These special athletes won 37 medals in the World Games in Athens last year – 12 gold, 13 silver and 12 bronze. The Singapore five-a-side football team won gold after beating Chile 3-2 in a tense penalty shootout.

Unfortunately they compete to mostly empty stadiums.

We’re rallying people together to join a digital flash mob in a show of support for these amazing athletes. It’s really easy to participate with just a few clicks.

FB updates and Tweets will be stored and released om 20 Jan in hopes we make Special Olympics Singapore trend so please join in and get your friends to do so as well.

http://www.facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsSingapore?sk=app_204109303014584
Please do share this with your friends.

Here are Singapore Special Olympic athletes Benson Tan and Lawrence Tay on the medal platform in Athens.

Seems my blog had been throwing up a blank page for a few days and after speaking with my hosting provider who couldn’t seem to figure out anything wrong on the server side I decided to manually upgrade to WordPress 3.2.1.

First error I kept getting was an “Error Establishing Database Connection”. Thanks to Youtube I found a really helpful video which quickly helped me solve this.

Everything seemed to be working fine on the front-end but I had problems accessing the back-end. Kept getting an error that an upgrade.php file was missing. Even after I found the file and uploaded it I kept getting a fatal error. Thankfully I found this post that helped me figure out that WordPress 3.2.1 required PHP version 5.2.4 or higher. Checking my cPanel showed that the PHP version was 5.2.17. (http://www.dasblinkenlichten.com/?p=566)

Ended up having to roll back to 3.2.0.

This post is for anyone who might run into the same problems I had.

Lesson learnt – check the PHP version requirements for new WordPress updates before doing anything.

There’s been some articles about a gay Malaysian pastor in the news and my tweets of this got some interesting responses.

Excerpts of the news are:
A gay pastor in Malaysia is urging gay people to come out in order to tackle homophobia

Government officials in Malaysia have expressed outrage over the plans of a prominent gay Malaysian to marry in New York — and celebrate the wedding back in his home country

Some responses have been:
i support his sentiments, but calling for Malaysians to come out while still living here and while he’s in the US is a bit much
Coming out doesn’t solve the issue, might even worsen in our regressive environment. Raising public awareness more critical
Come out or speak up against homophobia. Never under-estimate speaking up.

I remember I wanted to do a newspaper interview in Singapore in 2000 to talk about life as a gay man and the pink dollar. I felt I was doing my part in raising our profile and gaining acceptance. When I told my parents, the worry in their eyes got me thinking. The decision I came to seemed the most logical. I out my family above myself and withdrew from the interview not because I was ashamed but because my parents were not ready to deal with the kind of emotional and social politics that would erupt.

Gay rights, rights for all people and animals rights should always be pushed in places where they are marginalised. However the same approach doesn’t work for every place. I’ve learnt in silat that a harsh force meeting another strong force often results in injury. Subtle movements that bend and divert the flow of a stronger force is very much more effective and I believe that should be the way for dealing with sensitive issues all over.

An example of this subtle movement is Pink Dot. It is inclusive and focuses on a common universal platform that is difficult to attack. The freedom to love. I believe that focusing on what we have in common with each other instead of what makes us difference will help us see past what divides us.

So my response to Rev. Ouyang Wen Feng is that I commend your call and all that you do for gay rights. But maybe there are other ways to achieve the same results which further the cause faster and with people in a more open mindframe.

Here’s a couple of amazing places friends brought me to which I thought I’d share.

Jaggi’s North Indian Cuisine
34/36 Race Course Road
Tel : 2966141
http://www.jaggis.com/

Food is varied and tasty although it is a little on the pricey side for Little India. Meats are tender and curries have a lot a depth. The mutton kheema is amazing and so is the eggplant which melts in your mouth. The rich and flavourful tea is a great way to finish off a meal.

Song Fa Bak Kut Teh
11 New Bridge Road (Tel: 6533 6128 )
17 New Bridge Road (Tel: 6438 2858 )
http://www.songfa.com.sg/

This is the clear version which is peppery as compared to the dark version which is more herbal. They do a buk kut teh with fish tender slices as well which has a pleasantly surprising taste. Order the small portion and add on sides like the salted vegetables, beancurd skin, stewed peanuts, Chinese vegetables and yutiao. They also have traditional Chinese teas that go along and there are cute little sinks by the corner tables to make it easy to boil fresh hot water. Love the bamboo strainer things that you pour tea over.

