A happy weekend! My photo essay on Hong Kong nostalgic Mido Cafe 香港美都餐室《不变的港式风味》has been published in the latest bi-monthly (November/December 2014 Issue) Travellution Singapore 畅游行 Magazine! The latest issue of 畅游行 Travellution Magazine can be found in major bookstores, i.e Kinokuniya, MPH, Times, Popular, convenience stores and selected newstands, so hurry please get a copy from the shelf soon! Special thanks to the editorial team of Travellution for featuring my Hong Kong's Mido Cafe photo essay, you have made my day! Thank you so much! :-)
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The Singapore Memory Project (SMP) is a nationwide movement launched in 2011, which aims to capture and document precious moments and memories related to Singapore by 2015. The SMP has a new campaign called “KopiTimes” in November, where they invite pioneers to share their memories of Singapore over a free cup of coffee, at selected coffee shops around the island. Everyone has a story to tell and these pioneers were more than happy to share a few at their favourite kopitiam. I lent my support to National Library Board over the last two weekends in these memory documentation sessions with our pioneers. I was invited to participate in an interview at Mediacorp Capital 95.8 FM's radio yesterday morning on "KopiTimes"! This radio interview was my first ever and it’s being broadcast to the nation. I was extremely nervous the whole day before the interview because it was something i hadn’t done before, but mostly excited as i was going to be on the radio. Moses Lim (from my childhood favourite local sitcom - Under One Roof) and Yee Yeong Chong from National Library Board were at the interview too. The three of us discussed with the radio host, Huang Shujun about the personal interactions (in general) with the seniors at the kopi sessions, challenges and stories that encapsulate the experience. The interview, covering more on what it would mean for the campaign, aired yesterday morning from 8.15am to 9am. I've included a link on yesterday morning’s live radio interview that was broadcasted on Capital 95.8FM here (click to download) and also embedded an audio clip in case you're interested in listening in: After the interview was over, I smiled a giant smile and happily shook hands with the deejay and Moses Lim. It all went well. Instead of calling my family and friends (who’d been listening) to express my excitement, I let this satisfaction be mine alone, at least for now.
I would also like to take the opportunity to special thank National Library Board for providing such a enriching and fantastic opportunity come to me! Words just can’t really express how grateful and thankful i am for the things that people have given to me. :) It’s been WAY too long since I’ve updated my Prague vacation but that’s what happens when you go away for the holidays and come back with new seamless photojournalism assignments. For all of you that don’t run a blog it’s not as easy as it looks and requires time and effort to post on the regular, hence for people like me that have another corporate day job I try to post as much as possible but sometimes that can weeks or months apart. I am finally blogging on my last long overdue post on my vacation at Prague in Czech Republic last year autumn. I usually start writing a post on the flight home from wherever I’ve been to, with the events fresh in my mind. I never finish it though, and once I get to wherever I’m going it gets put on the back burner for a few days while I get settled in. To me the best thing about a personal blog is that I’m able to edit my thoughts and make sure they’re conveyed the way I want them to be before I hit “publish”. Even though it takes me a bit longer nowadays to post an update I think it’s probably best that I don’t post something within the first few days after a vacation. Often my immediate post thoughts and emotions are much different than they are a week later, and giving myself some time lets me reflect on the trip with a little better perspective. So I’m not promising any faster post-vacation posts, I’ll just try not to take quite as long in the future.
When i was planning my trip to Prague last year, I knew that a bouquet of architecture and design would be presented to me upon my arrival. Of course, because Prague has so much age and history, there would be Romanesque, Czech Baroque, Gothic, Neo-Classical and all that jazz. For example, there's a beautifully preserved convent from the 11th century that's a stunning example of early Gothic architecture. What I didn't realize, however, was due to a renaissance early in the 20th century, Prague had an explosion of new construction. Most of those buildings remain pristinely beautiful to this day. In fact, I must say without hesitation, Prague has the finest examples of early-20th-century architecture i've seen. On top of all that, it's one of the most navigable cities I've ever visited. The trolleys are efficient and fun, and most excursions can be ventured to by foot. It has been far too long since my last blog post on my vacation at Prague in Czech Republic. I meant for this post to be out last year but hey, better late than never right? It took me quite long to figure out that folks in Prague are passionate about their puppets. My observation confirmed that puppet shops with Pinocchio, Charlie Chaplin, Superman, Michael Jackson and Elvis could be found on nearly every block, in yet another puppet shop. Prague has over 20 specialized puppet shops, 30 puppet makers and a puppet museum! Puppets may just about outnumber people in Prague where residents take their puppets quite seriously.
While puppetry has a part in the folk arts of many European countries, it is perhaps the Czech Republic that has embraced it the most deeply in terms of the skills involved, the wit of the characterisation and its place in the nation’s social fabric. Indeed, puppetry has been part of Czech culture for centuries, with puppeteers travelling from village to village to entertain the locals, passing their skills, scripts and marionettes down through the generations until puppetry became recognised as an art form crucial to the evolving state’s sense of self. 初到布拉格, 只见街边店铺满是不会说话的 “匹诺曹” 木偶. 听友人说, 布拉格的木偶比人还多. 看来这个地方果真配得上 “玩偶之国” 的称号. 木偶是捷克 “国剧”, 只要是有人走过的地方都能看到木偶的影子, 似乎木偶都快成捷克的灵魂了. 木偶一般是由5-8跟线来控制的, 如果你到商店购买的话, 店主也会教你如何控制这个木偶的. 这是个费力费神的技术活. 每年都有好多慕名而来布拉格的游客, 但是如果在布拉格的街头逛上一会, 你就会惊奇的发现, 这里最多的不是那满街的游客, 而是无处不在的小木偶. 这个地方果真配得上 “玩偶之国” 的称号. Teochews are very close to my heart as my maternal grandmother's family clan are Teochews. I see the virtues of Teochews in my grandmother. She inspires me with her hardworking manner, warm personality and the love and kindness she has shown to me (since young) and the people around her.
I had a chance to pop into the first ever Teochew Festival held at Singapore Ngee Ann Civic Plaza in late September. Clan association Teochew Poit Ip Huay Guan went all out to organise this big event to celebrate its 85th anniversary and it had generated plenty of public interest. The event aimed to evoke a sense of nostalgia among older folks, and also spark interest among youths by offering an insight into the fine arts, cuisines and history of Teochew culture. The Teochews are well-known for their beautiful arts and crafts. There were loads of stuff to feast one's eyes. You will be able to see these at the festival. The Teochew people pride themselves for founding a unique brand of paper lanterns called "Huang Yuan You Zhi Deng Long", that are characterised by intricately-woven bamboo strips. At the paper lantern booth, festival-goers can watch the making of these lanterns by a craftsman with over forty years of experience, Mr Chen Zhoumao. |
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