-Three. Take away two and you get... Are you the fastest or the worst? -The fastest. Read this. Off you go. Two plus five minus two minus two is three.
I'm on my way to a board meeting at the INSEAD business school. It was founded in France, but for the past six years... ...there's been a very successful campus in Asia. Until July, I was the chairman. So I'm not just here for the meeting but also to say goodbye. People here regard education as an investment. They have no problems borrowing up to 4 times the salary they hope to earn... ...to give themselves a good education. People here realise that to get on in life... ...and to climb the social ladder, depends largely on education. Singapore can thank its success to its focus on education https://www.casinoslots.co.nz/free-online-pokies. At the invitation of Prime Minister Lee... ...Vice-premier Deng Xiao-Ping arrived in Singapore on 12 November 1978... ...for a social visit. Deng Xiao-Ping also visited a new housing project. High-rise flats comprising 22 storeys. This is Singapore's solution to the housing problem. Two thirds of all buildings have between ten and twenty storeys. Deng Xiao-Ping and Prime Minister Lee talked... ...in the study of the President of Singapore... ...together with the president and his wife. The theological debates that occasionally take place on: Is this democratic or not? Is this freedom of speech or not?... ...are regarded far more pragmatically here. And the net result for the people has been excellent. For more than 20 years, we had a representative here... ...and he told me that he and his sister took turns... ...to sit under just one light bulb to do their homework. And he said: Look around you to see what we've achieved. We've probably paid a price for what you call freedom... ...which you have in Europe, or the opportunities for mental development... ...but we gladly pay it. Can Singapore's model be exported to Europe? I don't like thinking in models. But we could definitely use one aspect of society here. And that's speed of adjustment. The economic crisis will affect us all. It will have less of an impact here due to less problems with banks... ...and because it's less affected by the situation in America and Europe. But it will come here too. But the people here are quicker to realize... ...that they'll have to make adjustments. Whether that means a salary reduction... ...or finding another job, people accept it, and act. The problem in the West is that we're used to, and we're spoilt... ...regarding a certain status quo. So we find it hard to say: Well, the situation has changed, so we'll have to adapt too.
1 Comment
Singapore, a city state in South East Asia, has in four decades worked itself up to become one of the worlds major economies. Singapore is therefore a role model to many countries in the region. What is the Singapore model and why is it so successful? Backlight went in search of answers to these questions. We accompanied Kees van Lede, former CEO at Akzo Nobel and supervisory board member at Heineken, Philips and JP Morgan Chase.
And also board chair at the prestigious business school INSEAD. So welcome to Singapore. Siep Hiemstra. Cees, welcome to Singapore. You look very relaxed. That's four days vacation for you. -I'm always relaxed. Tell us about Singapore. Well, things are fine here. What you see at the moment is that people are biding their time. But I've seen no signs of stagnation. What about real estate? Every ten years, the skyline changes. Any changes there? The Stock Exchanges have lost money. Some of the big boys are clearly in trouble. Well, there it is. Fifty years ago, it was a swamp. So hats off to them. We can be very critical about this country, but they've certainly achieved something. And it's a region in Asia that for a very long time... has embodied the free trade principle in its ultimate form. And for those working in the free market that's wonderful. And it has also been a place of refuge in Asia. For years and years, it's been politically stable, except for political criticism. Here, you have certainty. And ever since I've been coming here, it's had an excellent service sector. Equal to the service we're used to in the west, either in Europe or the US. The consultant Lee Kuan Yew, the enlightened despot whose tight reign led Singapore to economic prosperity in four decades. Perhaps he can explain the secret of the Singapore model. Guess who we also met in Singapore? Remember Jim Rogers? The investors Indiana Jones. He predicted the mortgage crisis, the credit crunch and the devaluation of the dollar which no one believed in at the time. Now he's placing all his best on Asia. Good morning, everyone. OK, who am I today? Who am I meant to be? The beautiful lady boss. 1 piece of candy costs 1 RMB. You're regular customers, so will it be cheaper? No need, you have pots of money. 1 piece of candy for 2 RMB, OK? No problem. Did you bring money? Give me 5 RMB. How much change will you get? -Three. Right. How much change do you get? Hey guys, welcome back again to Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy, where the proof continues to be in the singing! We get a lot of different requests for a lot of different things. This one actually comes to us from Lily from Michigan.