Kay Kwa Roasted Specialist
102 Joo Chiat Road
Foursquare Listing Here

This is a hidden gem along Joo Chiat Road. Their meats are both tender and very juicy. I keep going back on weekends to try all the different meats and styles they serve them. The more unusual ones are roast duck with noodles in curry or roasted meats with spaghetti. Their double boiled soups have a nostalgic home-cooked taste which I really can’t get enough of. To top it all is the price. For $10.90 you can get a meal for two that includes two types of roasts meats and a double boiled soup with two plates of rice. They don’t scrimp on portions if you’re wondering. This is a must try!!

Here are some interesting mobile statistics recently released:

• 79% of smartphone consumers use their phones to help with shopping, from comparing prices, finding more product info to locating a retailer
• 70% use their smartphones while in the store
• 72% use their smartphones while consuming other media, with a third while watching TV
• Mobile video traffic represented 49.8 % of total mobile data traffic at the end of 2010. Projections are that it will account for 52.8% of traffic by the end of 2011
• Google recently report it sees 19% of all hotel queries conducted on mobile devices
• The average amount of traffic per smartphone in 2010 was 79 MB per month, up from 35 MB per month in 2009
• Tablet data usage per tablet was 405MB per month compared to 79MB per month on smartphone in 2010. That’s 5.1 times more

Here’s a chart of mobile-only internet users in 2010 with projections tio 2012 for Asia Pacific, Japan and Western Europe. For Asia Pacific, we’re likely to see a 2.76 fold increase in users accessing the internet only on their devices in 2011 and a 3.01 fold increase for 2012.

These numbers reflect the growing role of mobile devices in people’s daily lives. There is however a disproportionate growth in the understanding and integration of mobile into a brand’s experience mix in Asia.

Just like having a Facebook Page doesn’t equate to a social media strategy, having a mobile app or a website viewable on a mobile device isn’t a mobile approach. The role of social media and mobile need to be considered in the larger context of customer journeys and the points along that where either come into a customer experience. Specific areas to think about for mobile are:

• What does your brand look like to them through their devices?
• Is information they are looking for easily consumable or is your content meant only for online delivery to browsers on a PC?
• How much does your brand’s mobile experience affect a customer’s journey towards or away from your brand?
• How does mobile integrate into a longer and enriching relationship roadmap for both customer and brand?
• What metrics, other than sales lift, are you looking for to measure the effectiveness of your mobile approach in moving customers closer to your brand in thier customer journey?

Answers to these question help ensure that mobile doesn’t become the shiny new toy tacked on to on-going initiatives because the latest research shows customers are spending a lot of their time on it. Key is to develop an approach that is holistic and thought through from a customer’s perspective along their journey with your brand.

Information sources:
http://googlemobileads.blogspot.com/2011/05/mobile-insights-19-of-hotel-queries.html
http://googlemobileads.blogspot.com/2011/04/smartphone-user-study-shows-mobile.html
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns341/ns525/ns537/ns705/ns827/white_paper_c11-520862.pdf

TWEET: It’s sad to know people who actually create new religions! Aren’t there a lot of religions out there already?

This got me a little vocal over the weekend as I responded to the author in a series of exchanges trying to get him to be a little more open-minded. I tried appealing to his gay side by asking him to switch “religion” with another word like “sexuality”. His response was that didn’t apply as it was totally different in context.

Funny how people sometimes can apply a concept like freedom to areas that matter personally at the same time deny that concept to others in areas they are not open to.

People thought the world was flat once and put those who said it was round to death. We’ve come a long way from that era but at the same time it seems we haven’t.

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” -Galileo Galilei. I don’t think a day will come when we can claim to have discovered everything and to know all truths.

There’s too much “there’s no such thing as…” or “you can’t think ths way” or “you’re not allowed to love this way” or “you cant worship this way”. Someone said this and I believe it strongly too. “If only we just see how much we have in common rather than focus on the differences there would be more uniting than dividing in our world.”

Lofty ideal? Maybe … but the thing is to keep trying at least. I’d rather live in a world united than a divided segregated place

Here are a couple of things besides shopping I think might be interesting to do in Singapore. Recommendations are from someone who just returned after working six years overseas and enjoys a walks and good local food.

