Our Hope, Our Joy

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Butterfly Kisses

Many of us may have long gone past the age to celebrate Children's Day ;)

But on this special day, let us toast these little ones who have helped make the puzzle of our life a little more complete.

I have compiled a list of 10 songs that recording artistes have written for that little special ones in their lives.

Song to celebrate the arrival of the child, song to remember the child by. Song to cradle the angel to dreamland, or simply to express their love and adoration for the most important person in the world. All in a language they know best.


1. Baby Baby -
Amy Grant wrote it for her 6-month-old daughter Millie

2. Isn't She Lovely -
Stevie Wonder celebrated the birth of his daughter Aisha with this song

3. Butterfly Kisses -
Bob Carlisle for his daughter Brook when she was 16

4. Tears in Heaven -
Eric Clapton wrote this to remember his 4-year-son son Connor

5. Hey Jude -
Paul McCartney wrote this song not for his son but for John Lennon's son, Julian

6. Good Night -
John Lennon fulfilled his paternal duty by writing for Julian himself. The lullaby was however sung by Ringo Starr

7. Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) -
To be fair, John Lennon also wrote one for his second son, Sean, whom he had with Yoko Ono

8. Sweet Baby James -
Although some still think James Taylor wrote this lullaby for himself (he apparently had to sing himself to sleep as a kid), he was actually writing about his nephew James R. Taylor, named after him

9. Lovin' You -
Minnie Riperton wrote this for her daughter Maya, whose name was in fact mentioned at the end of the song, when she sings "Ma-ah-aha-aha-ah-ya."

10. Goodnight, My Angel -
Billy Joel wrote this song as a lullaby for his daughter who asked him "Where do we go when we die?"


To his daughter's question, Billy wrote these words in the song:


Goodnight my angel, time to close your eyes
And save these questions for another day
I think I know what you've been asking me
I think you know what I've been trying to say

I promise I would never leave you
And you should always know
Where ever you may go
No matter where you are
I never will be far away

Goodnight my angel, now it's time to sleep
And still so many things I want to say
Remember all the songs you sang for me
When we went sailing on an emerald bay

And like a boat out on the ocean
I'm rocking you to sleep
The water's dark and deep
Inside this ancient heart
You'll always be a part of me

Goodnight my angel now it's time to dream
And dream how wonderful your life will be
Someday your child may cry and if you sing this lullaby
Then in your heart there will always be a part of me

Someday we'll all be gone
But lullabies go on and on
They never die, that's how you and I will be

The Milky Way

For a moment, take a break from the stress of work life.

Without the use of simultaneous equations, see if you can find a way to determine the numerical value of "Sun" and "Moon" below :

Sun + Moon = 25
Sun - Moon = 5

P.S. This is a real mathematical question given to a primary one student at school! :o

Sweetest Little Baby In Town

Here's a lovely song.

Specially dedicated to a dear friend who delivered her 3rd bundle of joy on Sep 16. Congratulations Mr and Mrs C!

I gave my love a cherry
That had no stone
I gave my love a hicken
That had no bone
I gave my love a story
That had no end
I gave my love a baby
With no crying

How can there be a cherry
That has no stone
And how can there be a chicken
That has no bone
And how can there be a story
That has no end
And how can there be a baby
With no crying

A cherry when it's blooming
It has no stone
A chicken when it's pipping
It has no bone
The story of I love you
It has no end
A baby when it's sleeping
It's not crying

(The Riddle Song: Traditional English Folk Song)

The Riddle

There is a song "The Riddle" recorded by Five For Fighting.

The song ponders on the purpose of life, touches on mortality, and reminds us of the vulnerability and fallibility of man in the Universe. It is also a father's song to his son, inspired by the composer's own five-year-old son.

The riddle is "There is a reason for the world, You and I".

What's the answer?

*****

There was a man back in '95
Whose heart ran out of summers
But before he died, I asked him

Wait, what's the sense in life
Come over me, Come over me

He said,

"Son why you got to sing that tune
Catch a Dylan song or some eclipse of the moon
Let an angel swing and make you swoon
Then you will see, you will see."

Then he said,

"Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I..."

Picked up my kid from school today
"Did you learn anything cause in the world today
You can't live in a castle far away
Now talk to me, come talk to me"

He said,

"Dad I'm big but we're smaller than small
In the scheme of things, well we're nothing at all
Still every mother's child sings a lonely song
So play with me, come play with me"

And Hey Dad
Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I...

I said,

"Son for all I've told you
When you get right down to the
Reason for the world...
Who am I?"

There are secrets that we still have left to find
There have been mysteries from the beginning of time
There are answers we're not wise enough to see

He said... You looking for a clue. I love you free...

