Everybody loves my blogskin!

I've just changed my blogskin colours! They look really nice on my blog and I think people are going to love it! haha.

Development plans at Orchard Rd

Not many choice sites left on Orchard Road

THE scramble for the last development sites in Orchard Road is well under way and one thing is already certain - no one in this race wants to lose the plot.

Not that there is much left to lose: Of the four plots earmarked for retail and entertainment in the great Orchard Road revamp unveiled earlier this year, two are already the subject of bidding wars while the other pair has far less appeal.

The prime candidates are Orchard Turn and Somerset sites, both with 99-year leases.


Orchard Turn received a minimum bid of $600 million last month, sparking a flurry of rival offers that could push the final price to around $1 billion. The Somerset site tender was triggered by a bid of $200 million earlier this week.

Developers with 'Orchard fever' who get trumped on either site might have to consider taking up one of the less desirable pair - the carpark opposite Orchard Cineleisure and the empty plot behind the Singapore Visitor Centre.

These are designated development sites but are quite small and available on only 15-year leases.

The carpark is 4,900 sq m; the Visitor Centre about 1,890 sq m. The Somerset site, by contrast, is 8,000 sq m and the Orchard Turn site, 21,000 sq m.

Property consultants say the smaller plots are 'not that attractive' to developers because of the unusually short leases in an area where most sites boast 99-year leases.

'Fifteen years may be just enough for a single-storey development with a simple structure, like a food court, because no one is going to build something with high-quality finishes for something so short-term,' said Knight Frank's director of research, Mr Nicholas Mak.

He added that the short-term leases may have been planned by the Government to allow for flexibility in the use of the empty plots.

Other observers suggested that putting up all four sites for 99-year lease at the same time could be too much for the market to handle.

'While interest level in Orchard Road is bullish, releasing too many sites for long-term development within a short span of time may destabilise the market,' said Colliers International's associate director of research and consultancy, Ms Tay Huey Ying.

'There is merit in releasing these two sites for short-term leases while the Government monitors the impact of the Orchard Turn and Somerset developments on the retail market.'

Apart from the four designated makeover sites, the rest of Orchard Road is now pretty much a dead-end street for brand-new developments.

Market watchers have pointed out three possible development plots: the Thai Embassy site, which the Thai government is looking to redevelop with expert help; the carpark in front of Somerset MRT station, owned by the Urban Redevelopment Authority; and the site occupied by the Killiney Road post office.

But the Thai Embassy site is not for sale to private developers and little is known about the other two plots, including whether they will be released by the Government for tender.

With so little space left for new development along the shopping street, developers keen to get in on the action might have to consider expanding into Orchard Boulevard or redeveloping older buildings along Orchard Road.

'Older buildings under single ownership with redevelopment potential include Wellington Building, International Building and all those towards Tanglin Road such as Forum, Tanglin Mall and Tanglin Place,' said Ms Tay of Colliers.

- AsiaOne, 8 Oct 2005.

dude, where's my chick?

Spotted this amusing picture at mundy's blog.

the question of God

I was at that time living like many atheists; in a whirl of contradictions. I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. I was equally angry with him for creating a world. Why should creatures have the burden of existence forced on them without their consent?

- C.S. Lewis, A Leap in the Dark.

check out the signs

Oh yes. Another reason to go for shopping.





Can dogs read?





Children use it to swing themselves around like monkeys and army boys uses it do chin-ups. Why not for dancing? :P

death and taxes

In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.

- Benjamin Franklin

looks delicious

I wish someday I can cook as mouthwathering as this.




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I hate conference calls

Sumo

The changing world of sumo

The playoff between the Mongolian-born grand champion Asashoryu and Bulgarian Kotooshu on the final day of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament stirred great excitement Sunday. It was Asashoryu's sixth straight Emperor's Cup victory. The deciding bout symbolized a trend that has been brightening the lackluster mood in the sumo world for some time.

The first foreign-born sumo wrestler in postwar Japan was Takamiyama. The Hawaiian, known as Jesse, came to Japan in 1964 and quickly became hugely popular. He was followed by a trickle of sumo aspirants from overseas. However, those numbers surged in the 1990s. Fifty-nine non-Japanese professional sumo wrestlers are currently active. They include 12 in makuuchi, accounting for nearly one-third of all wrestlers in the senior division.
For years, the trail blazed by Takamiyama was followed mostly by Hawaiians. But in recent years, the home countries of foreign-born wrestlers have rapidly diversified. In addition to Japan, 12 nations are now represented. They include Mongolia, South Korea and China, along with countries in the South Pacific, Europe and South America.

Globalization is changing the face of sumo. The performances by massive Hawaiian wrestlers like Konishiki, Akebono and Musashimaru were anything but delicate. But the new crop of Mongolian wrestlers, as well as those who trained in Europe, are quite different. They use a wider variety of techniques and fight with greater speed.

