Murmurs

Tue, 15 Jan 2013
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No Pun Intended

So I was browsing through the National Heart Centre’s (NHC) website the other day to find out how to contact them, when I discovered that their newsletter is called… Murmurs!

How awesome is that?

That is, using the word “murmur” as a pun to refer to both a heart murmur (which is what the NHC specialises in diagnosing and treating), as well as to convey the connotation of communication (which is what the newsletter is intended for).

And if you know me by now, you’d know that meaningful and significant names like these pique my interest; it shows a deeper level of thought and sophistication, which I always appreciate.

(I’ve also had the doob-ious honour of naming some things myself, using the same principles of meaningfulness and significance.)

Another thing I like about the NHC is that it’s part of the SingHealth Group, which, in my humble opinion, has the most coherent corporate branding strategy I’ve come across thus far – check out the logos and the lettering of the hospitals and speciality centres in their stable of medical institutions.

BONUS:

Random but also within the sphere of nice words: did you know that a flock of starlings is called a murmuration?

GANGWON STYLE!

Mon, 14 Jan 2013
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Last Fri (13 Jan 2013) was quite an eventful day.

As part of my training in the Weapon X project, I went for yet another operation on Fri (a minor one this time: it was the affixment of abutments).

Since it was day surgery, I tottered home from the National Dental Centre after my surgery in some degree of pain.

But before I entered my home, I checked my mailbox out of habit, and I found I had mail.

Ergh, I thought. Bills and the like.

But wait – it wasn’t just bills. There was a letter from the National Arts Council.

Was it the reply I had been waiting for?

Letter of Offer: Participation in the 2013 Toji Writing Residency, Wonju City, South Korea

It was! Ladies and gentlemen, I am going to Korea from 1 Apr to 31 May 2013 as a Writer-in-Residence at the Toji Cultural Centre!

I’m extremely happy because my career plans/plans in general for this year are slowly falling into place.

I’m also very excited because I’ve been reading what others have said/blogged about Toji and it sounds extremely awesome!

Check out:

I’m looking forward to Korea and I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that I get the next residency I’m applying for.

Wish me luck!

P.S. I forgot to mention this: another good thing about receiving the letter on the day of my surgery was that it helped quite a bit with the pain.

Well, I might’ve imagined it, but hey – a little bit of endorphins never hurt anyone (pun intended)!

P.P.S. An ex-colleague had a very interesting contribution to make following my announcement about me being awarded the Residency on Facebook:

OPPA GANGWON STYLE!

Lollerskates.

“Skyfall” by Adele – ultimate National Day song!

Tue, 4 Dec 2012
1 min read
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Skyfall

Have you watched Skyfall, the latest James Bond movie? It’s awesome!

Regardless, have you heard “Skyfall” by Adele, the theme song of – jang jang jang! – Skyfall?

If you have or when you do, you’ll realise that “Skyfall” is, like, the ULTIMATE National Day song ever!

Observe:

  • A world in crisis: “This is the end”; “When worlds collide and days are dark” – check.
  • Propagating communitarian values: “Let the sky fall, when it crumbles/We will stand tall/Face it all together” – check.
  • The watchful eye of Big Brother: “Where you go I go,/What you see I see” – check.
  • The strangely nurturing yet protective might of defence forces: “I know I’ll never be me, without the security/Of your loving arms/Keeping me from harm/Put your hand in my hand/And we’ll stand” – check.

BONUS: A not-so-subtle reference to ‘ponding’ in “I’ve drowned”.

Guess we know who to hire next year to write the National Day 2013 theme song!

P.S. Just discovered a really awesome mash-up: Adele’s “Skyfall” and Eminem’s “Lose Yourself”.