The batter swings and the summer flies
As I look into my angel's eyes
A song plays on while the moon is hiding over me
Something comes over me

I guess we're big and I guess we're small
If you think about it man, you know we got it all
Cause we're all we got on this bouncing ball
And I love you free
I love you freely

Here's a riddle for you
Find the Answer
There's a reason for the world
You and I...

*****

So what's the message?

Someone once said:

Sing like nobody's listening.
Work like you don't need money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
And dance like no one's watching.

Yes, truly, like the song said, we are we all we got on this "bouncing ball."

*****

Interesting trivia 1:
You probably think Five For Fighting is a group or a band. Apparently, there's only one man in this "band", and his name is John Ondrasik. He is a talented composer and musician who has produced songs like the more commercially known "100 Years", "Something About You" and "Superman (It's Not Easy)". Besides becoming an "anthem" post September 11 in the US, the song Superman was also featured in the Smallville series.

Check out also "Freedom Never Cries" and "World" which talk about freedom, war, love and life. Through his songs, Ondrasik put to good use his rare talent for poetic and profound words to talk to his audience, addressing social issues and bringing out the human spirits and his personal messages on life and humanity.

Interesting trivia 2:
The naming of the "group" was inspired by the game of Ice Hockey. As a form of discipline during the game, players who fight and lose their cool (erm, no pun intended) are sent away to the penalty box to.. what else.. cool down.. for 5 minutes. Hence, the name.

Spelling It Out

Unless you have been hiding in a mousehole for the past 2 weeks, you should by now know that "Ratatouille" is the title of an animated movie about a RAT.

Now, if you have an animated movie about a BEE, how would you name it?

"Bee Movie"?

Yes! Haha, no kidding. This is the title of a new animation to be released by Dreamworks later this year.

How unimaginative, I thought.

Until I found out it was meant to be a play on the term "B movie". But then again, why would any reputable film studio wants to associate itself with a second-grade/low-budget movie?! Guess it's all in the name of good fun.

*****

Anyway, when I hear "Spelling Bee", a friend inevitably pops to mind.

He had a lot of fun in organising a sort of spelling bee game segment for the company a couple of years back. It was one of his first major projects he undertook as a fresh blood, and he generously contributed his enthusiasm and energy. I'm quite sure it has proven to be an invaluable lesson and a rewarding experience for him and those involved.

Still vivid in my mind were images of a bunch of us putting our heads together to think of the most ridiculously difficult words for the contestants to spell. Ha.. Those were the good old days indeed.

*****

By the way, ever wondered how the "Bee" got into Spelling Bee?

In other words, why is it called Spelling Bee?

Back in the old days, the word "bee" was first used to describe a social event, because people were sociable and busy as bees. The term evolved to describe people coming together for specific activities, whether work or play.

Gradually, there were husking bee, quilting bee, singing bee, etc.. and of course, spelling bee. So that was how it came about!

*****

Still on Spelling Bee, there is movie called "Akeelah and the Bee", released some time last year.

No, this is not a cartoon. It is about Akeelah, a bright young black American girl whose aspirations are stifled by the distractions of a poor environment. Fate somehow led her to represent her school in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. This spelling bee competition is highly regarded on a national level, and attracts the best spelling talents from across the country every year.

The film tells the story of how this 11 year old overcomes the odds, finds her calling, and eventually takes control of her own life. It also explores issues of education in the black community. The relatively unknown cast makes this movie surprisingly much more watchable than "Bee Season", another similarly themed movie starring Richard Gere and Juliette Binoche.

The black girl who plays Akeelah is a natural; she injects the right mix of vulnerability and gritty determination into her character. Despite her tender age, she manages to hold her own opposite Laurence Fishburne who plays her coach.

A simple story that should inspire and move you in some ways.

And who knows, you may even get to learn a new word or two. In fact, it is in this movie that I first picked up the word "Ratatouille", which I found out is a type of dish in French cuisine.

*****

Anyway, without the help of a dictionary, try looking at the list of 15 words below. How many words are mispelled below? No cheating.

- accommodation

- acknowledgment

- cemetery

- committed

- diarrhea

- embarrass

- harass

- mediterranean

- millionaire

- occurrence

- pastime

- questionnaire

- separate

- supercede

- vaccinate

*****

By the way, has it ever occurred to you that the word "FAMILY" aptly stands for "Father and Mother, I Love You"!! On the anniversary of this fateful day, let's remind one another to cherish life and people dear to us.

