Breaking in a new meme

Profile Image of June Yang
by June Yang
Published on December 21, 2011

Someone recently told me that if you tried, you could find the humour in any sort of situation. Tragedies, disasters, deaths of public figures. While I am inclined to disagree, there might be some glimmer of truth in that, if the recent reactions to the MRT disruptions are anything to go by.

For those who have been living on a different continent, or under a rock, in the last week, Singapore’s MRT system has been hit with three major disruptions: the Circle Line on the 14th, the North-South Line on the 15th, and again on the 17th.

In the last two cases, trains underground stalled on the tracks and lost power, resulting in commuters having to leave through the emergency exits and walk down the tracks in the tunnel to the next station.

This picture of the smashed train window quickly went viral as the apocalypse-movie-like quality of the situation began sinking in.

It was a serious situation, of course. Running out of air to breathe, that’s a matter of life and death. Literally.

That didn’t stop Singaporeans from taking the picture and running with it. Who was it, really, that broke the window?

Humour, in all sorts of situations.

Due to the transient nature of the Internet, the original sources for many of these are lost to the mists of 404s and content deletions. This has not stopped them from being immortalised on popular blogs.

Angry Bird, as popularised by mrbrown

Alien, from mrbrown, via jimmyliew

The Ring’s Sadako, seen on The Online Citizen’s Facebook page

The Hulk, as seen on dk

As memes generally are, of course, the popularity of these images was short lived, and the tireless satirists of the Internet by and large have moved on to other things – like cable ties, for example. Those nimble Photoshop skills can now take a well-deserved break – until the next train disruption happens.

Let’s hope not.


Categories: Singapore
0 Comments


ADD A COMMENT


A rush to capture the past: the KTM Railway

Profile Image of Esther Ng
by Esther Ng
Published on September 13, 2011

As the authorities rush to dismantle the railway tracks by the year’s end, the Singapore Heritage Society, too, is rushing to document and photograph all vestiges of the railway track.

These include traffic signal posts and mileage markers, for instance, said SHS’ corridor committee member Ho Weng Hin.
“It’s a race against time,” he said. “It’s not just about just about taking photographs of the tracks and the flora around it, but capturing visual images of a whole ecosystem of railway architecture, how it works,” he said.

For instance, sitting in a yard behind the Tanjong Pagar railway station is a locomotive turntable.

Heng Win tells me that the turntable was built in 1892 and it was used to rotate trains once they have been serviced onto the platform.

“I’ve walked the tracks a number of times the last month, and I feel a sense of loss. So much is removed from part of our landscape and history” he said.

But more than just documenting the operational heritage of the railway, is also remembering the social history of the railway workers, said Dr Lai Chee Kien, an architectural historian from the National University of Singapore.

“You’ll find a Hindu shrine every couple of kilometres along a railway line as the railway workers were Indians,” he said.
With wider patronage from the Indian community at large, some of these simple shrines evolve into grand stone structures with elaborate gopurams.

Temples in India tend to have one deity, but temples in Singapore have many deities housed under one roof to cater to railway workers who come from different parts of India, said Dr Lai.

The Sri Muneeswaran Temple in Tanglin Halt is one such temple that sprung up from the efforts of railway workers.
“Muneeswara is very popular among the workers because he is a protector, he protects people from accidents,” Dr Lai explained.

From what was a simple shrine patronised by a handful of railway workers, Tanglin Halt’s Sri Muneeswaran temple has evolved – into a big elaborate bricks and mortar temple – to serve the Hindu population in Queenstown and more. All this because of a railway line.


Categories: Singapore
0 Comments Tags: , , , .


ADD A COMMENT


Urine and effluent will feed the world

Profile Image of Esther Ng
by Esther Ng
Published on April 6, 2011

Urine is liquid gold, said Dr James Barnard, this year’s recipient of the Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize.

Half the world’s population cannot afford fertilizer, so it makes sense to use urine, said the 75-year-old, drawing laughter from a room of journalists who had gathered for the press conference.