Lily writes “hey Ken, I like most everything that you do, but I don’t want to sound like anyone else, I want to sound like me!” Well, I don’t want you to sound like anyone else, either, and I want to sound like me, too! But I think it’s important to remember that those that have gone before us that have set a bar or a standard or a level really high, if we can get to that level or to that standard, it doesn’t matter if it’s in sports, it doesn’t matter if it’s in singing… Whatever your discipline is, if we can incorporate that in our toolbox, or our arsenal, in this case for great singing, then it gives us much more diversity and a lot more flexibility with our voice. So, with that said, I decided to take on one of the highest used karaoke tracks of all time, which is none other than Neil Diamond, and the song is called Sweet Caroline. So we’ll do it first, and we'll talk about it after like we always do. Let’s rock! All right! So Neil wasn’t a technically perfect singer, that’s not what he was about. He was about an incredible story, an incredible songwriter. And, you know, actually, he and I share a lot of very similar vocal tambre, so “When it began, I can’t begin to know when. But that I know it’s growin’ strong.” Right? He’s got this nice, low resonance to his sound. That’s actually why, too, guys, when I do all this high singing stuff, it’s hard for me to do that stuff. This is way more in my genre, in fact if you go back and listen to the original of this, see how I did. But anyway, I’m going to post the solo, raw vocal version of this, isolated vocal version of this so you can kind of pick it apart, and just listen to it and A/B it to the original. So thanks for joining me. Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy, where the proof is in the singing. If you like what you heard, please like and subscribe. And stop by at my singers forums. I’ve got now 11,000 people in there, and we just hit the over 40 million mark on my YouTube channel, which is super awesome. Thank you guys, so much for that. Anyway, let’s continue to rock, and check out the solo vocal version now. Peace. Out. Wow. The Eternal Ones has protagonist Haven running all over the place— from stalkers, fires, home… Girl must’ve been a runner in her past life, sheesh! I felt exhausted after reading this book!
The Eternal Ones is one of the Penguin Five— a group of books hyped up to be the best of the year from Penguin. I’m not sure I felt that The Eternal Ones was amazing enough to warrant that kind of publicity, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. The story definitely keeps you on your toes. The plot twists this way and that— first you think one thing, then you change your mind, then you’re back to where you were in the beginning… I will admit that towards the end the perpetrator wasn’t too terribly difficult to figure out (Haven, don’t go with him! Gah! Idiot!), but I’m glad it took at least that long. Also, the little italicized insights to Haven’s past life were really cool. I loved how Kristen Miller gave us little snippets just when they were crucial to the plot, and kept us guessing as to the real story. Because I have to be negative, I will point out that I didn’t really like Iain or Beau’s characters. They seemed a bit underdeveloped to me, especially Beau. He was not skeptical in the least of Haven’s stories, and was kind of her bitch for most of the story. Is this a sign of true friendship or a plot device for easy information? You decide. Overall, I really enjoyed The Eternal Ones. Yeah, the whole reincarnation thing got a bit cheesy at times, but I think Kristen Miller really pulled it off. And in one volume! Nowadays, that’s a rarity. I want to thank my sister for recommending The Eternal Ones to me. You have always known what exactly attracts me in literature, darling! Now, it’s my turn to recommend this book to you, my faithful followers. I promise, you won’t be disappointed. I’m waiting for you to share your ideas on it in the comments below. Today I’m starting to read Eve by Anna Carey. All I can say for now is that iIt looks really promising. Can’t wait to check it out and to share my thoughts in the next post. Stay with me and read books, love you all :) The Everafter is wonderfully spooky. The story is original, the writing is haunting, and the main character is intriguing. There is also an air of mystery, and it isn’t solved until the last few pages. I read The Everafter in almost one sitting. Needless to say it hooks you right from the start. The main character, Maddy, and her experiences feel so real. The concept of items lost in life returning memories in the afterlife is certainly one I hadn’t heard of before, and I found it absolutely fascinating. The romantic elements are well-executed: they are both slightly awkward (as all early romantic encounters are) and heartwarming. The Everafter is a great book for reminding you why it’s great to be alive, but it doesn’t leave you with a feeling of sadness. Exactly how it should be. o