Lou Lou, Skip to my Lou...

This tune was playing in my head while chatting with my guest this morning. I'd heard it played over and over again during my childhood. Oddly enough, today's subject matter for discussion in The Living Room was also an object and activity that's synonymous with that period of my life - skipping ropes and rope skipping. It may well be yours too!

I remember picking up my older brother's skipping rope and having a go at it. Never thought myself to be proficient at skipping ropes. There seemed to be a problem with the way I was flinging the ropes or just not skipping early enough. But after my chat with Founder of Rope Sports Singapore, Hansen Bay, I clung on to a glimmer of hope that the problem lied with the length of the rope and not me. "The rope should be up to your armpits when you're holding both ends of the rope and standing on it", he says. I'm led to conclude that the rope I was using was way too long and unsuitable for skipping given how short I was then.

So I picked up courage and decided to give it a shot to prove that the fault was really with the rope and not the person. Like a kid presented with a present, I hastily opened the pack of new SkipFit skipping ropes that Hansen had left behind for me, and promptly got myself into position for to prove I my childhood attempts at rope-skipping were jinxed.

How did I do? As you can see in the photos above, I could very well have made news headlines by being the first person to ever strangle himself while skipping rope. I'll stick with tennis thank you very much. Conclusion: Rope skipping isn't for everyone.

If you think you can better my pathetic attempt and if you take an interest to rope sports, check out the pros skip from Rope Sports Singapore every Sunday, 4.30pm - 6.30pm at the Bougainvillea Garden at East Coast Park. And tell them 'The Living Room' sent you!

Blowin' the House Down!

Stan thinks I'm a bit off  today. 

When our female jazz trumpeter guest, Michi Fujii, said she chose to play the trumpet because "she liked the sound of it", I remarked, "Oh, because it sounds like an elephant?"

ALRIGHT. 

It's not the smartest thing to say on air. But hey, at least it got everyone laughing! *sheepish grin* 

You know, when we think of famous jazz trumpet players, often Louis Armstrong or Miles Davis come to mind. But an Asian jazz trumpeter, and a female one at that, is pretty darn rare. 

Well, this Berklee College of Music alumnae has won several awards in her career and was even invited by the Cuban government to perform in Cuba!

The good news is that she's currently in town and performing at Jazz@SouthBridge from tonight till Saturday 30 May. Showtimes at 9.45pm. 

So if you're in the mood for a swingin' good time, don't miss Michi Fujii and SouthBridge's very talented & animated resident pianist, Aya Sekine. These girls will have you tappin' your feet and bouncin' on your seat - I guarantee! *wink*

Jazzin' It Up! Female trumpeter Michi Fujii & pianist Aya Sekine.

Cabby Conversations

The next time you're after an opinion, perspective or even advice, look no further than the taxi. Thank your lucky stars your metre charge doesn't include the suggestions, wise words and news commentary he freely renders. Many cabbies would fool you into believing they're philosophers and counsellors waiting to let you in on their thoughts as soon as you encroach on his (or her) personal space called the 'cabin'. It doesn't matter if they're Smart, Prime, Premier or Comfort, they all have their wits about them.

You've probably encountered cabbies of colourful character who give you more than a ride. While some won't utter a single word beyond "Hello. Where are you going?", others will readily host you to a hearty conversation, albeit a lopsided one at that.

Charlene Rajendran has vividly captured her many cabby encounters in a brand new book, "Taxi Tales on a Crooked Bridge", out now in the bookstores (retailing at $17). The NIE theatre lecturer who was on air with us today recounted some of the hundreds of trips she'd taken by taxi. Her records of the way cabbies can form deep-set emotions and challenge you to an intellectual discourse are bewildering.

They've got an opinion on almost any topic you care (or do not care) to raise. On longer rides, I wonder if it's just a meaningful discourse and means of passing time or therapy for the cabby, therapy for me, or both.The next time you hail a cab, get ready for verbal expression, mental stimulation and rich conversations.

And if I were you, I'd get the cabby to turn the dial to 938LIVE because it's going to be mutually beneficial to you and the bloke. Traffic reports on our station are the most frequent and you really could do without being stuck in a crawl and an agitated cabby who's spewing unpleasantries.

