Olympic Soccer!

CJ report 5!

Olympic soccer semi-finals!

Argentina vs Brazil

Brazil's finest supporters!

Inside the Worker's Stadium!

A Ronaldinho trademark!~~~~~~~~~~~Hits the post!

The security divide.

A very interesting half time! The fans have all took to their feet and craning their necks in a bid to see Kobe Bryant, who made his entrance halfway through the first half.
Whether it was Kobe or the match, even he cant help it.

Cheers and consolation.

Final Score: Argentina reigns

Bird's nest today!

CJ report 4:

Visiting the Bird's nest!

The magnificent Bird's Nest stadium in the day!

The Olympic Flags flying high.

Leaning Linglong Pagoda?

Olympic Mum passing the ice torch

Some iconic architecture made for the Olympics. Structures like this and those of the Fuwas can be seen littered throughout the entire city. I can only wonder what do would look like a few years down the road where they are entirely out of context and fallen into disrepair.

The Olympic torch burning red with its sacred flame.

Looking outside from inside the Bird's Nest. I now know how a little bird feels inside its nest.
The magnificent inner views.

The 110m hurdles.
US Olympic hurdles champion:Lolo Jones
The 3000m steeplechase. Done in 8mins mind you.
Women's 400m.

Below the stairwell.
Stairway to heaven.
The moon loses shine in comparison.
The water cube at night.

The Linglong Pagoda at night.

Olympic lunch!?!? Combat rations!!

What a wonderful day at the bird's nest. Impressive architecture and beautiful events. A memory to hold forever.

Arriving in the Olympics

CJ report 3, in Olympics.

The 2 tablets of the 2008 beijing olympic games, in the night at Tiananmen and at the airport.

The national theatre of Beijing, shaped like a bird's egg to complent the bird's nest.

The Olympic Bike! Here is somebody who dares to live his dream despite what others say. Assembling his own bike in the form of 5 Olympic rings, he made his way from Tianjin into Beijing and around the Olympic venues, all on foot power. Incorporating a DVD player into the bike, he also displays some home made films about China's glory in the Olympics. Besides wanting to participate in the Olympics in 1 way or another, they also had another message to bring across, which is 'A Green Olympics!', written on his bike.
Admiration and respect.

The tight security at Tiananmen watching the world go by in a blur as they stay vigilant
The numerous additional road signs added in support of the Olympics.

Ending the day off at a hotpot restaurant and main dish shown here.

One long long strand of noodle! Showing the noodle man here.

On the Olympic trail!

As part of citizen jorunalist reports, the beijing 2008 olympics is going to be extensively covered in the next few reports! Besides the games and its happenings, other places of note in beijing and interesting events will be documented as well!

CJ Report #2

CJ report #2: NDP 08!~ Celebrating the Singapore Spirit!

From a voice in the parade.

The day started off pretty well. As we trudged through Suntec convention to our holding area, today was different. The air was different, it was one of love and patriotism. The sounds were different, people were cheering for us in sporadic bursts. The sight was different, the whole complex was awash in a wonderful splash of red.

Security was abit different too. Every corner was seen to be filled up with a small patrol of policemen or other security forces. Checks were so numerous and extensive that normal proceedings took more then twice the time it usually took. Well, cant be blamed i suppose, security has never been something we Singaporeans took for granted.

Finally, the time came.

We lined ourselves up at the start point,ready for the march of our lives, ready to receive the honour and pride bestowed upon us ,ready to emerge before national television and play a proud role as the Guard of Honour contingent.

Just as we formed up, we saw a flash.

'Must be the cameras la' said one of us.

Another flash danced by, this time accompanied with the unmistakable roar of thunder.

Silence ensued.

'Oh my dear, whats gonna happen' was in everyone's minds.

Yet, there was no time to think as the band struck in unison into a rhythmic beat, and off we went into the cold drizzling road. A steely facade took over as everyone braced themselves for what lay ahead. Despite the rain, people thronged the streets, struggling to catch a glimpse of the smartly dressed Guard of Honour contingents, and furiously snapping away on their cameras. Nothing, it seems, much less rain could halt the celebration nor deter our iron-clad determination. On we marched to the holding area as we waited for our turn to make our entrance. The weather did not relent, with the drizzle getting heavier steadily and gusts of wind coming at us frequently. As we stood like statues, i entertained a silly thought.