The South African-born civil engineer had been telling us about the projects he was currently working on, which are based on a method of treating effluent which he had pioneered.

“Seventy to 80 per cent of all the nitrogen in waste water is urine and about 60 to 70 per cent phosphorus,” he explained. “What’s interesting about urine is that it’s free of bacteria, all that it needs is to let it stand and it becomes sterile. If you dilute down, there’s no more odour, it becomes a fertilizer.”

Dr James Barnard at a biological nutrient removal plant in Johnson County, Kansas.

Trivia fans, take note. Half the food consumed in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, is grown using urine, and research institutes in Sweden and Switzerland are trying to get developing countries to save and use urine to fertilize food, said Dr Barnard.

Another thing that we learnt: Phosphorus is a limited resource. China and Morocco hold two-thirds of the world’s supply of phosphorus, followed by South Africa and Jordon.

“If you dispose it into the sea, it’s gone forever and it cannot be recovered…without phosphorus there cannot be life,” he said. Continue reading ‘Urine and effluent will feed the world’


Categories: Singapore
3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .


ADD A COMMENT


Notes from an election rookie

Profile Image of Cheow Xin Yi
by Cheow Xin Yi
Published on March 29, 2011

It has been a month since the electoral boundaries were redrawn – essentially opening the floodgates for elections reporting – and I can’t decide if the experience has been fun or tough.

In this span of time, I’ve already been chided by more than one politician, whether online or on walkabouts.

I had to chase one down the stairs, across the road and into a carpark – just to get those few quotes for a story.

Colleagues and editors have told me that’s just a sneak preview of what to expect for the General Election – widely expected to be held end-April or early-May.

One editor, citing his past experience of trying to catch whiffs of politicians’ conversations behind closed doors, said something to the effect of “GE happens only once every five years. Now’s the time to pull out all the stops and be creative in getting what you need.” Continue reading ‘Notes from an election rookie’


Categories: Singapore
2 Comments Tags: , , , .


ADD A COMMENT


Gibbons, dolphins (or lack of) and mangroves

Profile Image of Esther Ng
by Esther Ng
Published on March 24, 2011

Oh where, oh where have the dolphins gone?

SOURCE: MediaCorp

Not a dolphin in sight when MediaCorp visited their enclosure in Langkawi on 7 Jan MEDIACORP

These pens used to house seven or nine dolphins caught from the Solomon Islands MEDIACORP

Pens from afar, some 300 metres from Genting Group's Awana Porto Malai Resort. MEDIACORP

Awana Porto Malai Resort, Langkawi

Continue reading ‘Gibbons, dolphins (or lack of) and mangroves’


Categories: Uncategorized
0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .


ADD A COMMENT


Who would you rather have as a super power?

Profile Image of Esther Ng
by Esther Ng
Published on January 3, 2011

I had the privilege last month to visit the United States Pacific Command – Camp H.M. Smith – in Hawaii to learn how the military was investing millions of dollars into an experimental renewable energy technology.

Amidst my jet-lagged reverie, it dawned upon me that Uncle Sam has been a protective and stabilising presence in the Pacific for some 55 years after the end of World War II.

I hadn’t always felt this way; the US invasion of Iraq and its other foreign policy decisions in recent, and not so recent, history made me cynical about its benevolence as a superpower.

But seeing how the theatre of the United States Pacific Command stretched from the Maldives in the Indian Ocean then across Australia to Hawaii, covering nearly 60 percent of the world’s population or approximately 272 million square kilometres over 36 countries – with Pearl Harbour a mere 1.6 km from where I was at – made me realise I should be thankful, if not appreciative.

Sometimes you need an experience up-close to remind you of the farthest things on your mind, such as security. I put this down to not having experienced war.

The recent escalation of tension between the two Koreas underscores the importance of the US as a countervailing force in the region.

On Nov 23, North Korea shelled Yeonpyeong island, killing two and injuring 19. Since then, South Korea has stepped up its land and sea military exercises. From Nov 28 to Dec 1, South Korean warships and the George Washington nuclear-powered aircraft carrier took part in naval exercises.