Lapland

拉普蘭，這裡住著雪之女王
一年四季都是白雪皚皚的北邊盡頭

在那最深最冷的地方，有雪之女王的宮殿
用白雪築成牆，用冷冽的寒風做成窗的冰宮裡
隔離世界上所有暖氣

一個人冰凍的雪之女王
她是世界上最漂亮的人
也是最孤獨的人

Framed in breathtaking panaronic landscape of snow-capped mountains, the accompanying words above set the stage for the opening of the Korean drama "The Snow Queen". It is inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale of the same name.

Andersen's tales have entertained generations of children everywhere. Most of us may have grown up with stories of The Ugly Duckling, The Emperor's New Clothes, and The Little Mermaid.

But I wonder many of us actually know the story of The Snow Queen?

Anyway, thanks to my sis and bro-in-law, I became a loyal K-drama fan over a period of 2 weeks as I followed and chased the development of the drama on DVD. Jewel in the Palace has blazed a trail for K-drama about 3 years ago, and the fever does not look set to wane anytime soon among my folks.

The Snow Queen, with a modern kimchi twist. Flawless acting from the extremely competent cast. Beautiful soundtrack. 16 episodes of melodrama, with tears that turn on at the drop of a hat.

Our uninspired local drama department should take a leaf out of the Korean books of formulas for producing magical love stories.

From The Word Go

Survived my first week at work.

New work place. New office environment.
New bosses. New colleagues.
New ways of selling. New lunch menu.

And most importantly, new media.

In fact, the whole set-up is so new that my boss is 2 months old on the job, my fellow sales colleague is 1 month old, and the sales support executive turned up on the same day as I! We are currently recruiting sales members, and I will be about one month old myself when these new guys join the team.

Received a couple of messages today from 'concerned' pals enquiring my whereabouts. So I have decided to put up this posting.

To be honest, it does feel kinda odd to be finally on this side of the fence after hearing ex-colleagues rant and rave so much about their old work place.

Wearing the staff pass lanyard round my neck almost makes me feel like I have sold out the company that has helped me feed myself for the past 5 years, if you get my drift. Well, I try to take comfort in knowing that at least it is not an absolute face-off with the traditional platforms.

I feel an odd mix of a sense of stability that comes with working for a giant, and a sense of uncertainty associated with a fledgling start-up.

As I go about doing things in the office this first week, it dawned on me that, like ex-colleagues who have joined the new movement, I've moved considerably out of my comfort zone. It seems that everything that I have to know and do in this new appointment, I have to pick up from scratch.

Standing on ground zero does give me a uniquely different sense of perspective.

I am faced with a different set of challenges and a whole new bundle of opportunities. Everything that I have come to take for granted suddenly calls for definition and development from the start: from work processes to documentations, and giving input on financial and incentive matters.

Only the first week, and I have already had my first taste of social watering hole with the rest of the sales, tech and back-end staff.

The mere thought of having the opportunity to learn and break new grounds flushes me with excitement, albeit adulterated with that inevitable pinch of uncertainty. Have to remind myself to step on the pedal from the word go.

So the new chapter has started; the first few pages have turned.

It's like going back to school after the holidays, but joining a new class.

A new class with new form teacher and classmates. New chair and desk. Well, if only it comes with a new car as well. Haha.

Incidentally, today 07-09-07 is Google's 9th anniversary since it was first incorporated as a company Google Inc. Look at how it's grown!

P.S. How I miss those weekly $2 pleasures.

No. 33 is the Best

There was a recent survey carried out by the American-owned Travel and Leisure magazine to find out the best hotels in the world. The results for the Top 100 best hotels were released in its August 2007 issue.

Surprisingly, the top spot was taken by a hotel from Asia - Oberoi Udaivilas, from India!

Accordinding to the magazine, hotels in Asia have consistently scored high marks in past years, but this is the first time an Asian property has grabbed the No.1 spot.

Besides India doing its continent proud, Thailand also smiles its way to the top. Perennial favourite The Oriental Bangkok secures the No. 3 spot, trailing behind only Oberoi Udaivilas and Singita Sabi Sand of South Africa.

Being a proud citiizen of Singapore, always striving to improve and add more feathers to its cap, I naturally started to zoom in to find out where the country stands amidst the world's best.

The verdict?

Our country's best hotels stand at No. 33, 40, 77, and 91. They are Ritz-Carlton Millenia, Raffles Hotel, Fullerton Hotel, and Four Seasons Hotel respectively.

Compare that with how the other countries in Asia fare with their nation's best.

Our traditional competitor Hong Kong trailed 4 spots behind, with The Peninsula taking the No. 37 spot. Taipei's Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel stands at No. 79. Shanghai's Four Seasons Hotel stands at No. 97.

So, ok lah, it's really not too bad for a little red dot, right?

P.S. By the way, there is a Top 10 list for the World's Best International Airlines. Guess which airline maintains its No. 1 spot? No prizes for guessing it right :)

Always a great way to fly.