Diana Frances Spencer (1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997)

Diana, Princess of Wales

An

English princess

with

an

Egyptian boyfriend

crashes

in a French

tunnel,

driving

a

German

car
with a

Dutch engine,

driven

by a Belgian

who was drunk

on

Scottish whisky,

followed

closely by

Italian

Paparazzi,
on

Japanese motorcycles;

treated

by an American doctor,

using

Brazilian medicines.

This is

sent to you by

someone

using

Bill Gates's technology,

and

you're probably reading

this on your computer,
that

uses Taiwanese

chips,

and a

Korean monitor,

assembled by Malaysian

workers

in a

Singapore plant.

The above is just part of a mass email that was circulating around that Diana’s death truly defines what globlisation is about.

I learned about Diana's death when I was at the waiting lounge in Bangkok on 31 August 1997 after checking in for my returned flight. Everyone was solemn with eyes focused on the projection screen. It was there and then that I learned that the car crash happened at 12.23 am. Diana arrived at the hospital at 2.06 am and was pronounced dead at 4.00 am.

Lord John Stevens conducted a three-year investigation into Diana’s and Dodi Al Fayed’s death and published an 832-page report on 14 December 2006 which basically concluded that there was no evidence of conspiracy and that it was merely a tragic accident.

There are people who questioned the depth and hence the reliability of the inquiry, especially Mohamed Al Fayed, owner of Harrods and father of Dodi Fayed.

Perhaps we will never know.

The full 832-page Operation Paget Report (3.9MB) can be downloaded here.

A 9-page Overview of the Report (83KB) can be downloaded here.

Michael Jackson (29 Aug 1958 - 25 Jun 2009)

HEAL THE WORLD (OFFICIAL MV)



Spoken:
Think about the generations and to say we want to make it a better world for our children and our children's children. So that they know it's a better world for them; and think if they can make it a better place.

There's a place in your heart
And I know that it is love
And this place could be much
Brighter than tomorrow.
And if you really try
You'll find there's no need to cry
In this place you'll feel
There's no hurt or sorrow.
There are ways to get there
If you care enough for the living
Make a little space, make a better place.

Chorus:
Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for
You and for me.

If you want to know why
There's a love that cannot lie
Love is strong
It only cares for joyful giving.
If we try we shall see
In this bliss we cannot feel
Fear or dread
We stop existing and start living
Then it feels that always
Love's enough for us growing
Make a better world, make a better world.

Chorus:
Heal the world
Make it a better place
For you and for me and the entire human race
There are people dying
If you care enough for the living
Make a better place for
You and for me.

Bridge:
And the dream we would conceived in
Will reveal a joyful face
And the world we once believed in
Will shine again in grace
Then why do we keep strangling life
Wound this earth, crucify it's soul
Though it's plain to see, this world is heavenly
Be God's glow.

We could fly so high
Let our spirits never die
In my heart I feel
You are all my brothers
Create a world with no fear
Together we'll cry happy tears
See the nations turn
Their swords into plowshares
We could really get there
If you cared enough for the living
Make a little space to make a better place.

Chorus (3x)

There are people dying if you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me.
There are people dying if you care enough for the living
Make a better place for you and for me.

You and for me / Make a better place
You and for me / Make a better place
You and for me / Make a better place
You and for me / Heal the world we live in
You and for me / Save it for our children
You and for me / Heal the world we live in
You and for me / Save it for our children
You and for me / Heal the world we live in
You and for me / Save it for our children
You and for me / Heal the world we live in
You and for me / Save it for our children

World Tour Performance in Seoul:

Leonardo da Vinci - The Man Who Wanted To Know Everything

I am not going to talk about Leonard da Vinci (1452-1519). I will leave that to scholars and historians.

I was at the Singapore Science Centre (SSC) on 24 Jun 09 for the Da Vinci The Genius Exhibition, with my cousin’s family. The Exhibition will be on till 16 Aug 09.

Exhibits include the analysis of two paintings, the Last Supper and the Mona Lisa, anatomical drawings, the codices (manuscript, notes and drawings), military models, and the famous Vitruvian Man. For details of exhibits, visit the official website. Do note that what you see at the official website are photos taken from exhibitions in other cities and thus not representative of the SSC.

I find the additional $15 entrance fee for an adult ($10 for a child), on top of the usual entrance fee, somewhat pricey. I think an adult entrance fee of perhaps $6 to $8 would probably commensurate with my experience there. Whilst I was fascinated by many of the exhibits, I didn’t get a sense of being overwhelmed or in awe. I think it is because, overall the Exhibition, was not extensive enough. The only extensive exhibit was the Mona Lisa – details replicate of each layers of the painting were produced, 25 secrets of the paintings were highlighted (though not the identity of who she was who or could have been), and a video clip of, I think, 10 to 15 minutes, which was played repeatedly. There was another, of equal duration, video clip playing on The Last Supper. As expected, you couldn’t touch, neither were you allowed to photograph, the models. Those few that you were allowed to touch, were apparently not “working”, though I have to be fair and said that perhaps we do not know how to “operate” them.

At one section was a projection screen screening a documentary on the life of da Vinci. This perhaps was the most informative, fascinating, and “extensive” part of the Exhibition. It would have worth the additional $15 paid had it been played at a theatre-style setting with comfortable seats. But unfortunately it was just a small sectioned off area with wooden benches. Many people were sitting by the sides of the benches because if one was to sit inner or in the middle, he would most likely blocked the view from those behind him. I actually stand for more than half an hour watching the video. And mind you, the video, which I found out later, was just one part of a three-part documentary series produced by the BBC in 2004. It would take 2 hrs 40 minutes to watch all three parts.

As we were hungry we decided to leave. Though we were allowed to re-enter if we chose to by showing the “DV” that were stamped on our hands, we didn’t.

There is a DVD on the Mona Lisa on sale at the merchandise section but not the BBC video that we enjoyed. However some kind soul has broken each of the three-part documentaries into six parts each, which means 18 parts in all, and uploaded them to You-Tube. And this is what I want to share. Do take the time to view all 18 parts. You will come to admire the man who without any doubt is (was) THE Genius.

Part 1 examines the first half of Leonardo's life, from his birth near Florence to his famous achievements in the great cities of the Italian Renaissance. Studying his notebooks, and some of his most famous paintings and inventions, we discover there is far more to Leonardo than you may have thought.

Leonardo da Vinci - Dangerous Liaisons

For the second half of his biography, we find Leonardo in Venice. Here he experiments with his inventions - a diving suit, glider and robot - which were make and put to the test. We also see him mapmaking for the notorious Cesare Borgia.

Leonardo da Vinci - The Secret Life of Mona Lisa

This final Part centred around Leonardo's greatest masterpiece - the most famous image in the history of art - the Mona Lisa. It investigates the identity of this elusive woman and tell us the final years of Leonardo.