East Coast Lagoon Food Centre
It’s an open air eating area serving local fair with lots of different choices to choose from. Satay is pretty tasty and so are the barbequed chicken wings. Best time to go s on a weekday evening followed by a walk by the beach after dinner. The beach isn’t the most picturesque but it’s nice to people watch or stroll to Bedok Jetty and hang out as enthusiasts fish over the railings. Weekends are a crazy affair as traffic crawls in and out of the area. The jetty is a nice place to be when the sun sets too. I like sitting and watching strollers pass by with a book in hand.
1220 East Coast Parkway

Changi Village Food Centre
Nasi Lemak is legendary here and having not been to this areas in years I’m amazed at how it’s flourished with so many eateries. The best Nasi Lemak with the fluffy coconut rice is found a short walk into the older food centre past a row of shops selling fishing stuff, beach knick-knacks and a cake shop. Roasted chestnuts are a nice treat too. After grabbing a bite take a walk to the waterside to catch a glimpse of the waters off Changi Village. On Saturday nights there is an open-air market of some stalls selling a variety of souvenirs, plants, fashion wear and odds & ends. Lady boys have mostly disappeared or possibly drifted further way from the lights and crowds.
2 Changi Village Road

Macritchie Reservoir Park
I love taking walks here and my favorite path is the one that goes partly through the jungle then skims around the edge of the reservoir. You can catch sights off birds, monkeys, squirrels, lizards, eagles, turtles and lots and lots of fish. The waterside walkway has benches scattered frequently and sitting there watching nature in the mornings is a calming experience. There aren’t any places selling food or drinks in the area so bring along a water bottle. There are many different routes that can take you walking for 30 minutes to a few hours so lots to see and a great way to exercise for those who want to go the extra mile(s).
off Lornie Road

Geylang Serai Market
I like visiting this market on Saturday mornings when it’s crowded as the atmosphere is the buzziest. The upper-floor has an amazing range of Malay food stalls and I still haven’t finished sampling everything that looks colorful & good to eat. If you do have patience joining the long queues is a sure-fire guarantee for yummilicious food. Clothing and accessory stalls make up the other part of the upper floor with more of such stores found across the road at Joo Chiat Complex. Ground level stalls at Geylang Serai sell fresh food and they do stock some things that aren’t as common in Chinese markets. You’ll see mostly Malay faces with probably only about 25% of the clientele of other races.
15 Geylang Serai

If shoppings not the only thing you’re interested in then check out this link by Time as well. Singapore: 10 Things to Do in 24 Hours

Volunteers arrive earlier and after a briefing from the organizers everyone helps the set up of things. The year I was helping we were blowing balloons, decorating the park, giving directions, handing out ground sheets and all kinds of pink things that had been contributed.

People from all walks of life arrive once things are ready. You get to see a diverse group of visitors; solo visitors who don’t know anyone, families who love their gay kids, married couples, groups with young kids, guys and girls with pets, students, army personnel, bloggers and tweeple from Singapore and Malaysia, TV personalities and theatre performers who are mostly decked out in pink. A close friend was even talking to this old lady in Chinese who asked why we were all gathered and she said “love is good …. love is good”.

Different groups take turns to perform; pink lions and dragons doing traditional Chinese ceremonial performances, Malay dikir barat groups, dance groups and singers so entertainment is aplenty. When the photographers are ready ushers come around to get people into the centre of the park where there’s more singing and moving speeches. The tribute is to love which everyone present understands and believes in.

The thing that really touched me at PinkDot is how friendly and helpful everyone is. Its easy to get people to participate in activities and strangers seem quick to share conversation, food, drinks, groundsheets, fans and whatever there is. Sounds of laughter, faces smiling, singing, picture taking, goofing around, warm embraces and words of love abound. I’m sure I’m not the only one who wishes for this kind of openness and camaraderie to be something we see throughout the year rather than only at special occasions.

The event ends after the pictures and videos of everyone gathered making pink dot have been taken.

Everyone who came helps clear up their bit of trash and the park looks rather pristine without the organizers having to work overtime cleaning up after.

Sharing pictures and stories of the day usually gets people in Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand wishing there were there too.

If you believe in love and if you would like to witness kindness and warmth in action come make PinkDot this 18 June 2011 at Singapore’s Hong Lim Park.

———-
What To Wear : something light and cool …. and PINK!!
What To Bring : food and drinks … it’s a great place to have a picnic. a matt to sit on is a good idea too and don’t forget your camera. a bag to keep all your trash would really be appreciated
What To Do : get involved with the activities or just sit at the sides and enjoy the entertainment and seeing so many people with eager open hearts come together
Who To Come With : anyone and everyone is welcome! come with your neighbour, your uncle or aunties, your parents, your siblings, your camp mates, your school mates, your pets or even by yourself
tweet me @scorpiojerm if you’re coming by yourself and I’ll be happy to come and say “Hi”