Their presence is stimulating Japanese wrestlers as well. A new generation of young Japanese wrestlers with unique styles is emerging, such as the 19-year-old Kisenosato, who was in line for the championship until the last day of the autumn tournament, and Toyonoshima, a 170-centimeter juryo wrestler who won 13 matches in a row in the lower division.

The internationalization of sumo has been driven by satellite TV broadcasts of tournaments overseas and constant efforts to make this traditional Japanese sport known to people around the world. More than 80 countries have joined the International Sumo Federation, an organization for amateur sumo.

But the trend toward internationalization is bound to lose steam because of a quota system that was introduced in 2002 to limit the number of foreign wrestlers at each stable to one. Almost all of the 54 stables have reached the full quota and are not accepting newcomers from abroad. The quota should be expanded if the sumo community wants to maintain a certain number of outstanding foreign sumo wrestlers over the long term. That would contribute to improving the quality of performances and to strengthening the financial standing of the business.

Skeptics say dominance of the tournaments by foreign wrestlers doesn't increase revenues. Indeed, Kokugikan is seldom filled to capacity on weekdays during a grand tournament.

This year, the annual summer Hokkaido tour was canceled, and there will be no winter tour, either. This bleak situation demands new attempts to reverse the decline in the popularity of sumo.

This summer, the Nihon Sumo Kyokai (Japan sumo association) recruited marketing professionals for the first time in an effort to boost the sales of tickets and other revenues.

No special treatment is given to foreign wrestlers. They must learn Japanese from scratch and adopt unique customs and traditions in the sumo community, including a rigid hierarchy. When a foreign wrestler who has overcome all these hardships wins a championship, he deserves to be honored with the national anthem of his country along with the Japanese anthem.

Last year, a special sumo tournament was held in February in South Korea and in June in China. The event in Beijing, the first in 31 years, was welcomed enthusiastically by local residents Kotooshu's brilliant performance in the autumn tournament was aired nationwide in Bulgaria. Sumo is now a precious diplomatic resource of Japan.

- Channel NewsAsia, 27 Sep 2005.

shopping with Mastercard

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puzzle clock

Rude Awakening

What’s a non-morning person to do when the world stubbornly refuses to conform to his particular sleep rhythms? Luckily, that’s a question a growing number of alarm clock designers have seen fit to address. And our favorite new way of rousing the unrousable has to be the Puzzle Alarm Clock (left). Created by a few (presumably late-rising) Danish jokesters, the clock is so inspired/silly you’ll nearly laugh yourself awake (unless, that is, you’re crying at its evil genius): When it’s time to make the donuts, the clock buzzes and launches the pieces of its puzzle into the air. There are only two ways to shut the damn thing off—root around your bedroom to locate the pieces and place each in its proper position, or smash it with a hammer. Brilliant...

- MEN.STYLE.COM, 21 Sep 2005.

What a fascinating clock.

Let's get dangerous

I went to search for quotes from the Darkwing Dark series and found these.

Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am Darkwing Duck."
Moliarty: "Darkwing Duck? Sounds like something I should try with eggroll."



[surrounded by a cloud of red smoke]
Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night. I am... obviously out of my trademark blue smoke."



Darkwing Duck: [while talking to a tree that's about to attack him] "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the termite that devours your floorboards."



Negaduck: "I am the most *fiendish* terror that flaps in the darkest night. I am the skunk that pollutes your air. I am Negaduck."
[diabolical laughter]



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the batteries that are not included."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the headache in the criminal mind."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night! I am the wrong number that wakes you at 3am...."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the Terror that flaps in the night, I am the raspberry seed you can't floss out."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the fingernail that scrapes the blackboard of your soul."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the onion that stings in your eye."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am a special news bulletin that interrupts your favorite show."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the scourge that pecks at your nightmares."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the hairball that clogs your drains."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the low ratings that cancel your program."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the auditor that wants to look at your books."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the slug that slimes your Begonias."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the bubble gum that sticks in your hair."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the itch you cannot reach."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the smoke that smokes Smoked Oysters."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the jailer who throws away the key."



Darkwing Duck: "I am the terror that flaps in the night, I am the ten dollar service charge on all returned checks."


Negaduck: "I feel awful... stooping to such petty crimes. But you can't imagine how expensive thermonuclear warheads are these days."


Darkwing Duck: "Suck gas, evildoer."


Darkwing Duck: "Let's get considerate."


Darkwing Duck: "The jig is up, you jaded, jug-headed, jack-in-the-box."



Darkwing Duck: "Sheesh. Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed."



Darkwing Duck: "Clever of me to use my spine to break my fall like that."



Launchpad: [impersonating Darkwing Duck] "Err... I am the terror that sings in the night... I am the uhh... wrong song."


[repeated line]
Megavolt: "Don't call me "Sparky"!"

Lastly, this is my favourite.

Darkwing Duck: Let's get dangerous.

secret operation

celebrities in t-shirts

Telling the world what you think: the T-shirt as message

PARIS Celebrities and citizens alike have stopped wearing their hearts on their sleeves and decided to take a more direct route to communicate to the world. Call it the mini me version of Internet blogging, the "message" T-shirt is now the hippest way to make a statement, express an emotion, or share a political view with the masses.

