Business and management articles | Cooler Insights

Jolly Good Bollywood

April 19, 2008 • Blog • 2 comments

Bollywood Veggies along Neo Tiew Road

Recently, after our regular visit to Ethan’s favourite goat farm, my family decided to drop by Bollywood Veggies for lunch and a quick look around. Located at the long and winding Neo Tiew Road at the Kranji/Lim Chu Kang area, this organic farm is opened by Mrs Ivy Singh-Lim and her hubby Lim Ho Seng. Ivy is a very well known and outspoken figure in our local social scene, and was previously the President of the Netball Association of Singapore, while Ho Seng used to be the CEO of NTUC Fairprice.

In a way, the farm cum restaurant (Poison Ivy Bistro) is a labour of love for both – a retirement gig which offers the promise of a more rustic laid-back lifestyle after slogging it out for the better part of one’s life in the corporate world. According to my wife Tina, rental for the entire plot of land is only about $5,000 per month, and much of the income derived by the couple comes from the F&B business plus farm tours (which goes for about $2 per head and includes a little snack).

The Parable of the Web

April 8, 2008 • Blog • 3 comments

Taken at Singapore Zoological Gardens

King Robert the Bruce I was born at Lochmaben Castle in 1274. He was Knight and Overlord of Annandale. In 1306 he was crowned King of Scotland and henceforth tried to free Scotland from the English enemy.

After being defeated at a battle, Bruce escaped and found a hideout in a cave. Hiding in a cave for three months, Bruce was at the lowest point of his life. He thought about leaving the country and never coming back.

While waiting, he watched a spider building a web in the cave’s entrance. The spider fell down time after time, but finally he succeeded with his web. So Bruce decided also to retry his fight and told his men:

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again”.

Mysterious Myanmar – Land of Living Heritage

April 6, 2008 • Blog • 7 comments

Also known as the Golden Land, Myanmar is one of Southeast Asia’s largest and probably least well explored country. Culturally rich and vibrant, it is the only country in our region where the traditional sarong is still worn daily as a modern attire. Due to its relative isolation and insulation from the modern world, Myanmar retains much of its heritage, traditional practices and charming way of life. It is definitely a charming cultural destination worthy of a visit by those who yearn for a unique and enriching experience.

Here’s a photo essay of my observations during a trip there in end January this year. Apologies that this took two months to conceive!

Aung San Bogyoke Market, a famous shopping area at Yangon full of crafts, jewellery, textiles and other traditional wares.

Are You Cleaning or Dirtying Me?

March 15, 2008 • Blog • 5 comments

One of the things which irk me each time I return home is to see this.

I know that you are trying to clean the common stairwells of my flat, and I am eternally grateful for that. However, must you leave such a spotty and blotchy messy at my door? I don’t think it would hurt to bring along a cloth and wipe the exterior of the doors which you dirty while cleaning the stairs would it?

Of course, nothing beats this eye-sore which I spotted at a common recycling bin just a block away from my home.

I wonder if one should be deliriously happy that the oft-ignored recycling message has finally hit home – to overflowing effect – or sob at this monstrosity of mankind’s messiness.

Hopping on the eee Wagon

March 9, 2008 • Blog • 7 comments

Courtesy of fellow asus eee fan jaaron

Ok I have succumbed to the lure of the most talked about ultramobile PC on the planet – the Asus eee. Yep, I just bought myself one of them cute li’l critters in pearly white.

In order to aquaint myself with its miniscule charms, I have decided to blog about it using the very same object of desire. So how does it fare and is it really as good as its hyped up to be?

Help! My Agency is Killing Me!

March 6, 2008 • Blog • 2 comments

Stop fighting with your agency! (courtesy of edpeach1969)

While reading Vivienne’s post on high and mighty advertising agencies, I reflected upon my own years of experience in dealing with agencies both big and small. Yes, there has been lots of blood, sweat (often cold), and tears throughout the process. However, you do also encounter gems in the business and artwork plus copy that makes you smile.

As a client, how does one ensure that a Return On Marketing (ROM) is achieved without stifling the creativity and effectiveness of one’s hired advertising help? Here are some ideas to start the ball rolling:

Off to Myanmar!

January 20, 2008 • • 6 comments

Hi all. Sorry for the tardy updates but have been pretty busy for the past week or so. Will be travelling to Myanmar next week as part of a study visit, with the chance to visit some of the more interesting historic sites like the Shwedagon Pagoda (above), National Museum of Myanmar, Mandalay Hill, Bagan Palace and Lake Inle.

Should be fun and hopefully I can blog about it too. 🙂

Forbidden Pleasures at the World’s Largest Palace

January 13, 2008 • • 8 comments

Forbidden City (紫禁城) was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987 by UNESCO. Widely lauded as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the world, the huge and sprawling complex at the centre of the city was the home of Ming and Qing Dynasty emperors in China. Built from 1406 to 1420, the palatial city comprises 980 surviving buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 720,000 square metres!

The world’s largest surviving palace complex, the palace is also widely known as Gugong (故宫) in Mandarin. It now houses the Palace Museum, which probably qualifies as the world’s largest museum too – if you exclude botanic gardens and zoos. This was also where the Last Emperor (1987) directed and produced by acclaimed Italian film maker Bernardo Bertolucci was filmed.

The characteristic red walls and iconic architecture of the Forbidden City is impressive to behold.

World’s Worst Predator?

January 10, 2008 • Blog • 16 comments

Think of sharks and what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Man-eaters? “Jaws”? Shark’s fin soup? After watching Sharkwater, my perception of these apex predators in the sea changes entirely. And how.

Thanks to my buddy Jason and Howard Shaw (Executive Director of Singapore Environment Council), I had the privilege of catching Rob Stewart’s beautifully filmed documentary depicting his life long journey of loving and protecting sharks. An underwater photographer par excellence, Rob captures the magnificent creatures in their natural environment and is seen swimming, cavorting and even hugging the oldest swimming predators on Earth.