Bonnie M

The dance craze band of the 1980s.

Liz Mitchell born 12 July 1952.

She is still touring, billed as Boney M featuring Liz Mitchell.

 then

and now

Bobby Farrell born 6 October 1949.

After performing with his band the evening before, Farrell complains of breathing problem and died on the morning of 30 December 2010 in Saint Petersburg.

then

 the late Bobby Farrell

Marcia Barrett Born 14 October 1948.

After the group split in 1990, Barrett was recording and touring with her band Boney M featuring Marcia Barrett. Her present appearance was on 20 April 2013 in Novy Urengoi, Siberia.

Maizie Williams Born March 25 1951.

In 1994 she formed her own group, billed as Boney M featuring Maizie Williams and is presently active.

A blast from the past...

Oily Stuff

Our knowledge about oil originated in the age of dinosaurs, when vegetation and organism was buried over millions of years and subjected to high heat and pressure. Those extreme conditions transformed the hydrocarbons in vegetation into the hydrocarbons of petroleum.

The late Dr Thomas Gold, a scientist at Cornell University said "That's nonsense".

"There's not a shred of evidence from chemistry, geology, or any other science to support it” said Dr Gold who also theorise that other planets in the solar system have similar deep deposits of hydrocarbons, which are the stuff of oil and natural gas.

A reservoir of crude oil was discovered in the late 1960 producing about 15,000 barrels a day of high-quality crude oil. By the late 1980, production had slipped to less than 4,000 barrels per day, and the reservoir was considered pumped out.

Suddenly, in 1990, production soared back to 15,000 barrels a day, and the reserves which had been estimated at 60 million barrels in the 1970s, were recalculated at 400 million barrels. Similar results were seen at other Gulf of Mexico oil wells.

Dr. Gold strongly believed that oil is a "renewable, primordial soup continually manufactured by the Earth under ultrahot conditions and tremendous pressures. As this substance migrates toward the surface, it is attached by bacteria, making it appear to have an organic origin dating back to the dinosaurs."

Summer Holiday

Ramadan starts on Tuesday 9th July until Wednesday 7th of August 2013.

Thursday 8 August 2013 Hari Raya Puasa is a public holiday.

The Chinese Hungry Ghost Month falls on Wednesday 7 August 2013.
                   
Not a public holiday though.

Singapore National Day is on Friday 9 August 2013, a public holiday.

This translate into happy holiday for salaried people, Thursday through Sunday.

Here is The News

The Sun is a daily tabloid newspaper in the UK and is owned by Rupert Murdoch.

The top-selling British newspaper is the ninth-largest circulation of any newspaper in the world, at times hitting daily readership of 7.3 million.

The arrival of a baby boy for Prince William and his wife Kate triggered the creative juice in the newsroom and the editors decided to changed its name to "The Son" to honour the event.

In the event that some top civil servants who have fingers in the plunder of national resources, the mast head should read as...

It's Bloom Time

As if on cue, the handkerchief trees open up in unique fashion.

The tropical version, Maniltoa browneoides bloom in July.

The other version, Davidia Involucrata, common in China and the temperate countries is also called handkerchief tree.

The Davidia Involucrata bloom in May.

National Day Is Here, Again

Once again, the 9 August 2013 national day is near.

The annual parade display is being rehearsed today.

The Singapore flag is hoisted by a Boeing CH-47 Chinook.

The flag flying behind is the reserved flag, just in case.

 

 

The reserved Chinook and flag return to base once the fly past goes as planned.

Next the F-16D+ jets perform the aerial flypast with the awesome smoke trails.

The jets are part of the 70 F-16 Fighting Falcons in the RSAF.

The smoke trails are produced by injecting diesel into the 400°C exhaust from the jet engine, vaporizing immediately. Some aerial displays emit coloured smoke which are made by mixing dye with the diesel.

There will be another 5 rehearsals before the big day proper.

The rehearsals on 13 July, 20 July and 27 July are known as National Education Shows where all students from primary level through university must attend.

Launched in 1997, it is an exercise to develop instincts that become part of the psyche of every child.

The Year of Protests

It began with the Arab spring.

2013 is the year of protests.

The protests gathered for different reasons.

 Brazil

 

Hongkong

Indonesia

 Turkey

Egypt

The wave of protests has been largely aided by the internet.

The number of protestors is no longer in the mere thousands. Millions can turn out on the streets in a matter of hours.

The Arab governments found out to their horror during the Arab Spring, dictatorships and autocratics lack the experience to address the protesters’ anger.