Just last week, South Korea held a land drill in the Pocheon region, between Seoul and the demilitarised zone, and conducted a naval live-firing exercise just 100 km south of the maritime border with North Korea.

China, an ally of North Korea, has been largely muted in its criticism of the hermit kingdom. It, too, has been involved in some territorial skirmishes.

In the past three decades, China has clashed with Vietnam over the Paracel Islands, with the Philippines over the Spratly Islands and, most recently in September, with Japan over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands off the northeast coast of Taiwan. China supposedly cut off exports of rare earths – vital for mobiles, laptops and hybrid cars – to Japan over the incident, though it strongly denied this.

Could the next hotspot be the western Pacific, if China becomes a military force to reckon with, as The Economist reported this month? And where does that leave Singapore?

We would still continue to seek greater economic cooperation with China and ride on her growth, though any display of aggressive Chinese nationalism will worry us. My guess is we would still turn to Uncle Sam for security. But where the only constant is change, who knows?

The writer visited the United States and China on a Jefferson Fellowship from the East-West Center.


Categories: Uncategorized
34 Comments Tags: , , , , .


ADD A COMMENT


Two isles, two different approaches to energy security

Profile Image of Esther Ng
by Esther Ng
Published on December 8, 2010

On the issue of energy security, Hawaii shares a number of similarities with Singapore. Both islands are vulnerable to price fluctuations and supply disruptions.

Hawaii relies on imported petroleum for about 90 per cent of its primary energy. Most of this oil comes from foreign nations, with a growing percentage from the Middle East.

Singapore has, over the years, shifted from importing fuel oil to natural gas from Malaysia and Indonesia. Fuel oil forms 21.6 percent of our electricity fuel mix; natural gas, 75.8 percent. Even so, some 80 percent of our crude oil imports are from the Middle East, and a major crisis in that region will disrupt our oil supplies; likewise, a geopolitical conflict in Malaysia and Indonesia.

So it’s interesting to learn that the United States Pacific Command, which oversees military operations throughout the Asia-Pacific, has paid global security company Lockheed Martin US$9.32 million to develop Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (Otec) technology.

IMG_0767

Otec isn’t new. It’s been around since the 1880s and uses the temperature difference between deep and shallow waters to run a heat engine. The challenge with Otec is in generating significant amounts of power efficiently from this small temperature ratio, and the infrastructure is very costly.

In addition, the military in Hawaii is investing in hydrogen as an electrical energy storage system. Both these technologies are, at this stage, experimental and expensive, but the pay-off, should the military succeed, is greater energy security for Hawaii.

Singapore, too, is looking into energy security and investment in renewable energy.  A liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, when completed in 2012, would help diversify our electricity sources by allowing the Republic to import LNG from countries further away. Built on a 30-hectare Jurong Island site, the terminal will have a capacity of 3 million tones per annum, with potential for expansion to 6 million.

In July, the government bought 4,348 solar panels from Norwegian firm REC for $2.3million.The panels will be installed in six public housing estates, covering about 3,000 residential units, and are expected to produce 170 megawatts (MW) per hour of energy each year or a total savings of about $40,000 per year per precinct.

And there’s the option of nuclear power.

Singapore, along with other Southeast Asian countries, will work toward establishing a Nuclear Energy Safety Sub-Sector Network to explore cooperation on nuclear safety issues within the Association of South East Asian Nations.

With the exception of Brunei and Laos, the Asean nations are considering adding nuclear power to the electricity generation mix.

Vietnam has the most aggressive nuclear power ambitions. It recently announced plans to build eight plants by 2030, producing 15,000 to 16,000 MW of electricity. Indonesia plans to have four nuclear plants producing 6,000 MW by 2025, while Thailand plans to develop two nuclear plants to generate 2,000 MW by 2022.

The writer visited the United States and China on a Jefferson Fellowship from the East- West Center.


