of their profession, the Temasek Review correspondents have trouble keeping their raw emotions in check.

In one of their follow-up stories to the KKH chemotherapy blunder, the Review plainly screamed: “Mr Ng Chun Kiat, son of KKH medication error victim Madam Ng L.K lambasted the two pharmacists responsible for the mistake as being “idiots” on his blog, started a few days ago to create “public awareness” for the incident!”

Earlier in the day, the initial story on this development exhibited similar indignation in its lede. “The son of one of the victims of the medication blunder at KKH Mr Ng Chun Kiat had spoken out against some of the factual inaccuracies in reports carried by the state media about the case!”

If there is one character on the keyboard that ought to be irrelevant, even redundant for a news reporter, it is the exclamation mark. To be fair, even partisan columnists are wary of the dangers of wantonly casting this punctuation mark in their prose. Shouting louder doesn’t make you more right, after all (ALTHOUGH SOME NET TROLLS SAY THAT CAPSLOCK DOES!). And spare a thought for your readers, the news you’re reporting is patently terrible enough – the last thing they need is for you to shove it down their throats, already parched from all that fear and anxiety.

Note to the Temasek Review: If the news you are reporting is truly “shocking”, you don’t need to spell it out for your readers (see: “Another medical blunder: NUH to be sued for alleged negligence”). They are intelligent people. They can draw their own conclusions about it.

Also, you might want to consider removing “unbiased” from your “About Us” page. It is patently misleading and, from the looks of the news writing by your correspondents, disingenuous. I say this as a postmodernist who doesn’t believe in the possibility of an absolute objective truth, and not some pro-government crony. I say this because I want the Temasek Review to become a credible news outlet and not degenerate into some self-reverential portal for angry liberals.

Sooo I’ve been making plans to see Cirque du Soleil since I heard they were on tour again. I must say I was disappointed that Columbus was not on the list and that I must go to Detroit to enjoy the show.  Turns out a few family members found tickets to the Peking Acrobats that will be at the Palace Theatre in February right around my birthday. I was super psyched that of all places. I haven’t been to the Palace Theatre this past year, and I was thinking about getting tickets. The theatre is very underrated. I love how the seating is very old fashioned and the entire environment is classy. I always see everybody get caught up in the clubs, but sometimes it gets too fast and i just need a break from that. I don’t know how famous the Peking Acrobats are, but some of the stunts they do are point blank—jaw-dropping. Everybody should get to experience it if they have the opportunity. The Palace wants everyone to experience them, too, which is why they provide such a great mix of shows from Stomp to Chicago to the Peking Acrobats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRUlIEk8TBQ

http://www.ohio.com/entertainment/enjoy/39780857.html

http://www.iaipresentations.com/pa.php

Aside from the Acrobats, the Palace Theatre downtown should be visited. I emphasize this to people who live there more than visitors, because it continuously bothers me when someone is a stranger to their own city. I’m telling you, the theatre is gorgeous. 3 years ago I had box tickets to Stomp (it was a routine show for my mother and I), and I fell in love with the place. Granted, the show, being one of my favorites since I was young, made it even better. I was a little frustrated that they haven’t been around for a few years as well. When they do decide to come around again everyone should jump at the tickets as well. No worries, the infamous “nose-bleed” section is tolerable and affordable. With terrible eyes I usually hesitate to get farther seats in sake of a few saved dollars, but at The Palace you don’t have to worry about that….there really aren’t any bad seats with bad views.

http://www.eventticketscenter.com/Event.aspx?EventID=8020&gclid=CNT1sP6chJ4CFY915QodM1lcpg

http://www.capa.com/columbus/venues/palace_about.php

http://www.judysbook.com/cities/columbus-oh/Theater/80957/Palace_Theatre_Capa_Columbus_Assoc_For_The_Performing_Arts.htm