complaints! Enthralled is a great anthology that any fan of paranormal YA will fall in love with. The Demon Trapper’s Daughter by Jana Oliver The Demon Trapper’s Daughter by Jana Oliver Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin Release date: February 1, 2011 Pages: 340 My thoughts: The Demon Trapper’s Daughter is a very exciting read. It’s fast-paced and full of action—every fight scene was well choreographed and left my heart racing. Even the times when Riley wasn’t battling a demon, she was up against something that fired me up (like Harper! Ugh!). I really like when a book can make me feel involved in the story, and The Demon Trapper’s Daughter did just that. Riley was a really great heroine! I loved the fact that she was headstrong enough to go up against everyone who didn’t believe she could trap demons (and, of course, demons themselves!). She used her intelligence and physical abilities to overcome multiple obstacles, which was pretty impressive. Riley’s capabilities will inspire females who read The Demon Trapper’s Daughter, for sure. One thing that bugged me about Riley, though, was her inability to see that her dad’s friend (and pseudo guardian) Beck was actually a good guy! She was so jaded from a past experience that she couldn’t see that he actually cared for her. Because the story is told in third-person, we see how much of a softie Beck really is, and I really fell in love with his character. Almost everything he did for Riley was with good intent, even if she didn’t think so. It was really cute that he doted on her so much! The Demon Trapper’s Daughter is a paranormal YA that you won’t want to miss. It has intense action, phenomenal characters, and excellent world building. I was extremely impressed with the genuine awesome that this novel exuded, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel! If you like powerful female protagonists and fight scenes, be sure to check The Demon Trapper’s Daughter out! You won’t be disappointed. 4.5/5 stars 'Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.' The Fault in our Stars was a bit like that. I don't think I can even write a coherent review for this, but I will try my best. This book left such a deep mark on me that I will never be able to explain to anyone who has not read this book. That nobody will understand until they have read The Fault in our Stars and cried until their eyes are dry. I read a lot of books; books that are good, and books that are excellent, and books that are amazing and unputdownable. And then there are books like The Fault in our Stars. Books that are rare and special and only come once along once in fourteen years. Books that are brilliant and humorous and heartbreaking at the same time. Books that etch their way into your soul forever. This book...really killed me, I'll be perfectly honest here. I knew someone with lung cancer, and let me say that John Green gets pretty damn close to the ugly truth. Deaths from cancer are normally dragged out and incredibly painful with no dignity left for the patient by the end. John Green tells the real cancer story, and I would like to thank him for that. I know this book probably has huge literary value, that maybe a year or two from now, schools will take this novel and have students and teachers dissect it sentence by sentence. And maybe that's how John Green expected his book to be read, for the full meaning of each paragraph to be understood and discussed, but for me, taking a beautiful and whole novel like this apart and tearing it down is too much. Maybe I will eventually do it and maybe I will learn something that will improve my writing, but for now, I want to keep it in one piece and enjoy this beautiful beautiful beautiful novel a few more times. I have a chronic illness that causes constant, long-term pain. I believe that grief does change families; mine has changed. For better or for worse, I don't know. I cannot imagine experiencing what Hazel and Gus go through on a daily basis, but I know that every day, thousands of scientists are working around the clock for new drugs that may pave the way for miracles, and that hope is one thing we all--both the healthy and the sick--can have in common. John Green's novel is so much more than a novel; it shows the joy of living and tells a tragic, terribly faulted love story. "I am," he said. He was staring at me, and I could see the corners of his eyes crinkling. "I'm in love with you, and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I'm in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we're all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we'll ever have, and I am in love with you.” ― John Green, The Fault in Our Stars. Words alone cannot describe my amazement. Related article: HOW TO WRITE A BOOK REVIEW! Writing a book review is a common assignment in college and even beyond if you decide to have a career in this profession, find professional essay writers, who can propose you some useful tips. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |