School Starts = End Of Holiday....

Finally, the long and what seems to be a long holiday has come to an end. The first day of school and it was like a few years back when i got into NTU. The beginning of the week began with the hardest subject this sem which was the lecture on seurities and deravatives. People in the lectures looks different... must be that some year 2 students have chosen this subject as a PE. Thats pretty cool as i could get to see more girls since i was like kinda sianz with the batch i was stuck with ... lol!!

Queued up for the F.I.R. concert which was to be held tomorrow at 7pm at Nanyang Auditorium. Being a Kiasu Singaporean, i went straight to take a look at the queues before deciding whether to queue or not. In the end i realised that i was not the first few and there were like 30+ people sitting on the floor even though i went there straight after my lecture at 1030. This also means that i couldnt get the free poster that was given out only to the first 20 people in the queues. Joe and I joined the crowd and sat down quietly behind people who are more kiasu then us. Then, the ugly side of Singaporeans started to come into the picture. Jumping Queues. There were just acting that it was so right to joined their friends who were in front even though their friends did not book the place for them. What seems like a straight and orderly crowd suddenly seems to expand sideway and growing messy. From behind 30 people we found ourselves behind a crowd of 50+ people as we waited for the committees to start distributing the tickets.

Luckily they started to collect the matriculation card which effectively cut out any cutting of queues. But what i didnt expected is that they started to call their friends and rushed down to give their cards to the committees.  In the end people were giving cards to the committee and claiming that they were with the people in front of the queues. Before i could digest the ugly picture, a foreign student which i identified from his accent asked me what the time was. And to my horror, he suddenly sat down next to me and even asked me to look asfter his things as he go to find out more about the concert. After that he came back and sat beside me as though he was in the queues long time ago.

I wanted to ask him where he was from and wante to tell him " hey friend look here, please show some respect to your country by queueing up at the back and not follow the singaporeans here who have already showed such bad examples on the very first day of school. In the end i told him nothing. Finally, it was time to distribute the tickets. Joe told the foreigner that he had to give the tickets to the committee way beforehand and he  gave us half a understood half blur look as he walked away. Freaking foreign students...

Got my F.I.R. tickets!!! Now just have to wait for my brother to come back to hand over his view cam to me... hahaha

Lee Hsien Loong - good or bad move?

Lee Hsien Loong is in the spotlights recently. Firstly, he is going to be Prime Minister of Singapore on the 12th August 2004. Before we could digest the news and wonder if he would be able to take up the jobs, there comes a second headlines : Lee Hsien Loong is going to visit Taiwan. Cool huh... The first thing he is doing now is to make enemies with the big brother of asia 'China', and all these being done after the efforts of visiting China the previous months... On the article extracted, please see the parts in red.

 
文章指出，李显龙访台有着多重政治目标。李显龙是新加坡内阁资政李光耀的长子，李光耀为了让自己的儿子接手政权，对他进行了长期培养，从多方面为其接班创造条件。但随着民主化进程的推, 李显龙世袭国家权力所面临的困难越来越大。为此，李光耀采取自己担当内阁资政、吴作栋当总理的“垂帘听政”过渡方式，缓解了李显龙直接世袭总理的国内压力。
然而，李显龙自1997年兼任财政部长后，东南亚金融危机使新加坡经济全面下滑。李显龙将在今年8月份接替吴作栋出任总理，但其在国内的政治威信不高，特别是吴作栋线上的人对李显龙不服。李家于是想通过李显龙访台来显示他的政治魄力与胆识。

新加坡想提高国际地位
文章认为，李显龙访台也是为了提高新加坡的国际地位。李显龙与吴作栋虽然在权力争夺上有矛盾，但双方在通过李显龙访台来提高新加坡的国际地位这一问题上的看法还是一致的。因此，李显龙访台也是新加坡政府的决定。

新加坡虽然经济水平高于东盟多数国家，但受人口和土地面积等因素制约，新加坡在东南亚事务中的地位难以与马来西亚、印度尼西亚、泰国等其他东盟大国相比。为此，新加坡力图将自己塑造成世界大国关系的“中间人”，使各方有求于已，从而提高其国际地位。

李光耀创造了新加坡的经济奇迹，在国际事务大有作为的愿望也变得十分强烈。李光耀有意将自己的家族塑造成台海两岸的信使，从而使国际社会认为新加坡对亚太地区的安全起着重要作用。
其他国家会效仿新加坡吗？

文章分析，李显龙访台有可能产生两种完全不同的国际影响：或加强国际社会支持“台独”的力量，使中国遏制“台独”的国际困难越来越大；或收敛国际社会支持“台独”的势力，使中国遏制“台独”的政策收到成效。产生何种影响要取决于中国的反应。

李显龙携国防部长与台湾当局讨论双边军事合作，是对“台独”势力的公开支持。如果李显龙此次访台没有为新加坡的国家利益带来巨大损失，他执政后势必会加大对“台独”势力的支持。因为，这样做将有利于他利用“台独”与中国讨价还价。同样，其他国家也会效仿新加坡的做法。“台独”势力也将因此而更加大胆地实现“法理独立”。

只有付出巨大代价，新加坡政府才会改变对台政策

如果李显龙访台导致新加坡政府付出巨大代价，新加坡人民为了自身的经济利益就会反对政府支持“台独”的政策。而其他国家也将会减少对“台独”势力的政治支持。

8月份，李显龙将出任新加坡总理，为了树立威信，他不会在保持与台湾军事关系的政策上做出让步。只有在为此付出巨大的代价之后，新加坡政府才会改变对台政策。当新加坡放弃与台湾的军事关系后，中新关系就会好转，甚至可能进入全新的时代。

2004-07-10 蜜雪薇琪《蜜雪薇琪 同名专辑》

这是华文乐坛上最新的组合。在台湾时他们预定在西门町表演但我错过了。以下是他们的出道资料。


专　　辑：蜜雪薇琪 同名专辑
歌　　手：蜜雪薇琪
发行公司：BMG
发行时间：2004年07月09日
语　　种：国语专辑1CD



⊙不怕考試 在考驗中成長的2個女生 認識蜜雪薇琪
Vickie[薇琪]
‧本名\陳怡君
‧暱稱\Vickie(Victoria)
‧身高\163cm
‧體重\46kg
‧生日\10月02日
‧星座\天秤座
‧血型\O型
‧出生地\美國
‧排行\第二(有1個姐姐、1個弟弟)
‧學歷\UCSD(univ of California San Diego) Psychology心理系
‧個性\愛笑、隨和
‧專長\唱歌、鋼琴演奏、黑管演奏
‧嗜好\做點心、去海邊、運動
‧偶像\Marian Carey、Kelly Clarkson、梁靜茹
‧演藝經歷\學校民歌比賽(客串表演)
‧表演訓練\三歲學習芭蕾 近期學習嘻哈舞及現代舞
目前還在就讀美國加州大學聖地牙哥分校心理系的Vickie熱愛音樂，也具有得天獨厚的嗓音----流行抒情、搖滾、R&B、爵士，她都表現出最佳的演繹。不只是歌聲，在樂器表演上也有相當的興趣與天份！

Michelle[蜜雪]
‧本名\徐佳琪
‧暱稱\Mimi(Michelle)
‧身高\160cm
‧體重\43kg
‧生日\11月15日
‧星座\天蠍座
‧血型\O型
‧出生地\台北
‧排行\第二(有1個姐姐、1個弟弟)
‧學歷\柏克萊音樂學院畢業,主修流行音樂編曲製作
‧個性\活潑、好動 寵物\貓、狗
‧專長\鋼琴演奏、大提琴演奏
‧嗜好\游泳、歌曲創作
‧偶像\Jennifer Lopez、Mariah Carey、Alicia Keys、宇多田光
‧演藝經歷\溫哥華新秀歌唱大賽、慈濟音樂劇「深情的慟」演出，綠光劇團年度校園巡迴新戲「校園愛麗絲」演出
‧表演訓練\綠光劇團第35期基礎班學員以及羅北安老師表演訓練
柏克萊音樂學院畢業的Michelle，熱愛音樂的創作；創作類型廣泛，舉凡流行抒情、搖滾、R&B、爵士、拉丁、福音…都有Michelle創作的靈感，對戲劇表演有相當的興趣與天份，在加拿大期間曾與蕭亞軒、姐姐等人一起參加長達一年多的戲劇及舞台表演等訓練！