Even though I have been let down with Stomp not returning, I have been able to keep in touch with other great music areas. In October I went to an AFI concert at the Newport Music Hall right off of High St (they are also at the top of my list for best music venues in the area). Now I’m not hardcore into the punk rock genre, but AFI plays well live. As I am a previous band nerd, I hold mucho respecto for a band that can actually perform live. I thought Newport was greatly positioned there, because it isn’t a huge arena and the adrenaline starts pumpin when there’s a mash pit slamming into you and you are about 40 feet from the lead singer. You can see the spit come out of his mouth, and you look behind but all you see is a sea of people falling over. Where is the fun if you are seven miles back head bangin to a little group of ants.

http://www.donewaiting.com/2009/11/05/photos-gogol-bordello-at-the-newport/

http://columbus.citysearch.com/review/7852543

http://www.ticketsnow.com/Venue/Newport-Music-Hall?GCID=S16598×003-vemo_newmh&keyword=newport%20music%20hall%20schedule&s_kwcid=TC|7034|newport%20music%20hall%20schedule||S||4024478503

http://www.promowestlive.com/

STOMP

ON www.CBS.com’s

TOMORROW SHOW WITH MO ROCCA

 CLICK HERE TO WATCH

STOMP, the international sensation, is currently featured on www.CBS.com’s weekly webcast, “The Tomorrow Show with Mo Rocca.” Mo visits with the company of the long running sensation for a segment on “the future of noise.”

STOMP has made its unique presence known on cuts on Quincy Jones’ CD Q’s Jook Joint (receiving a Grammy nomination) and in a unique collaboration on the Latin Grammys with the award-winning band Calle 13. 

Its international engagements have included Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, South Africa, Israel, Palestine, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany, Poland, Bahrain, and The Acropolis in Athens, Greece.  STOMP is the winner of an Olivier Award for Best Choreography (London’s Tony Award); an Obie Award; a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatre Experience, and a Special Citation from Best Plays.

Created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, STOMP is currently playing in New York, London’s West End, on North American and European tours.   In addition to the stage shows, STOMP has been an overwhelming success marked by rave reviews, numerous awards, an Academy Award nomination, four Emmy nominations and one Emmy Award for their acclaimed HBO special Stomp Out Loud, noteworthy TV appearances ranging from The Academy Awards (produced by Quincy Jones) to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and a series of award-winning international commercials. 

Visit www.stomponline.com for US information and www.stomp.co.uk for news on the London and European companies.  The Orpheum Theatre is located at 126 Second Avenue between 7^th and 8^th Streets.   Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com (212 307 4100) or the box office (212  477 2477). 

Stomp: 19/20/21 Novembre il Gran Teatro di Padova ospita: Stomp.Evento spettacolare: danza, teatro e musica. Ballerini, percussionisti, attori e acrobati di Stomp danno voce ai più comuni oggetti di tutti i giorni: pneumatici, lavandini, scope, bidoni delle immondizie…Stomp nasce nel 1991 a Brighton in Inghilterra, nasce dalla creatività di Luke Cresswell e Steve McNicholas e trionfa in questi ultimi anni nei piu’ grandi teatri del mondo. Assolutamente da non perdere, acquista subito il Tuo biglietto per trascorrere una piacevolissima e nello stesso tempo unica serata con Stomp…

Stomp: 19/20/21 Novembre il Gran Teatro di Padova ospita: Stomp.Evento spettacolare: danza, teatro e musica. Ballerini, percussionisti, attori e acrobati di Stomp danno voce ai più comuni oggetti di tutti i giorni: pneumatici, lavandini, scope, bidoni delle immondizie…Stomp nasce nel 1991 a Brighton in Inghilterra, nasce dalla creatività di Luke Cresswell e Steve McNicholas e trionfa in questi ultimi anni nei piu’ grandi teatri del mondo. Assolutamente da non perdere, acquista subito il Tuo biglietto per trascorrere una piacevolissima e nello stesso tempo unica serata con Stomp…

 Último día y último post sobre Nueva York. 

 En una ciudad donde hay tantos espectáculos, el otro que fuí a ver es Stomp.

