Friday 9 July 2010

Architecture - School of the Arts Singapore



























In March 2004, the Singapore Government accepted the recommendations of a Committee on Specialised Arts School to set up Singapore's first independent pre-tertiary arts school to nurture youths talented in the arts, with the vision to groom the next generation of artists, creative professionals and individuals who are passionate for, and committed to the arts in a multi-cultural society.

The School of the Arts offers a unique connected arts and academic curriculum for youths aged 13 - 18.

The School opened in 2008.



Enjoy some photos of what I think is one of Singapore's modern architectual achievements.



Friday 9 April 2010

Restaurant charges 'thongage'

As I said in the post below; leopard’s don’t change their spots! Mr Spellman is back in the news and this time it’s about thongs. Thongs in this part of the world refer to footwear, not an article of lingerie. Thongs, flipflops, zori’s, whatever your local terminology is.

http://veronicas-secrets.blogspot.com/2010/01/every-gambler-knows-that-secret-to.html

A DARWIN restaurant is charging patrons $10 for wearing thongs while they dine.

The "thongage" charge is announced in a sign on the door of John Spellman's Tramontana restaurant on McMinn St.

Last night Mr Spellman said the "campaign" was setting the tone for his "boutique" restaurant. "It's a formal restaurant - tablecloths, napkins. I wear shoes and socks," he said.
"There's actually a button on the register. I just put it on the bill - you don't have to argue about it. Two lamb chops, one thongage.














Read the whole story below …

http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/03/31/135971_ntnews.html


Darwin, being the town it is, has not let that news article rest without retaliation.
Read below and at the bottom of the article are comments from around the world … the story has grown and actually yielded fruit.



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ttp://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2010/04/09/138181_ntnews.html

Thursday 1 April 2010

After all, Easter is imminent, and you know what wet bunny fur is like …

Update from the Bureau of Meteorology today …

Ex-Tropical Cyclone Paul is currently over the southwestern Gulf of Carpentaria
and is expected to move south towards the coast during Thursday. The system is
no longer expected to redevelop into a tropical cyclone.

Heavy rainfall and strong, squally winds are expected to continue in the
Roper-McArthur District during Thursday.

A Severe Weather Warning is current for damaging wind gusts and heavy rainfall
in the Roper-McArthur District.

No further advices will be issued for this system.”

























That’s my boy! Zipped in here, zapped out there, spun around and zipped in again, gave everyone a dust up and then headed off again to have a quiet time to himself (probably eating Easter eggs!).

So bloggers; it is now safe to answer the door. I will be home for Easter, watching out for the Easter Bunny; hoping there are some eggs left for me.

Hoppy Easter to all!

Sunday 28 March 2010

Be afraid, be really afraid!

“At 6:30 pm CST Tropical Cyclone Paul, Category 1 was estimated to be 95
kilometres south southwest of Nhulunbuy and 100 kilometres north of Alyangula.

The cyclone is currently stationary on the coast near CAPE SHIELD and is
expected to move further inland on Monday."


























I guess this will not mean a lot to you, especially as Darwin is not even in the picture above (it is just left of where it ends) ... but let me tell you something ... it is scaring me. I am packing my bags and leaving town; actually I will probably leave the state, possibly even the country!

I can imagine what you are thinking – she has lost her marbles this time – but hang in there a few more seconds and I will explain.

Our youngest son’s name is Paul. I love him dearly; more dearly than I feel he probably realizes.

Let me clarify something. Those of you who have children, and I use the plural purposely, will know what I am talking about when I wonder how you can have the same mother and the same father and produce a string of very different children. If we were breeding specialized flowers or food crops, we would be in trouble – we could end up with a field of salad plants when we planted lettuce. Hmmm, that may be quite useful really! OK, enough of that – I’ll leave that to the Frog.

Child training can be a hard road, one course that many of us don’t have any certificates to show before we start. On the job learning is often the name of the game. I always felt that consistency was an important “rule” and stick to your word – especially when you are “discussing” consequences!

So I tried to be consistent with rules with the children as they arrived, and grew.

One thing most parents dislike doing is chastising children when the family is out in public. If I felt there was an impending misdemeanour, I used to look hard at the offending child to “remind” them that I was seeing what was happening (I am told they used to advise each other that Mum was “giving them the look”) and most times the misbehaviour would cease. Then came Paul on the scene. Almost from the word go he feared no man nor beast. I could give you probably a hundred examples of when he refused to acknowledge “the look” causing me to discuss consequences personally with him. We both survived, however, and the strength he showed then has stood by him as he grew from a delightful young adult into a man.

BUT ... I have always said that if they name a cyclone Paul; I am out of here!

So blogger buddies, dust off the sofa bed, cause I could be knocking at your door anytime soon!

I will bring the remainder of that duty free alcohol, and Easter eggs!

Thursday 18 February 2010

I was at the Winter Olympics too ...


... in 1980!









It's all in a name ...


A live raccoon named Rocky was originally chosen as the mascot for the 1980 Winter Games—but he died. So the Lake Placid organizing committee turned to graphic designer Donald Moss. A freelancer whose illustrations had appeared in Sports Illustrated, Moss studied at the Pratt Institute for Design after getting out of the Marines and later claimed to have created ABC’s logo. (“I never did get credit for that,” he told the New York Times in 1979.)

