End of 100 Days

Thanks to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s hard times/drastic action during his 1st administration in 1933, the media and political pundits have since measured a president’s agenda during a 100-day period beginning on inauguration day and ending 30 April. I do not have a nation shaping agenda for the next three years while living in Singapore, but I do have a plan to learn and experience as much as I can about the city-state. In this spirit, I am celebrating the end of my first 100-day learning curve.

1. Where does Singapore get nearly 70% of its water?
a. Recycled rainwater

b. Imported Malaysian water

c. Treated Straits of Singapore water

d. Controlled reservoir water

2. Match the maximum strokes to the offence which caning is available.
a. Drug Trafficking
b. Murder and attempted murder
c. Vandalism (graffiti and defacing public property)
6
15
24

3. In Singapore prostitution is legal. How does the government regulate it?
a. Register all prostitutes and have them attend routine health screenings
b. Designate red-light areas
c. Record clubs and brothels
d. All the above

4. True or False. Last year the government created Speakers’ Corner, a designated area where people can gather and speak freely. All speakers must first register with the police and a group of 5 or more people is against the law.

5. Prime Minister Lee recently said, “Their leaders are picking up points here and there” about how to “run a tight ship, honest and effective.” Which one of the following explains the quote?
a. Countries such as USA, UK, and Iceland want to learn how Singapore has kept the economy of the tiny nation strong since the birth of the nation.
b. Countries such as Syria, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern States want to learn how to keep a country safe from terrorist activity.
c. Countries such as China, Russia, and the Gulf States want to learn how Singapore has kept its ruling party and people in place since the birth of the nation.

This is not my blue print on how I will spend my term here in Singapore. I have no desire to discover all these quiz facts first-hand. Although I hope to find out about the water recycling treatment, I hope to not discover the caning treatment!

answers: 1 b ; 2a-15 2b-24 2c-6 ; 3 d ; 4 true ; 5 c

Oscar Night & Day

The mirror above the sink in the upstairs bathroom at 51 South Stanwood Road has seen a lot of action. With five Acton kids sharing the bathroom from pre-K-12 and a year or two after college, I'm sure I’m not the only one who pretended to be a spokesman in a commercial pitching products, rehearsed a school speech and answered “where will you be in five years?” My personal favorite bathroom performance was accepting an Academy Award. With one towel wrapped around my head as an up-do and another wrapped as a strapless gown, I’d accept my Oral-B Oscar by first thanking the Academy. I always thanked the Academy before thanking one-by-one my brothers, sisters, and pets. I’d thank others depending on the year, but I always ended my speech by thanking my fans.

This explains why I like watching the Academy Awards ceremony. I like to listen to the acceptance speeches. While the red carpet preshow has become a robotic luxury goods infomercial and Botox spanking machine and the actual program a dull and lifeless show of one-liners, the acceptance speeches have remained real human emotion. Once they announce the winner’s name, genuine shock or joy, surprise or arrogance is on display for the world to see. They might gather their composure on the way to the stage and give a memorable speech (Frances McDormand), or a self-important speech (Julia Roberts) or, they do not collect themselves at all and give a speech worthy of a Raspberry Award (Halle Berry).

While I settle down for a few hours of Hollywood speak, I eat and drink something special. The night only comes once a year, so I always throw a one-woman party. This year I will watch the Academy Awards as I always do, but instead of tuning into them live on Sunday night, I will watch them live Monday morning. Singapore is 13 hours ahead EST. The time difference changes everything. I’ll have to alter my usual drinks, food, and games. What will replace champagne, pâté, shrimp, and chocolates? Coffee, quiche, bacon, and a breadbasket? Taking a sip of champagne every time someone thanks the Academy or when the camera focuses on Jack Nicholson are fun games when facing sleep after the broadcast, but it is quite another when preparing to face a full day.

I turned to the media outlets for a possible party plan. Newspapers, magazines, blogs, and the like describe their ideas for a winning evening Oscar party, but never for morning ones. Therefore, special for this year’s celebration only, I present The BBC, Brunch for the British Contenders. Since I hope it will be a “Slumdog Millionaire” sweep and a Kate Winslet first my theme is British based.