 El show es una mezcla del exterior junto con lo interior, ahora se pueden hacer muchas comparaciones mucho mas profundas donde se puede hablar de que la música se crea con cualquier objeto, que una simple idea puede crear e influir en muchos, que el simbolismo de la escoba y la calle representa el mundo donde vivimos….zzzzz  etc etc.

 Stomp es un grupo no ordinario (creado en Inglaterra) donde combinan ritmos y percusiones con el cuerpo e instrumentos poco convencionales. El show dura aproximadamente hora y  media, y los domingos el costo del boleto es de 40 usd. Son un tanto similares a The Blue Man Group, aunque no sé cual de los dos fue primero o si son conceptos totalmente separados, desde mi punto de vista, son similares pero Stomp me gusto mucho mas.

 Algo curioso es que no después del show no logré recordar el ritmo de ninguna canción y que todos los que fuimos salimos queriendo golpear cosas y hacer música, pero el espectáculo incluye música con escobas, zippos, bolsas, botes, destapacaños, platos y el cuerpo humano.

  Aqui una presentación del show con escobas.

Stomp: 19/20/21 Novembre il Gran Teatro di Padova ospita: Stomp.Evento spettacolare: danza, teatro e musica. Ballerini, percussionisti, attori e acrobati di Stomp danno voce ai più comuni oggetti di tutti i giorni: pneumatici, lavandini, scope, bidoni delle immondizie…Stomp nasce nel 1991 a Brighton in Inghilterra, nasce dalla creatività di Luke Cresswell e Steve McNicholas e trionfa in questi ultimi anni nei piu’ grandi teatri del mondo. Assolutamente da non perdere, acquista subito il Tuo biglietto per trascorrere una piacevolissima e nello stesso tempo unica serata con Stomp…

these few days, the weather has been having mood swings.
one moment rain, one moment sun.

and this afternoon, the weather was throwing tantrums again.
likewise, i didn’t think much about it.

little did i know that the rain got so huge that it caused this:

ps: see the first picture! that is me! inside the yellow circle! i’m on the internet! -_-
edited: on second thoughts, it’s too small to even notice that circle. LOL!

oh ya, if any of u is interested, check out the direct link: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/this_urban_jungle/274700/huge_tree_falls_at_gambir_road.html

anyway something to add.
the ironic thing about this whole freak of nature is the particular house that the tree fell on.
few years ago, something happened at that house and hence the owner decided to build it like the istana.
put spikes on the wall, change the gate, put CCTVs at the car porch, attempted to make the house look so protected.
and well, they succeeded in deterring any burglars or terrorists or trespassers.

but who ever expected that nature got them so easily. lol.

moral of the story? never fight nature cos u sure lose one.

PSPS: i went out with qazim ytd and we had quite an adventure!! haha. to find out more, pls visit www.bluemocha-.blogspot.com
LOL!! too lazy to blog. hahaha.

1.  Jingle Bell Run

Sunday, November 8th -   Bells will be ringing this holiday season as thousands of runners and walkers hit the pavements, pathways and parks this winter to fight arthritis, the nation’s most common cause of disability.NEWaukee has developed a team to particpate in the Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis, a 5K fun run/walk to benefit the Arthritis Foundation on Sunday, November 8th. And YOU can help, too! Register the day of the event under the NEWaukee team to support the cause.

2.  STOMP

November 6th – 7th - STOMP is explosive, provocative, sophisticated, sexy, utterly unique and appeals to audiences of all ages. The international percussion sensation has garnered an armful of awards and rave reviews, and has appeared on numerous national television shows.

3.    MUSA End of Season Party

Saturday, November 7th - It’s been a long and trying season.  You feel like you’ve got a flat tire on your kicking leg.  You’ve consumed countless glasses of “gatorade” during your kickball games.  And at the end of the day, you still can’t figure out why your homerun hasn’t been added to the MUSA website.  All the MUSA folks are getting together for the end of the season party.  Join us as we share some highlights with eachother and let the smack talking begin for next season!