⊙序
一對脫離出來的真空管，散放出清澈透明的發聲器。蜜雪薇琪，兩個學著獨立的女生當別人努力譁眾取寵，她們卻用音樂來獨立出自己。
‧Michelle & Vickie，不只是一個組合。
‧她們的命名經歷數百個名字的選擇；選擇蜜雪薇琪，是明白沒有其他名字的意義可以比他們自己的名字更具代表性；兩個獨立卻又結合在一起的女生。
‧這對音樂的組合，不僅在視覺上是舒服的，她們的聲音與演唱能力更勝於目前歌壇任何組合團體；
‧在舞蹈的能力上，經過國內專業舞蹈老師肯定[舞蹈老師藍波]
‧在表演的能力上，也被國內專業表演老師指導[表演老師郎祖筠]
‧她們的創作歌曲經過製作人的肯定，收錄在這張新唱片中[製作人包小柏、包小松]
‧演奏大提琴、鋼琴、黑管都是從小學習的成績
‧另外，她們也擁有編曲與參與製作的實務經驗[本專輯內收錄3首創作，並從頭到尾參與製作過程]
‧這個組合最優秀的特質是，將2個可以單獨發片的藝人組合成一個最具爆發力的全才團體----蜜雪薇琪
消費者將在看見她們美麗的同時，也被他們的演藝才華征服。

⊙出道故事
2個原本不相識的女孩 因為蠟筆小嵐而同門因為薇琪放假回到台北與蜜雪相遇了讓包小松、包小柏突發奇想將他們組合起來台北 原來是一個屬於音樂與夢的家鄉
2003年秋天，當薇琪和蜜雪相遇後，2個人通起電話就像話永遠說不完似的。
2004年1月，在台北拍下第一組檔案照片之後，2個人就在公司安排下住在一起。
不同的2個人，開始一起生活，是她們唱片考驗中的第一個人生考試。

⊙比姐妹更親密
出片
原來不是一件簡單的事除了和新夥伴生活之外
唱歌 創作 考驗 都得一起度過考試
在預備出道之前 一場接著一場眼淚伴隨著錄音工作 一次又哭過一次

長達半年的製作期，讓原本對音樂有極大信心的2個女孩陸續對自己產生過懷疑，懷疑自己的音樂夠不夠格，懷疑自己會不會唱歌，懷疑自己能不能表演……但是，她們相信音樂和夢想！
眼淚，在嚴格的要求之下，慢慢的變成了笑容。
錄音室的考試，幾經磨練之下，終於高分過關。
但是，製作人真的很兇！

特別介紹幾首歌曲

01.【獨立】
特殊風格的抒情歌曲，由MICHELLE的鋼琴演奏帶出VICKIE特殊的聲音演唱。難度超高的真假音唱腔變換，讓VICKIE全力表現獨特唱功，以MICHELLE的合聲與鋼琴演奏帶出才華的實力演出。讓消費者認定【蜜雪薇琪】的內外兼具，絕非虛言。這首歌的功能性要達到帶出2個人自然風貌與個人特性的提高。

02.【ALRIGHT】
搭配OKWAP手機廣告專案的廣告歌，主流的女女對唱，帶有輕鬆舞蹈的快歌。簡單易記的旋律、特殊的東方節奏、加上美聲俏皮的詮釋，配合強調視覺變化的MTV，不同一般的出場手法，以復古流行視覺與俐落舞蹈2種風格組合，加上在於音樂頻道之外廣告的高曝光率，在大專聯考過後，這是一首達到EASY LISTENING的輕鬆導彈。

03.【愛斯基摩】
可愛，是女生征服世界的最大武器！面對女生佔據百分之80的消費族群，以及KTV傳唱的可能性，加上高中職聯考結束，這支狠女生的情歌，旋律簡單，副歌琅琅上口，具有高記憶度與認同感。

04.【學著】
決不忽視KTV帶動銷售的實力，針對台灣市場推出再一波抒情重唱歌曲。表現【蜜雪薇琪】兩人高程度的合聲之外，也讓消費者更清晰辨認出2人不同的演繹歌聲。

⊙考試 考試 考試
國際唱片公司的慎重在沒有絕對勝算之前決不輕易出手BMG在5年之內 唯一推出的新人標準竟然這麼嚴格但是蜜雪薇琪都通過了6月21日一個值得永遠記住的日子！