Pimm's Cup: One slice of orange, lemon, apple, cucumber, sprig of mint 2 parts lemonade and 1 part Pimm's

Common English Breakfast: Sausage, bacon, fried eggs (in the bacon pan, of course), baked beans, cooked mushrooms and tomatoes, and fried bread

Game: Take an extra sip every time someone thanks the writers or when the camera focuses on Michael Sheen



Party Favor: Before or after a Brit victory, pop open a Christmas crackers as if it’s a swag bag

The Academy Awards acceptance speeches are the central reason why I celebrate. It is interesting for me to watch and listen to the winners because it gives a sense of who they are and what/who they value. I understand and expect all speeches to being with thanking The Academy no matter how cliché it sounds. It is also equally important to thank the writers straight away because that is where the motion picture begins. One can argue that the life of the movie begins at conception, but I believe that it begins with the birth of the script. Where would the industry be without the script to inspire the director, producer(s) and costume designer, musician, lighting engineer and, at the end of the evolution, the moviegoers!?

So, Kate Winslet and Danny Boyle, I’m counting on you both to give the speech I’d give today in front of my bathroom mirror in #02-02 Draycott 8. Don’t gush, Kate, you’re an actor, act composed! You’ve had plenty of practice this awards season to say something brilliant about The Academy and the writers of the scripts(s). As for you Danny Boy, don’t forget to thank the moviegoers around the world. True, they may not have a lot to do with making a movie, but they certainly have a lot to do with box office receipts! Please make your speeches my reward.

Your Money or Your Lifestyle

The cures for the ailing global economy are as abundant as the number of economists in the world. While financial professionals think globally, we all have to live the crisis locally. In Singapore, the government’s recovery plan recommends citizens to save money. Those in charge believe that the 4 million populous (1 million of which are expats) cannot spend their way out of the economic slump. They think that the domestic buying power is not large enough to lift the economy and offset falling exports. Therefore, the nation is to be prudent and not live lavishly. Among other things the government suggests, each person should take shorter showers, eat more vegetables, and keep from buying high-end mobile phones.

As my sister Valerie says, “I ain’t no math whiz. I’m a cheese whiz.” I am in no position to make any predictions of what saving money rather than spending money will do to the country’s economy. Singapore’s trade and industry are things I know nothing, but after two months I do know one thing: shopping is the unofficial national pastime.

The pledge of the people is a promise to shop and spend. The average cost of a compact car is S$80,000, but fees, taxes, and a Certificate of Entitlement drive the costs well into S$100,000. In a country 3x the size of Washington D.C. there are anywhere from 185 -250 multilevel malls. I cannot find an official count, but on Orchard Road, a 3-mile district of premier retailers similar to NYC’s Fifth Avenue, I counted 28 malls. Each retail centre has several floors full of shops, spas, and restaurants. On the corner of the main intersection of Orchard Road and Scotts Road, a new shopping mall will open for business in 2010.

Off Orchard Road, a “lifestyle” residential tower is under construction. Developers, Hayden Properties, are creating the world’s largest apartment building with connected car porches. The Hamilton Scotts will have an elevator that lifts the car up to the unit. As part of the design, the parked cars next to each condominium form a column along the building. From the street people will be able to see a car column behind a panel of glass. The 54 units are roughly 2,700 sq ft each and cost over S$4,000 sq. ft. Move in date is 2011.

The spending continues. In 2005, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong lifted a decade’s old ban on gambling and gave approval to build two casinos. At that time he said, “We want Singapore to have that x-factor.” He felt the country was at risk of becoming a “backwater”. One casino, owned by a Malaysian company, will be part of the resort island, Sentosa where Universal Studios is building a theme park. Rides roll in 2012. Until then, you can place your bets at The Sands casino this July.

According to the Singapore Tourism Board, 2008 saw good returns. Even though Singapore welcomed only 10.1 million visitors, a small decline of 1.6% from 2007, it did post record-breaking receipts of S$14.8 billion (9.8 billion U.S.), an increase of 4.8%. Room revenue in hotels booked S$2.1 billion (1.4 billion U.S.), a 12.1% growth over last year.