'What if the rain became too heavy for the parade to carry on?'
As the situation role-played in my mind, i imagined marching in a torrent of wind and rain, against the backdrop of the occasional thunderclap, determined to see it through. Continuing its relentless assault, rain flooded the stadium and threatened to tear through our spirits. I envisaged disappointed spectators trudging out to the exits, and leaving the stadium in droves.

'What?! This is going to be the national day where i marched in and nobody bothered to even watch?How unlucky can we all get.' Then, I imagined seeing Mr Lee walk steadily to the saluting dais, confidently picked up the microphone and created magic.

'We, the citizens of Singapore!Pledge ourselves.........and progress for our nation!'

The whole nation stopped and looked, followed and stirred in the fiery patriotism embodied by the father of the nation.And he continued.

'People, citizens of Singapore. The president is not leaving. The ministers are not leaving. I am not leaving. We will sit through this trial, just like we have done for each and every one of our 43 years of independence. Come, my people, join me in challenging the rain for having the audacity to challenge our parade! ROAAAAAAARRAR!!!

The contingents stopped short of roaring.Although the cold torrential rain blasted on their face,each soldier stood still like a statue as they were commanded to be, but none could resist the 2 streams of hot patriotism rolling down their cheeks.

Never, never has such a nationalistic spirit been better demonstrated in the face of adversity and uncertainty. Together, as one.

"Hey we're leaving!" said someone nearby, and snapped me out of my imagination. The rain died down and the sun was warming up. We're going in. Well, that might not have happened, but it was well dormant in each and every of our hearts, ready to be unleashed if summoned.

The parade then properly continued without a glitch, very much routine. My imagination didn't get a chance to be played out, though.Yet, without a doubt,I believe that if any crises did happen, nothing could stand in the way of our steely determination and daunting spirit, considering the rain as the most minor of causes.

What a thought that was.Cheers to the Singapore spirit!

CJ report #1

CJ event #1 :

F.I.R. World tour 2008!;飛兒樂團世界巡回演唱会2008！

The stage was perfect fantasy. 5 globes hung from the ceiling with another globe half sunk into the stage. Totally representative of their theme song in the latest album;愛*歌姬. If there was any shortcoming, it was that the stage didn't look as interactive as we would've liked. But well, that was easily forgotten.

The lights dimmed.

" Bang!! "


And out came F.I.R. with more explosiveness than you could ever imagine. Faye's powerful voice instantly commanded the indoor stadium, silencing the crowd with the theme song from their second album;无限.

The silence was short-lived. Within seconds, the audience got over the explosive entrance that shocked them and screamed to herald the band's arrival onto the stage.
FIR arrived in angelic white costumes with Faye sporting an uncharacteristically short skirt which only added fuel to the already explosive entrance.The crowd went wild!Hysterically cheering them on, the energy level of the whole stadium accelerated to a high in a matter of seconds.The ice of Singaporean audience instantly melted, unlike many other concerts where scores of established artists lamented the lack of fire and enthusiasm in the crowd. FIR set a wonderful exception, did what the rest could not do and did it with aplomb.

Looking on with a gaping mouth, all i could muster was a muffled 'WoW'.
Yet, every muscle within my fatigued body craved and yearned to jump along to the beat and music, imbued with some magical energy gained from the performer's raw energy.

Their wonderfully energetic start continued with 光芒 and ended with 我要飞. By that time, i had lost control of my limbs. They were all dancing to the music! Desperate pleas by my still sound brain went unheard. As Faye disappeared for a change of clothes, my friend took the chance to pass a comment.

' We should've taken the $150 seats' He said, with a really honest and sorry look on his face. Really felt like saying ' I told you so', but refrained and instead gave him a million dollar smile.'HEEEEEX'

Then he added,'I really feel like standing up and jump along like those crazy asses down there'. I looked him in the eye and nodded with a sad look.

WHAT A WASTE!!!

Nothing short of standing right in front would give this performance the credit it deserves. By the way, it was still only the first 3 songs and we were already wholly impressed and won over.

After a short introduction by 阿沁, Faye returned with a typical long dress more befitting her style and elegance. Well that's not to say the spice girls attire was bad though. They continued with 千年之恋，把爱放开 and 天天夜夜. Some effort was put in to show the blossoming romance between the starlets as Faye sat down on the stage and asked for some water and a companion. Expectedly, an electrifying duet ensued in the form of 天天夜夜. Simply heartwarming!

