Author: coolerinsights

Topless Fun in the Sun

October 14, 2007 Blog 3 comments

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Once in a while, you find the need to indulge in a streak of exhibitionism and hedonistic fun. It isn’t always that one gets to do something that will turn heads in the public.

First, we took Ethan along to East Coast Park, where he had fun cycling…


Snowy Sensations

October 12, 2007 Blog 8 comments

One of the reasons why we were so thickly dressed in Melbourne was because my son Ethan wanted to see snow. And see snow we did (well some snow since Spring plus global warming made quick work of alpine icicles). Waking up at the ungodly hour of about 4.45 am, we took a day trip to Mount Buller, a famous ski resort about 3 hours drive from Melbourne City and spent a day in a white winter wonderland. Having been to Hokkaido in December, I must add that Mount Buller isn’t in quite the same league. Nonetheless, it was great to see Ethan’s face light up as he pelted us with snowballs .

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A view of the alpine “village” with ski resort hotels atop Mount Buller. As you can guess from the photo, it wasn’t as cold as we imagined it to be.

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Branding in a Periodic Table

October 11, 2007 Blog no comments

Once in a while, you stumble across something really neat that you want to share with everybody. Today I came across this Branding Periodic Table by Kolbrener which is really neat and concise. It tabulates the key definitions in the advertising, marcoms and branding world in a neat “periodic table” format which helps to make it easier for anybody to capture the different terms at a glance.


Built by Kolbrener, corporate branding experts

Of course, I would add that just knowing the terms themselves ain’t enough to make you a branding expert. Still, its a good start…


I Know That You Guys Are Desperate But…

October 9, 2007 Blog 10 comments

…do you have to resort to this in order to grab my attention?

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Spotted this officious looking “Notice” which was stuck on my door handle. It certainly looked – at first glance – like a notice from the housing authority, exhorting us flat dwellers to repair our ceilings within the stated period. The moment I saw the phrase “No Obligation Call Us Now At….”, I knew that I have been had. Well almost.

What would they do next? Create an envelope with the “state-crest” and the words “ON GOVERNMENT SERVICE”?


My Family’s Car Accident – A Tale of Service Excellence

October 7, 2007 Blog 32 comments

Yesterday afternoon, my wife together with my son and maid got into an accident along CTE (I was attending a work lunch then). What happened was a tale of God’s divine providence mixed with extraordinary service excellence.

My wife was driving towards the city and encountered the usual Saturday afternoon jam. Traffic was extremely heavy and crawling at a snail’s pace. Unfortunately, a slick black BMW driven by a young 19 year old guy crashed into the rear of our car. He must either be driving his dad’s car or distracted by his girlfriend.

The shock was so hard that the beamer’s airbag popped up. Fortunately, my family didn’t suffer major injuries although my maid had a swelling on her head (currently under observation) while my wife’s back hurt. Both cars stopped and my wife took down the driver’s full particulars (NRIC, license plate, hand phone photos of damage, insurance company, car model).


881 – Royston Tan’s Magnum Opus?

October 6, 2007 Blog 5 comments

881 is one of those rare local films which struck a chord with me. While some may dismiss it as a crass musical comedy, I find that it resonates with many Singaporeans by showing how underdog performers can have their day. The show’s colourful and spectacular costumes, out-of-this-world sets, and highly cheesy performances just adds to the whole fantasy of getai entertainment. It gives a sense of escapism and good old campy fun.

I like the acting by the different leads in the movie: Liu Ling Ling as the “mamasan”, Mindee Ong as the cancer stricken “Little Papaya”, Yeo Yann Yann as the family angst ridden “Big Papaya”, and of course Qi Yuwu and his rooster. As one who has grown up with the Hokkien dialect in my childhood, I found its use refreshingly poetic in the movie, without necessarily degenerating into the more “colourful” aspects of the dialect. The contrast between the glamour of life on stage versus the gritty realities of day-to-day living makes the movie even more compelling.


Cuddly Koalas, Sassy Seagulls and Perky Penguins

October 4, 2007 Blog 6 comments

One of the day trips which we took recently at Melbourne brought us to Philip Island, which is one of Australia’s most well known penguin lookout. En route to the nursing grounds of those cute tuxedo-ed birds, we stopped by a koala conservatory and had a glance at an island full of seals (supposedly). While the service standards of that particular trip wasn’t great, it did bring us to a few interesting spots – including Warrook Cattle Farm which my son loved.

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A map of the Koala Conservatory which includes boardwalks to homes of the furries.

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Is Toyota Diversifying into Food?

September 27, 2007 Blog 16 comments

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Spotted this advertisement at the regular bus stop which I take. Hmmm… notice the (R) – ie registered trademark – next to the words LEXUS? Does this mean that the world’s number one automotive company is now going into cream crackers?

Notice how closely the font of the biscuit brand emulates that of the luxury marque as seen below:

I wonder if the biscuits are as silent as the Lexus cars when you bite into them? 🙂