第一關：5000張單曲在發片前，要全部銷售完成。
結果：6月17日晚上6點起，全省開賣。光憑網路口傳，在6月21日報表，全省已銷售一空。(只用4天。)

第二關：官方網站需超過15人聯署信件，才考慮為蜜雪薇琪發片。PS.是考慮唷！
結果：6月7日開站，6月17日聯署信件就突破15萬封。(不到10天。)

第三關：6月19/20日，OKWAP簽唱會人氣測試，每場歌迷需高過600人。
結果：
01.現場人氣雖高，但人數未達標準。BMG所有國內高層主管齊聚台北華納威秀場地，雖稱讚蜜雪薇琪的現場演出高出水準，但即刻考慮不發片的可能。
02.6/21消息一出，經媒體查證報導，即引起ㄧ片譁然！網路上歌迷齊聲抗議，大家因為期末考試之因無法前來，歌迷電話抗議不斷，指責BMG唱片審慎過嚴。
03.回應震動BMG亞洲總裁，經過整天越洋會議，反覆檢查錄音作品與 企宣計畫設計，最後於晚間7點確定------蜜雪薇琪準備正式出道！

Euro Champ: Greece, COPA Next

Not suprising to me, Greece won the Euro Cup. There wee actualy lots of hints and clues that Greece was gonna win it.

Among them were: Portugal lost to Greece in the opening matches showing how weak Portugal attacks were in the earliest stage AND Greece managed to win both France who was the defending champion being the strongest forces in modern football and Czech who were winning 100% till they met Greece AND Troy was shown earlier in the year with Brat Pitt telling the Greece "Immortality, Take it! It's yours! AND Greece holding Olympics this year and of course the team would want to win in a earlier big tournament to grab the world's attention AND Greece had nothing to lose for with only experience to gain from the tournament AND Credits going to the coach for selecting such a strong back four to hold off the waves of opponent's attacks AND The wonderful goalkeeper for saving the numerous shots on goals and proved really crucial to ensure Greece's victory AND It is proving too much for a coach that had just won the world cup to win the euro in a space of 2 years AND Finally, How It Started Euro Was How It Was Gonna End It With Greece beating portugal twice in the competition. Well Done Greece!!!

With the curtains of the Euro drawn down, the next major event will be the COPA!!! Another chance for betting to recoup my losses... haha

Places To Eat In The East

There are many places to eat in the east which is in the area that i am staying. I am just gonna share a few places that are worth mentioning.

1. Bedok 85
This place supposedly has the best Bah Chor Mee around but standads seems to have dropped according to few of my friends who have been eating there since young. Besides that, the chicken wings is what i considered the best BBQ chicken wing in singapore. Others include oyster eggs. porridge and stingray is a must try over there. It is a good and cheap place to have supper after midnight as most of the stalls closed after 2am.

2. Joo Chiat
There are a few stalls to try out in this area. Fei Fei wanton mee which is the best in singaproe is located in the middle of the street. Besides, it is 24hrs operational and so feel free to go eat anytime. Near the community center, there is a Indian coffee shop which sells very nice prata, roti john, maturbak and others...

3. Geylang
The famous soya beancurd 'yong he' which claimed to be 24hrs a day, 7days a week all yr round is just opposite the red light district. besides it is the famous beef hor fun which also opens till the wee hours. And feel free to take a walk to the red light district to see how the night life of Singapore is like and explore the other side of Singapore.

4. East Coast Lagoon
The newly renovated hawker center is back. Satays, wanton mee, stingray, chicken wings, almost all of singapore's food can be found here. Besides, the wonderful veiw by the sea provides an extraordinary dining experience.

5. Geylang Serai
Pratas, and more pratas can be found here with 3 shops side by side fighting for business. Its worth a try with it opening 24hrs a day.

6. Katong
Famous for the laksa which i dun really like it, there are other stalls that are worth eating. Inside Katong shopping center, the boneless chicken rice is a must try or the western food. Both stalls are very tasty.
Further down, there are wen dong ji chicken rice and five star chicken rice. To me both are as good and they open til 2-3am everyday.

Overseas Trip

Finally after some preparations and delays, i am finally going on an overseas trip to Taiwan from 060704 - 100704. I think its gonna be fun because Taiwan is quite and interesting place and a great place to do shopping... hehehe. Anyone wants me to buy anything back from Taiwan???(hope not)