Perhaps the government expects visitors and tourists to spend Singapore out of a slump. If The Singapore Flyer is any indication, then that plan might fall flat. Opened last year and billed as a world-class visitor attraction, the tallest Ferris wheel in the world has 28 cars with 360° views of the city. Each car holds 32 people. On 23 December 2008, 173 passengers on the Flyer were trapped for six hours as a result from an electrical fire - giving a new meaning to the phrase money trap. The owners are not only under government investigation, but they owe tens of thousands of dollars in back rent. It reopened last month on the 25th. Attendance is down even though they dropped the admission to S$30 per person.

Until the spending freeze ends, it looks as if it is up to the tourists to keep Singapore’s economy spinning. I can see the slogan now: Singapore: You Cane Bet on It!

Year of the Ox(idential)

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Happy New Year! 2009 (or 4707 on the Chinese calendar) is the Year of the Ox. One characterization describes Ox as patient people who speak little and inspire confidence in others. However, an Ox can be bigoted, eccentric and anger easily. Ox people are mentally and physically alert. They are easy-going, yet remarkably stubborn. In essence, Ox people just want to spend the day in a sunny meadow minding their own business and if someone or something interrupts, then they’ll get the horns. I read somewhere that President Obama is an Ox. James is a rabbit. I am a horse.

The Chinese Lunar New Year began on Monday, 26 January. I spent the week leading up to the big night researching and preparing. It was my first and I wanted to celebrate, as was the norm. I researched traditions, symbols, and customs that stretched back for centuries. One week wasn’t enough time to learn the details let alone prepare for the Reunion Feast on the 25th. That is the big night when families celebrate togetherness by eating a big dinner and exchanging Hung-Bao or red packets. I decided to stick with the basic decorations and food stuffs.

To guarantee a good year, according to tradition, I had to clean house, get a haircut, buy new clothes, and payback any money owed. I also had to buy decorations and food. James’ co-workers warned me that the city shuts down for days after the 25th, so food we was on the top of my list. It took a full day to scrub, sweep, and clean the apartment and patio. The haircut would have to wait until I found a salon or stylist specializing in westerner’s hair, but I planned to do it up for the Reunion Feast. I bought a new top. The only money I "owed" was a Verizon bill in dispute, but it had to wait until after the Lunar New Year. I finished the week by focusing on decking my halls with fu.

With checklist in hand, I set out to buy decorations and fruits. All around the city, I noticed business centers, hotel lobbies, and public spaces decorated in observance. The city was colorful and bright. When I entered Chinatown, I was completely blown away! Every square inch of every block in the district was festooned with banners, baubles, blinking lights and, of course, ornamental oxen. The streets were closed to vehicle traffic, but open for business. Red-tented stalls lined the sidewalks and people were busy moving from one booth to another gathering the necessary things to ensure wealth, abundance, and prosperity in the New Year.

Pagoda Street was a sea of red and gold, with a sprinkling of other colors. It was a dizzying display of candies, fruits, tschokies, souvenirs, costumes, and fireworks. The works! Music plinked over speakers tied to light posts and, just like the Ohio State Fair’s Lausche Building, there were booths featuring wonder products being sold by salesmen speaking into microphone headsets while giving live demonstrations. The more I walked the more I heard other hawkers selling their goods while talking into microphones - talking above the people in the streets and the music in the air. It all sounded like Dr. Seuss language: yekko, nizzards, sneedle for sale.

Chinatown was Tschoka Nirvana. However, it didn’t feel like heaven with the heat, humidity and hustle. Trying to fulfill the list would have been easy with all the choices, but I was too stunned by the action to hunt and peck for my New Year decorations and treats. I was pushed, elbowed, and even screamed at in one booth! I managed to purchase a fu and a paper pineapple, as well as a gold ox ornament with red tassel and a small rubber Mickey Mouse ornament with red tassel. The vendor chuckled when I asked him the symbolism of Mickey Mouse in the ancient Chinese New Year tradition. Feeling completely overwhelmed, I went home before I completed the list.