Categories: Uncategorized
2 Comments


ADD A COMMENT


Fun, in the name of the Games

Profile Image of Neo Chai Chin
by Neo Chai Chin
Published on August 19, 2010

Why aren’t Singaporeans more excited about the Youth Olympic Games, asked my editor a few days before the event started on Aug 14. Is it because people don’t know who the athletes are, he asked. And if there is indeed a lack of excitement, then what should our expectations of the Games be? How should their success be gauged?

“Why can’t the athletes just have fun?” I replied with a shrug, not willing to over-analyse the purported impact and significance of the YOG before the event had even run its course.

To some, “fun” is no way to justify the $367 million spent on the event.
But talk to the athletes and volunteers involved, and there’s a sense that they have gained so much from the whole experience.

Si Ling Secondary School student Muhammad Amirrul Asraff M R, for instance, spent a few days with some schoolmates manning the Djibouti booth at the World Culture Village in the athletes’ village. When it rained, they had to put up transparent plastic curtains to prevent the rain from splashing in. The ten-hour shifts were “quite tiring as it’s fasting month”, said the 15-year-old.

But he has befriended some athletes in the short span of time, and even brought a hockey stick, a pair of spectacles and light sticks as parting gifts on his last day at the Village on Thursday.

On Tuesday when he watched the South African girls lose 0-13 to the Netherlands, he consoled them by saying “it’s not about winning, it’s about having fun”.

You have to be a cynic not to believe in the potential of the YOG to enliven minds and create better individuals through ways both weird and wonderful.

And in anticipation of South African swimmer Chad le Clos becoming a Summer Olympics star years down the road, can I just say now that I first saw him in person at the Village, as a teenager competing at the inaugural Youth Olympics?


Categories: Uncategorized
5 Comments


ADD A COMMENT


Flood … again!

Profile Image of Hedirman Supian
by Hedirman Supian
Published on June 25, 2010

UPDATE: One of our intrepid photojournalists has posted up her own account of the flood (and more great pictures) over at Viewfinder.

It’s another wet morning in Singapore, and various parts of our island are flooded due to the heavy rainfall. Here are some pictures sent in by our readers. Email us at todayonline@mediacorp.com.sg if you have any pictures/videos of the flood.

If you’d like to keep tabs on the weather, the National Environment Agency (NEA) has a nifty animated map of Singapore that shows the intensity of the rain on various parts of the island. Right now it looks as though the heavy rain’s subsided:

NEA

You can follow us on Twitter or Facebook for the latest updates on the flood and check back on this blog post for more pictures later in the day.


Categories: Singapore
0 Comments Tags: .


ADD A COMMENT


Charitable pursuit

Profile Image of Neo Chai Chin
by Neo Chai Chin
Published on June 8, 2010

When it comes to religion, even the non-religious have much to say. Whether it’s free-thinkers who’ve encountered over-enthusiastic friends eager to introduce them to a certain faith, or people who feel differently from others of another denomination, religion seems to touch a raw nerve in most of us.

Some say business and religion should never mix. From trawling online forums the past week, what I know is when the two are mentioned in the same breath, they make for a combustible topic.

That religious charities need somewhere to park or invest their money, that businesses can be run as (profitable, but not-for-profit) social enterprises for the greater good, that wealth is not contrary to one’s faith, that churches should seek to emulate Jesus who lived humbly – they’re all sound arguments in my opinion.

But I reckon if you’re on the Board making decisions and trying to find a consensus, it can be a tough call to strike the right balance. And sometimes, the answers aren’t so clear.

Whatever the outcome of investigations into City Harvest-linked organisations and individuals, I think the church and its members have handled the pressure as best they could in the past week.

Last Monday when MediaCorp went to its Suntec corporate office, staff were clearly uneasy at the sight of unexpected strangers. But they kept their smiles and composure. Church members have also been forthcoming with their views – and while they had a lot more to share about their church and pastor than I could include in my stories, I just want to say thank you for your time and willingness to speak.


Categories: Uncategorized
4 Comments


ADD A COMMENT


« Older