Moss and his son also designed the logo for the U.S. Ski Team and 11 stamps for the U.S. Postal Service. He agreed that a raccoon was a natural choice for a mascot for the Lake Placid Games. “The mask across its eyes makes it very similar to the mask and goggles and caps worn by Olympic skiers,” Moss said. “And of course the raccoon looks cuddly, a kind of message you want to impart.” Moss’s raccoon, Roni, was named after Lake Placid’s Adirondack Mountains.

Info from Mental Floss
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/47533

Friday 29 January 2010

Every gambler knows that the secret to survivin' is knowin' what to throw away and knowin' what to keep

For many years here the customer has been able to be wrong … it’s just the address that has changed slightly.

I must have been in this town longer than the journalist who wrote the following article, or he/she would have referred to times past. There was even an article in the very same newspaper within the last month; similar story but at least that customer mentioned that the food was good!

Before the site where the new multistory rises up from the street was prepared for the building which houses the restaurant Tramontana, there was a old Darwin house which housed the Mississippi Queen, a restaurant which was renowned for it’s good food and eccentric owner. He was not shy of chucking a fruity or, for that matter, a table full of plates if the customers did not meet his requirements. Locals knew the situation and the rules and behaved accordingly. You nearly always got a very good meal in quaint surroundings and sometime, an added floor, or table, show.

Legends were raised under the roof of the Mississippi Queen, and gained amplititude as stories were told and retold. What a pity, perhaps that was all before the time of YouTube. John Spellman was never a man afraid to make his view quite clear to anyone who happened by.

IT SEEMS Darwin has found its answer to Seinfeld's Soup Nazi. (link to news article)

The character in the hit '90s US sitcom was famous for the excessively strict regimentation he constantly demanded of his patrons.

And it seems John Spellman has adopted a similar "no soup for you" regime at his new Darwin restaurant.
A patron was less than impressed with their treatment on a recent visit to Spellman's Tramontana.
In a letter to the NT News the customer said the night was, "less than enjoyable but certainly memorable" then proceeded to detail the happenings.
Everything from having to share menus, slack service and "unbelievably rude" management was mentioned.
To add insult to injury, when the customer complained, the response was that it was "obviously not their type of restaurant". The manager then took a $10 note out of the register and told the customer to go "buy yourself a hamburger".
When ConfideNTial contacted Mr Spellman to hear his side of the debacle, he was surprisingly unapologetic. "They were very difficult customers to begin with," he said. "The party had originally booked for 30 people, and the night before confirmed only 16. That's $1000 lost in turnover - so, yes, I was cross to start with".
Throwing the old adage "the customer is always right" straight out the window, Mr Spellman said the group insisted on splitting the drinks bill and claimed they were charged for a champagne that was never received. The customer wrote a letter of complaint to Mr Spellman - he was going to reply, but "restrained himself".
"I have tamed my act," he said. "But I was tempted to send them a voucher for McDonalds, because that's where they should have been."
The unhappy patrons have vowed never to return.


I am saddened to advise them that they probably won’t be missed, and perhaps the old adage of “any advertising is good advertising” may work in this case and remind some of the old customers of the Mississippi Queen (who have been probably dining quietly for the last couple of years) that Spellman is back in business!

Thursday 28 January 2010

You have to know when to fold them

Sometimes you have to rebel against bureaucracy and sometimes it is just better to keep your mouth shut and just THINK the rebellion. It’s knowing the difference that is sometimes my problem. Sometimes the smart alec, fly by the seat of the pants girl in me just escapes. That girl nearly always gets into trouble! Yes, I know that with age comes maturity, doesn’t it? Well, not always I am sad to advise. Sometimes it is just too much of an opportunity left open, or you just get too peeved by the other person and you have to let fly. That often results in what I call an oops moment.

I am reminded of the words of the song The Boxer by Kenny Rogers:
You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
Know when to run

My friend Lulu reminded me of this today when I read her blog.

Several years ago I was at the Blood Bank going through the interview before donating blood.

Himself had been a blood donor for ever and I decided that I should join the club.

I had already filled in the four page form and had made it to the interview. The interviewer goes through each question, asking some further questions every now and then to clarify the situation. No problems. Then we get to the section regarding overseas travel. I understand the reasons for the questions and had answered them accurately. It was at this stage that the interviewer first made the comment that I travelled a lot. Yes, I enjoyed travelling and did so as often as was possible I told her. But you really travel a lot. Yes, and I have listed on the form all the details. But that is really a lot of travel. Well, not really, but we enjoy travel. At this stage my voice was getting a little terse. I was ready to move on from this question, get to the donating bit and get back to work (so I could afford to travel again perhaps?). But no, she had got stuck in the groove, like an old vinyl record or a scratched CD.

That seat of the pants girl was ready for a few words. Somehow that time I kept quiet; and didn’t tell her that I needed to do a few drug courier runs every now and then to keep my hand in!

I think that would have resulted in one of those cryptic codes in the margin that I imagine immigration staff put on the immigration and customs form (when you arrive in the country) that gives the heads up to the next person which row you need to be cleared through. And my career as a blood donor would be over, before it started, or at the very least, postponed!

Interviewers, I know form generators put little boxes on forms for people to tick or cross or whatever; but YOUR JOB is to read them, and think outside the square, not get boxed in it yourself.

Saturday 23 January 2010

By Jove ... I think I've got it!

There has been so much time, money and frustration trying to work it out; but I think this is the best explanation.

Sunday 3 January 2010

Ahhh ... now where was I?

Listening to the news, it would appear that there may be a few people who could use this lady's help.


Sad, but true.