Sunday, 25 January, was the night of the Reunion Feast. We’d been looking forward to this night all week. James made reservation at our favorite restaurant, Scarlett, where the rooftop dining room overlooks Chinatown. It was the ideal place to ring in our first Lunar New Year and to celebrate James’ two-day break. We should have known something was wrong when the wait for the taxi after texting took nearly 20 minutes (it usually takes 3), but we just guessed that the city must be busy, like NYC on 31 January. We were wrong! The taxi driver laughed at us when we told him our destination. The town was dark and empty, like downtown Columbus on any given night. When we reached the restaurant it was closed – Chinatown and the surrounding area was closed. Ooops! James checked his Blackberry and remembered that the hostess said they were closed on Sunday. He made reservations for Monday instead. We shared a laugh with our driver and toured the city looking for an open restaurant. The driver made clear that the Reunion Fest is a night to be with family. That explained why all businesses, buildings, and bars were closed. He suggested we return to Chinatown around midnight when people enter the streets cheering and lighting firecrackers.

After about 15 minutes, we found a neon shamrock burning bright at the Dubliner pub. An Irish pub doesn’t look anything like a Chinese restaurant. Fish-and-chips don’t taste like dumplings and a pint beer doesn’t sip like a glass of champagne. Yet, that didn’t stop us from celebrating with Chinese spirit. We toasted our good fortune of finding an open restaurant, the wealth of laughter, and our blossoming life in Singapore.

TV Censorship: Eat What's On Your Plate

James is the guest writer for this week's post.

Sunday night at home. Madeline and I were watching a bit of TV on Starhub, Singapore’s cable network. Halfway through Snatch, Guy Ritchie’s tribute to profanity, tongue-in-cheek violence, and the lighter side of England’s ethnic stereotypes, I began to wonder whether I had suddenly become oblivious to “strong” language in film. Our first time watching Snatch was in NY around the time of the movie’s release. Regardless of which character was speaking, the word “Fuck” was, as per memory, prominently featured in any dialogue. The adjective was so prevalent that it was almost a character unto itself. But this time, here in Singapore, “Fuck” had been written out of the script. And with the Fuck character dead on the censor’s floor so too had died other large portions of dialogue. I began to wonder who has such power to cut and omit? Who can so dramatically alter a film and make it decisively less dramatic? Was it an “it”, a “they”, a “he”, or a “she”?

Doing a small bit of simple investigation I came across several articles on the subject. I was hoping that the censorship was a self-imposed effort by Starhub, or some other commercial vehicle, concerned about public perception of its own product. At least this would allow for some wiggle room - for free market artistic interests to emerge. But the reality is that the effort is managed by a central committee, the MDA, or Media Development Authority, which is located in the brightly colored Old Hill Street Police Station. Having been created in 2004, ironically their mandate makes what we consume less colorful. And equally ironic is the fact that they produced a rap song to help clarify their mission and which is available on youtube. Appropriately, it’s a bit bland and short of the mark, but it's a must-see just the same:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjLw28UVWEU

While unsurprising, the fact that all media is controlled by a central committee is a bit numbing. Yet in reality the appearance of predictable guidelines on artistic expression was a welcomed change by local artists. Until that point the capricious nature and “heavy handedness” of the government in maintaining a lock on media outlets made it a constant struggle to determine just how far was “too far”. And with a process in place local theaters and film producers now had an outlet for appeals.

But these changes do not restrain the MDA in its oversight of foreign films coming into Singapore. Until then, we must make peace with the possibility, and the probability, that any film presented by a media outlet, especially TV, has been significantly altered by the government authority. While I’m thankful Singaporeans are not told what to watch, it makes it a bit more difficult to watch what they watch.

A War Welcome

For Christmas, James and I gave ourselves a New Year Eve’s weekend celebration in Hanoi, Vietnam . Hanoi is an attention-grabbing, delicious city full of action, architecture, coffee, and cha ca.

The city is almost in conflict with itself. Architectural forces clash – stately French colonial buildings next to narrow Vietnamese tube houses next to austere Soviet structures next to ancient pagodas. Motorbikes rule the roads, easily outnumbering automobiles 50 to 1. They battle each other, cars, and trucks for riding space. Vendors, makeshift cafes, and parked motorbikes on the sidewalks force pedestrians into the right-of-way fray in the streets. The traffic is honking and beeping and moving through directionless, unmarked avenues and through it all, tourists, pedestrians four wheels and two wheels, walk these Vietnamese women wearing pointed, cone-shaped hats and carrying baskets on a long pole balanced over their shoulders. Whether on the sidewalk or in the streets, all movement seems to pause for these women carrying on with tradition.