The writing was on the wall, or rather the T-shirt, three years ago when Winona Ryder kick-started the trend by wearing an underground "Free Winona" tee on the cover of W magazine. She was poking fun at herself and the very real possibility that she might serve time in prison for shoplifting designer goods from a Saks Fifth Avenue department store. (In the end, she was placed on probation and fined.)

The overwhelming response to that T-shirt (which is now considered "vintage") has spawned similar ones, like "Free Martha" and "Free Katie." Even this message has been turned on its head with the arrival of the "Feed Lindsay" tee - a reference to the dramatic weight loss of the Hollywood starlet Lindsay Lohan. It even carries an accompanying Web site (www.feedlindsay.com) where a petition urging the star to stop losing weight can be signed.

"I think the whole T-shirt craze is a way of communicating in our society that no one ever expected," says David Wolfe, creative director of The Doneger Group, a New York-based fashion trend consulting firm. "These T-shirts turn people into statements - be it a product, lifestyle, or celebrity."

To be sure, today's T-shirts are speaking volumes. They announce everything from religious affiliation ("Jesus is My Homeboy") to favorite kids cereals ("Monstrously Delicious") or even make a public announcement ("Vote or Die").

For Chris Bick, co-owner of the hip clothing Web site fredflare.com, the "message" tees are popular "because they're so funny and can really evoke your mood at any given time. They are also really popular with celebrities. And if Jessica Simpson wears anything, it's sure to be super popular!"

There is no denying that the celebrity culture has helped the message T-shirt gain popularity. And with its cost hovering around $30, it is easier for those who want to emulate their favorite star to buy the same "My Dog Can Beat Up Paris Hilton's Dog" T-shirt that they saw Tori Spelling wearing than it would be to buy her designer handbag.

But beware these new disposable fashion statements. In hindsight something that seemed benign one week can take on a whole new interpretation the next. Case in point: Eva Longoria, one of the stars of "Desperate Housewives," has reportedly sent a personal note to Jennifer Aniston apologizing for wearing an "I'll Have Your Baby Brad" T-shirt just days after the Hollywood golden couple announced their separation. And after the latest revelations made by Aniston in a Vanity Fair cover story, maybe the T-shirt Brad Pitt wore with the word "Trash" written across the front on the couple's much photographed last vacation together becomes a more significant message than it seemed at the time.

Fraser Ross, owner of Kitson (www. Shopkitson.com), the Hollywood clothing store favored by many celebrities, came up with his own way to let the public express their opinion on the breakup of the Aniston/Pitt marriage: he made a T-shirt out of it. "Right now the 'Team Aniston' and 'Team Jolie' baseball T-shirts are very popular. 'Team Aniston' is selling 25 to 5 against 'Team Jolie'," says Ross.

Kitson is also finding it hard to keep the "Scientology School Drop Out" tee in stock, which is a direct comment on the "TomKat" romance between Tom Cruise and his soon to be third wife Katie Holmes.

But the message T-shirt has also gone corporate, with movie companies creating tees linked to their latest releases. And who better to blur the lines of personal expression and corporate commerce than Britney Spears.

The pop princess proudly wore a "I have the golden ticket" T-shirt with an arrow pointing to her pregnant belly to the Hollywood premiere of the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" movie. A more subversive person perhaps thought up the "House of Wax" promotional T-shirt. Its limited edition "See Paris Die" T-shirt sold out almost immediately after it hit the market to promote Paris Hilton's first Hollywood film.

Even celebrity designers are getting into the act. Sean Combs's fledgling women's line includes a T-shirt that is used prominently in its advertising campaign. The "Daddy's Rich" T-shirt, with words written in a golden scroll across the chest of spokes model Penelope Cruz, has already sold out at the Kitson store.

For Wolfe the usurping of the message T-shirt by companies hoping to cash in on the craze doesn't mean the demise of the underground T-shirt movement. "Both can coexist. The key to success is that the T-shirt be funny," says Wolfe.

Ross agrees. "For us it is important that the T-shirt be positive and funny." It was with this in mind that Ross decided to carry the "Team Selena" tee but to pass on the "I'll Be Your Nanny" one, because he thought it was in bad taste.

There is nothing worse than a T-shirt that isn't funny, especially if the butt of the joke isn't laughing. Only last year the "Save Mary Kate" tee was pulled from the market by the designer Randy & Moss when the Olsen twins threatened to sue. An offer to donate 20 percent of the profits to the National Eating Disorder Association by the company didn't dissuade the twins.

But maybe the best offense is a good defense when it comes to a celebrity's public trauma. Naomi Campbell took her cue from Ryder and, after recent reports that she had gotten into a fight with another model, took to the streets wearing a T-shirt that read "Naomi hit me" on the front while on the back were the words "and I loved it."

- International Herald Tribune, 13 Sep 2005.

the intelligent investor

We go to Starbucks every day, so I buy Starbucks stock.

- Barbra Streisand.