4.   Milwaukee Food Tour on Brady St.

Saturday, November 7th- Enjoy an intimate stroll through Milwaukee one delicious taste at a time! Discover the sights and flavors of Milwaukee’s most delicious and historic neighborhoods with a walking food tour. Go behind the scenes to visit our favorite specialty shops and ethnic eateries. The guided tours include food samples that add up to a meal, along with stories about Milwaukee’s rich immigrant history and the exceptional people who bring it to life. 

5.     Dine in the Dark at Bacchus

 Sunday, November 8th - Bacchus, in partnership with the Center for Blind and Visually Impaired Children and the Badger Association, invites you to Dine in the Dark. Enjoy a four-course meal in complete darkness while blindfolded and experience food, drink and conversation as you may never have before– without your sight. Expand your imagination and understanding of what individuals who are blind experience throughout their lives. 

STOMP

TO PERFORM ON UNIVISION’S

“DESPIERTA AMERICA” ON FRIDAY OCTOBER 23

STOMP, the international sensation, will perform one of its explosive pieces on UNIVISION’s popular morning broadcast, DESPIERTA AMERICA this Friday morning October 23 live from Times Square in New York City.  STOMP is scheduled to perform in the 9 AM hour. Univision is carried on Channel 6 on RCN and on Channel 41 on Time Warner.

DESPIERTA AMERICA is a popular Spanish language morning show which typically broadcasts from Miami; this Friday the show will broadcast entirely from Times Square and STOMP will be there to add to the excitement of the show’s live telecast.

STOMP has made its unique presence known on cuts on Quincy Jones’ CD Q’s Jook Joint (receiving a Grammy nomination) and in a unique collaboration on the Latin Grammys with the award-winning band Calle 13. 

Its international engagements have included Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, South Africa, Israel, Palestine, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Germany, Poland, Bahrain, and The Acropolis in Athens, Greece.  STOMP is the winner of an Olivier Award for Best Choreography (London’s Tony Award); an Obie Award; a Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatre Experience, and a Special Citation from Best Plays.

Created by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, STOMP is currently playing in New York, London’s West End, on North American and European tours.   In addition to the stage shows, STOMP has been an overwhelming success marked by rave reviews, numerous awards, an Academy Award nomination, four Emmy nominations and one Emmy Award for their acclaimed HBO special Stomp Out Loud, noteworthy TV appearances ranging from The Academy Awards (produced by Quincy Jones) to Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and a series of award-winning international commercials. 

Visit www.stomponline.com for US information and www.stomp.co.uk for news on the London and European companies.  The Orpheum Theatre is located at 126 Second Avenue between 7^th and 8^th Streets.   Tickets are available through Ticketmaster.com (212 307 4100) or the box office (212  477 2477). 

* * * 

http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/ugly_commuters/266862/man_ignores_pregnant_woman_in_train.html

Pregnant woman says man ignores her in MRT, then female friend snatches seat

This man apparently ignored a pregnant woman who was standing near him in the train, and when he alighted, his seat was quickly taken up by his female friend.

STOMPer Priscilla, the pregnant woman, told STOMP of the incident:

“I’m currently 7 months pregnant. I boarded the train at Kallang yesterday (Oct 15) at around 6pm.

“Shortly after he alighted at Eunos, I thought I would get his seat, but without hesitation, that female friend just sat down, looked at me, took out her mobile phone and the rest needs no further explanation.

“As I was travelling alone, the pictures taken only show them in it without me.

“The information and pictures provided are genuine.”

Someone posted this on edmw, and I had a strong response to this issue that has been recurring over the past few years, and occasionally appearing on the Stomp website.

Here’s what I had to say about this:

Click to enlarge

if SMRT does so decide to leave these “priority seats” for the elderly and pregnant, then maybe a change in name would be good. Like “Exclusive seating zone”, or “If you’re not old or pregnant, you don’t sit here”. Simple instructions. Also, to go along with that, they might also want to make a rule out of it. “Elderly/Pregnant seats” – and $20 fine if caught sitting in one. Singaporeans, and I’m speaking of regular Singaporeans like myself would totally understand that. We’ll be facing a new situation then.

Something like this

I don’t think we want to go there. Do we?