We rang in the New Year at the grand Metropole Hotel where Charlie Chaplin honeymooned with Paulette Goddard. It is also where Jane Fonda gave her protest speech during the Vietnam War - only blocks from the infamous Maison Centrale prison, a.k.a. Hanoi Hilton where John McCain spent his years as a POW.

I think it would be difficult for any American to visit Hanoi without thinking of war. Even though the city has historic treasures, including the Opera House, Quan Su Pagoda, and the Temple of Literature, the War Museum fascinated us the most.

Winston Churchill said, “History is written by the victors,” so we wanted to know American’s place in Vietnam’s history. At the War Museum, it came to no surprise that America was Goliath to Vietnam’s David, but it was provocative nonetheless. Tanks, aircraft, and bombs were on display along side American servicemen’s uniforms and kit like trophies in a high school hall of honor. James felt it was an interactive museum, which not only allowed visitors to see and read about the war, but to participate in its victory. A group of young Vietnamese boys in military uniform did just that. They jumped on top the American tanks and planes smiling, shouting, and posing while taking each other’s pictures. It was jaw dropping to witness these boys celebrating their nation’s pride and freedom while I was mourning our nation’s death and destruction.

More important than being on the winning side of history is the lessons learned from war. And what lessons do we learn from war? Statistics. Both sides die in war. Both sides keep score. While you read some counts of the Vietnam War, click on the link below and listen to a number by Paul Hardcastle, “19”

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

US
9, 087,000 military personnel served on active duty during the war (5 August 1964 – 28 March 1973)
2, 594, personnel served within the boarders of South Vietnam (1 January 1965 – 28 March 1973)
Of the 2 .6 million, between 1 to 1.6 million either fought in combat, provided combat support or were at least fairly regularly exposed to enemy attack.
Peak troop strength in VN was 543, 482 on 30 Apr. 69
Hostile Deaths: 47,359
Non-hostile deaths: 10, 797
Wounded in action: 303,704
Severely disabled: 75,000
Missing in Action: 2,338
Prisoner Of War: 766, 114 died in captivity

THEM
From 1965 – 1972, America released 5,382,000 tons of bombs, inflicting 200,000 casualties (80,000 deaths) and 70,000 orphans.
From 1965 – 1970, America spread 76 million liters of dioxin into 607,500 hectares of forest and 89, 500 hectares of cultivated land of South Vietnam.
Serious consequences have resulted from the war in Vietnam: about 2,000,000 disabled, 2,000, 000 dioxin-affected, 500,000 children deformed, and more than 300,000 missing.

In America, we view war differently. We have official statistics, but we don’t have an official War Museum. We honor soldiers of a particular war, rather than pay tribute to war. Like other nations, though, we have not learned to keep from entering war and it doesn’t look like war will end anytime soon. South Korea exported $1 billion worth of arms in 2008 and hopes to sell $3 billion worth by 2012. South Korea’s main customers are Middle Eastern states and the US. The US has a free trade pact with S. Korea pending legislation. China & Russia just installed a military hotline so the two armies can chat freely.

The Name Game

Organ Pies. Aping Sore. Aegis Porn.
Hmmm. What do I name my blog? Using my Scrabble tiles I thought I could create the perfect name by creating an anagram for Singapore, the city I’m living in for the next few years.

When no matches were found, I swapped tiles to create an anagram for my name, Madeline Rae.
I Neared Lame. Alien Read Me. Deem Anal Ire.

Naming a blog using a sentence is a good idea, but again, no anagram reflected what it is I plan to write. So, the thought process continued. Instead of a board game I switched to a parlor game.

Porn name?
Putsey Stanwood

Soap opera name?
Babe Spencer

DJ/Rap Name?
Maddy Mad

Drag Queen Name?
Rae Markable

And then it hit me!
Raemarks

And like that I not only created a blog name, but I created its basis. With my blog I plan to remark on my life in Singapore and my travels through out Southeast Asia. I intend to write about history, events and newsmakers in the region. After all, a personal blog, in its most basic form, is a collection of observations about people, places and things…and the opinions that follow.