All 3 then disappeared with 阿沁 surfacing alone with a piano. He did 2 amazing solos before being joined back by the band for the next phase.A perennial favourite and also my personal favourite,你的微笑 came along with some really exotically medieval costumes. For this segment, costumes, dances and support was emphasized as they sang 月牙灣,应许之地 and 飛行部落.

A short interlude captured our imagination with a short history of Faye's career was narrated with a creative animation. Once again FIR emerged, but this time with 萧敬腾. Amazing guy, to say the least. And most notably, he bore striking resemblances to Jay Chou. Surprisingly shy with a powerful voice, he seemed totally like Jay in his concerts. His guest performance passed with a technically perfect rendition of 收藏 and 王子的新衣.

FIR re-emerged with Faye in a shiny little dress which symbolised her revolution from her amateur days to a professional career. And she continued with Neverland, a self-professed favourite of Faye.It was quickly followed by 爱的力量 and 塔罗牌.

Despite the already amazingly easy to jump along songs and explosive performance, FIR never relented in their efforts to get the crowd going. They used the song ' We will rock you' to ramp up the crowds spirit and further amplified it by singing Stephanie sun's 第一天.

Next, presenting a more casual look, they sang 流浪者之歌 and CHANGE, with a little insight into their hectic lives since entering the industry.

The whole stadium was reaching fever pitch. Many, many were standing up and jumping along to their perfectly executed pieces. Totally uncharacteristic of Singaporean audiences. A worthy milestone in the music industry this was. And then came the theme song 第十行星. FIR further cannibalized on the crowd's enthusiasm and infused more energy with Get High! Next, the end near, they dedicated the song 我们的爱 to the audience and waved goodbye as the song ended. This crowd was never gonna let them leave like this! almost immediately chants surfaced, crying for an encore! Yet, there was nothing happening but the instruments playing together in disconcert. Slowly, slowly, a familiar tune emerged. Too familiar too miss, the crowd went wild as FIR emerged again with LYDIA.

Fly away was the finale of the concert of the millenia.

To sum it up in 1 word:
Ohmygod.

Never has a band delivered such an electrifying performance in Singapore with such an enthusiastic crowd with perfect pitch and execution. Simply out of this world. Perhaps its only possible in the tenth planet.

Musings of a citizen journalist

After a long break, the world's eye is back with the citizen journalist providing his view on the world! Citizen reports will be frequent this month, detailing many events like the olympics and national day parade.

Lets not waste time.

CJ report 1 is up.

Quote of the month

Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action.
-Benjamin Disraeli,former UK P.M.

Crazy things to do #2

Lets continue the crazy things to do series to complement the mission: demolishing comfort zone.

Make a mental note of the following things which you can do easily , which will allow you to have fun and which you swear you will never do.

1.)Go to a crowded place and lie down on the floor for more than 10s.(e.g shopping mall/schools...please do not go to the roads and become roadkill)

If somebody asks, just tell them "I just felt like lying down for a sec"
If you see somebody picking up their cell phones, disappear as soon as possible cuz you are either gonna be shipped to the nearest hospital, cornered by some mental health personnel or be the latest celebrity on youtube.

*This is one of the most difficult thing for most people as for many it lies outside their comfort zone.


2.)Go up to a stranger and ask him/her some really weird question
(e.g Have you had extra-marital affairs before?The answer is not in his answer, but his expression.
Or, What would you do if i tried to kill you right here and now? Then put your hand into your bag and take up a menacing position.

His reactions could have you laughing for days and the triumphant realization that the stranger isnt really as scary as secondary school textbooks depict them to be. They might be more afraid of you then you are of them!


3.)Prank call your boss's boss and pretend you were somebody else calling your boss. Ask if he is ****(your boss) When he say he isnt, ask him(boss's boss) if he is in any way related to him. Then tell him you are some delivery company sending a shipment of viagra/impotence medicine/sex toys(anything he might be ashamed of!) and couldn't reach him. Ask if you can send to his office or if he could pass it to your boss, and he would vehemently oppose, and already crafting a mighty whacking for your boss who has no idea whats coming. Wait and see what happens when your hated boss gets lashed by higher authority with question marks floating around his head!

A sure-fire way to get tons of laughter. Not difficult though, and just a little out of the comfort zone for most people.