Vevay, Indiana

No wonder it was voted Budget Travel magazine’s #4 coolest small town in America!

Ohio River view from our hotel

me, before the Media Celebrity Grape Stomp

My first trip to Vevay (pronounced Vee-vee) was on August 29, 2009. I — along with a stuffed animal version of FOX 41 mascot Snow Fox– represented our Louisville TV station in the Swiss Wine Festival parade and competed in the Media Celebrity Grape Stomp for Charity. Unfortunately, weighing the least and having the smallest feet, I came in dead last among nearly 20 stompers from the Louisville, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis media markets, producing only three cups of grape juice in two minutes! That’s the first time I’ve ever claimed last place in any competition. But it was a really fun and relaxing day, full of good food and nice people.

Best Western Ogle Haus Inn lobby

I didn’t have time that day to explore the rest of the town because I had to go straight to work after I finished my part in the festival. So my husband and I went back just over a month later, on October 12. We stayed for just 24 hours, but it felt like the most luxuriously long vacation we’ve had in a while. Things are slower paced in small towns like Vevay, so we had enough time to see almost everything and take it all in. We stayed in a huge, very nice suite with his-and-her vanities and an elevated whirlpool-jet hot tub with steps outside the tub at Best Western Ogle Haus Inn. I know, you’re thinking, Best Western… nice? It was unexpectedly charming, set on the Ohio River (which divides Indiana and Kentucky). The hotel used to be owned by Paul Ogle, but now it’s run by Best Western, which renovated it in 2006. Vevay also has several lovely bed & breakfasts in historic mansions.

Danner's Hardware in downtown Vevay

Vevay, IN is the birthplace of American commercial winemaking, so you’ll find wine tasting opportunities, like at Ridge Winery Tasting Room. You’ll also -find shopping and dining on a small scale in downtown. We spent a morning and afternoon taking an easy stroll down just a few short blocks, stopping into such quaint shops as Edelweiss Floral & Gifts, Signatures, The Mercantile, and other stores that sell antiques and Amish goods. Danner’s Hardware is Indiana’s oldest business still in its original location. Julia Knox House is a historic mansion converted into a gift, furniture, and accessories shop. Be sure to pay a visit to the Switzerland County Historical Museum and “Life on the Ohio” River History Museum and ask for the guided tour; you’ll take a very interesting step back in time, back to when the Swiss settled the area.

As for food, I highly recommend the steak tacos I had for lunch at Los Bandidos, a new Mexican restaurant with staff just as friendly as the other shopkeepers we encountered in this tranquil town.

Plus, Belterra Casino Resort & Spa is just seven miles from Vevay, in nearby Florence, IN. There you can find such gems as Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse and upscale boutiques. And take a ride on a zipline at Dagaz Acres in Rising Sun.

Watch what stomping is.

Anyone can do it. A great way to de-stress and get in a trance!

Oh yes, I forgot to mention yesterday that I had gone to watch STOMP which is currently showing at esplanade theaters.

They opened the act with this piece called “brooms”. (:

It doesn’t look half as impressive on video as it does live. So you can imagine how awesome it was.

I loved loved LOVED it. Especially the tin cans part (paint buckets??) and the weird long thingys that produce different notes. hahaha. The cans were real cool cos they kept tossing them here and there and everything was so awesomely coordinated. I thought the one where they used kitchen sinks was absolute genius! Seriously funny too! ;D Other random things they used were like.. matchboxes, pots and pans, plastic bags, newspaper (that one was pretty funny too), rubber floats!, sticks, lighters!, and their signature dustbins. The one with lighters was really cool too. Okay i give up. everything was cool. They had this guy be all weird and… “disliked” by the rest. hahaha.. that was pretty funny. And there was this other super weird guy. hahahaha. During the newspaper part he kept making a bird/pretending to be one. Super hilarious.

It was AWESOME TO THE MAX. Some things just need to be caps-ed.

Catch it if you ever get the chance to!! (:

I did not put up the subtitles. This is directly imported from youtube and it’s difficult to find the original interview. Whatever the case, it is still entertaining.