Better still, arm yourself with Charlene's chronicles and find yourself chuckling in the congestion!

Author Charlene Rajendran shares our couch & her conversations.

Baaaa....... Be a Follower!!!

We baa-ed on national radio. 

We still cringe when we hear the Sheep trailer on air.

So if you read our blog regularly, please sign up as a Follower. 

Make our embarrassment worth it.

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Just click on the 'Follow' button there!]

Night Safari Turns 15 Today!!!

It's the Night Safari's 15th Birthday TODAY!!!

And if you share the same birthday as the park,
you gain FREE admission today!

But hey, don't fret if you don't, because here in The Living Room, you stand to win a Family Package (worth $96) to the Night Safari.

The Package admits 2 adults + 2 children, and includes both park admission and tram ride.

We have 2 Family Packages to give away!

CONGRATULATIONS TO:
Choon Lee (HP: 9XXXX072) & Ruth (HP: 9XXXX331)
for correctly answering our question!

Question: What is the date the Night Safari opened?
Answer: 26th May 1994

A True Cambodian Heroine

I had nervous diarrhoea the whole morning because I knew Somaly Mam was going to be on our show. Seriously, I had to pop a whole bottle of po chai pills!

Like Stan, I have interviewed many VIPs in my career: from political leaders, heads of MNCs to celebrities. But there is something about this simple remarkable woman that made me feel terribly, terribly humbled and awed.

After seeing her being swallowed up by crowds at the SCWO (Singapore Council of Women's Organisations) event the night before, I felt almost "unworthy" to hold her captive - so exclusively - for an hour. I've never felt this way before.

This is a woman of great courage. A woman so single-minded in her mission to rescue girls sold into sex slavery (some as young as 5 years old) that she is willing to risk even her own life.

And her life has been threatened many times, her home was burned down, her daughter kidnapped and raped. Yet, her NGO - AFESIP Cambodia - has to date rescued over 5,000 girls in Cambodia, rehabilitated them and reintegrated them to society.

But she's compelled to do this work because she herself was raped as 12, forced to marry at 15, and thereafter sold into a brothel where she served 20-30 men a day, against her will. Despite having no education, she was named one of TIME magazine's most influential people in 2009.

A picture is worth a thousand words, so check out her work here:

At the SCWO talk last night, which was part of the Primetime Outreach: Women Leaders series, the host asked Somaly, "You've been to the United Nations, to international conferences and met many world leaders. Who is the one leader you'd most want to meet but have not?"

Somaly laughed. "When I go to these meetings, I don't know these famous people. I am not educated, I don't read magazines or newspapers," she admits with a bashful chuckle. "They pull me to meet the First Lady, I say what is the First Lady?"

But the people who touch her, she knows by name. Like a Singaporean volunteer by the name of June, which she calls "June girl" because she has given of her time and love to the girls at the shelter. For Somaly, no rank or title matters more than Love.

If you'd like to find out more about her life, I'd highly recommend you grab a copy of her autobiography The Road of Lost Innocence. It's available in all major bookstores and all proceeds go to the girls in her Foundation. If it's out of stock, I say place an order for it! It's a powerful book, a must-read for all.

You can also find out more about her courageous work by visiting the Somaly Mam Foundation website. But don't just be inspired, take action! Somaly extends a personal invitation for you to visit the girls.

My Hero Somaly Mam in The Living Room: This autographed copy of her book will remain one of my most prized possessions!

During the news break, I ask Somaly, "What sort of support do you most need right now?"

Somaly's beautiful face breaks into an almost cheeky half-smile. "Just come and see. And you will know for yourself."

Flute Festival 2009 Complimentary Tickets to be Won!!!

Our guest today, Flutist Goh Eng Tiong, Artistic Director of the Flute Festival 2009, has generously offered complimentary tickets to two upcoming concerts!

Congratulations to our listeners Michael (HP:9XXXX45) and Xin Ee (HP: 9XXXX59) for leaving us a Comment on our blog!

You've won for yourself a pair of tickets each (worth $50) to catch the show! We'll be in touch with you soon.

Flute Festival 2009
11th - 14th June 2009
Young Musicians' Society Auditorium
Emai l : festival@flute.com.sg
Hotline: (+65) 83834268