yay! Singapore NDP... here i come! :)

well... one of the combined rehearsals, that is :)
not the actual parade on 9 august, scaled down fireworks and such, but still cool!!!

C. and I had originally planned to meet for dinner this saturday, but she had called earlier to ask if i would like to change our plans and go watch the combined rehearsal for the Singapore National Day Parade (NDP) instead. C.'s friend had some extra tickets, and she's so nice to ask if she could bring a friend (me!) along. wow! between dinner and the NDP, my answer was a sure no-brainer! hehehe..

so here i am, finally going to attend my first ever NDP (even if it's just a combined rehearsal show) this weekend! yay yay yay! lucky me! *happy dance*

in fact, i did think of balloting for tickets to this year's parade sometime back, but had somehow missed the deadline. i had even bought one of those tacky "I <3 SG" Giordano t-shirts two weeks ago! LOL! perhaps i'm now being rewarded for that ;)

this year's NDP theme is Majulah! The Singapore Spirit.

"The 2011 NDP is the third one to be a full time musical, just like in the 1996 and 1997 editions, but for the first time will include the popular parade and ceremony segment. The entire show was written by Haresh Sharma. It revolves on the history of Singapore through the eyes of a mother and her son who was born on the same year as Singapore gaining full independence, and later on through her grandson, who sees the Singapore of today as well as in the coming future." (abstract from wikipedia - National Day Parade 2011)

i'm looking forward to the scenic waterfront, the live fireworks, the thundering Black Knights, the magnificent national flag flying above us, the mass singing of all those patriotic national day songs we were all so familiar with as a child, and that whole awesome experience of everyone in the crowd cheering on Singapore, the advanced celebration of our nation's 46th birthday together... and since this saturday is the 3rd combined rehearsal, i think we'll be receiving the NDP funpack too! AWESOME!

i can't wait.. :)

BIG thanks, C.!

btw, i'm bringing my buddy along. i think he'll really enjoy the 'lion city' celebrations too ;)

so what else is there to do if you didn't get any NDP tickets this year?

• what to do when you can't get tickets?
• check out the official NDP 2011 website
• participate in the NDP Outreach activities 
• add 'ndpeeps' to your friends list on facebook
• a preview: xtemujin 360°Resources

would you like to own a petite lap giraffe?

this is not exactly new but i've only come across a picture of the oh-so-adorable petite lap giraffe (PLG) on Facebook over the weekend via a friend of a friend's profile picture.

 

the utter cuteness and intriguing (tiny) size of the giraffe made me stop and instantly google for answers... i just had to find out for myself, whether a giraffe that tiny really exists in this world.

and here's my answer - the petite lap giraffe - nothing but another make-believe story spun off as the anchor of a viral marketing effort of DirecTV.

here are the two TV commericals that started it all (courtesy of directv on youtube):

read all about it here - Petite Lap Giraffe Story Controversy - and visit the website to see how unsuspecting audiences worldwide fell in love with the cutest little fictional creature, and fell into the marketeers' trap :) even more remarkably, there is a 24/7 live feed of the farm on the homepage, if you're lucky, you might even spot the PLG strutting around right in front of your eyes!

in today's buzzling world of social media and citizen journalism, it is getting increasingly difficult for one to differentiate between real vs. fiction. there is often controversy around such tactics and the unorthodox engagement of social media marketing. but if you asked for my take on it, i'd say that's the beauty and power of the social media today. it's the flexibility, the possibility of creating anything out-of-the-box, things so bizarre and unbelievable, and actually making it convincing and viral. the onus is on you and i, to have an open mind, to question and investigate, to understand what's real and what's not, and while at it, take time to enjoy the ride, and appreciate some of these "how does anyone come up with something like this" kind of strange ideas and marvels :)

enjoy! and perhaps indulge in the thought that somewhere out there, in some far far away land, there could really be a colony of petite lap giraffes, yet unknown to the rest of the world...

if you don't have a basketball court near you...

... just bring one right into your office! :)
simply no better way to practise your three-pointer shoots without even having to move your bum.. LOL.

btw, if you remember this older post...
now that we have upgraded to a new office, surely the old 'basketball court' needs an upgrade too, right? ;)