The Public Transport Council (I didn’t know it exists), in partnership with Land Transport Authority, the two public transport operators and the Singapore Kindness Movement have launched a new campaign with the tagline ‘A Happy Journey Starts Like That!’ recently to encourage Singaporeans to start their Happy Journeys ‘like that’.

So far we’ve got the music video playing non-stop on screen and huge visual reminders (like the one above) pasted on doors and above priority seats.

However, I  think this campaign has a great potential and can be used in several other areas so that Happy Journeys not only start ‘like that’, they start earlier and ‘like this’ too.

First things first.

I hate it when commuters try to tap their ez link cards without taking them out and unsuccessfully doing so. They just stand there, block the path and keep trying for a few precious seconds, slowly building a frustrated/impatient queue behind.

It’s just… Argh!

So I suggest..

1. Check Before You Tap

A HUGE reminder to tell commuters to tap and enter properly. Who knows? Maybe your ez-link card has no cash in it, maybe it’s not in your wallet, maybe it’s not in your bag, maybe you’re tapping with your ATM card, or maybe you’re looking for a toilet.

After you enter the station, you need to take an escalator to the platform right?

I hate it when commuters block both sides of the escalator route, especially when you are trying to run up/down to catch the train. Yes, there is already a small reminder near every escalator to encourage everyone to keep to their left.

No, that is not enough.

2. Please Keep To Your Left

Here’s where our national favourite character comes in. It’s not hard to keep left, right?

And for those who unfortunately failed to catch their train, please don’t get too upset or depressed. There’s always the next train.

During the time (up to 6 minutes) while you wait for the next one, I hope you don’t find the idea of jumping down the track appealing.. just because you missed the previous train (where missing that trip probably led to losing your job/being kicked out of school/failure to catch a movie on time).

Don’t even make it an option!!

3. Wait! Don’t Jump!

Drag Me To Hell

I usually don’t watch horror movies because I’m scared of being frightened. I’m totally cool with gory images, but sudden loud sounds and scary shit popping up out of no where definitely make me want to pee in my pants.

I think it’s stupid to pay to scare yourself. What’s so enjoyable about scaring yourself? Who in the right mind does that?

Once in a while, I do stupid things like agreeing to watch a horror movie, like Drag Me To Hell. But I agreed because this movie is directed by the director (Sam Raimi) of my favourite movies (Spider-man), and it has received many positive reviews everywhere.

And yes, it is scary shit. The intense anticipation of horrifying creatures never stop haunting you, and the story just makes you go on guessing what happens next. A very detailed observation of the opening credits actually sort of prepares you of what happens throughout the movie.

I’ve never seen an old lady so violently terrifying, until this show. Go watch and scare yourself. Thankfully you won’t feel the fear after the show ends.

8 / 10

***

Terminator: Salvation

I kind of liked this show. It surprised me with some depth, and really ouch fighting. Definitely a very satisfying experience if you are looking for cool and believable action.

I like how the main character John creates his own strategy and his reasoning behind all those. I like how the director tried to portray the very bleak future humans have. It’s all very manly and you can almost smell the smoke from the explosions in the theatre.

Unfortunately they forgot to include some humour, so the end result is a movie that is dead serious (but still good) and leaving you to ponder a little about humanity and their technology.

This is unlike your regular fight-and-kill-but-not-sure-for-what-reason show.

8 / 10

***

Monsters VS Aliens

Quite  an okay show I would say. There was no real laugh out loud moments, only a few chuckles here and there and that’s it.

I watched the movie in 3D and didn’t find the experience that great. Probably because the screen wasn’t big enough (it’s not good when a 3D object pops out to you and suddenly gets cut of by the corner of the screen).

I thought the concept of 50s B-grade monsters fighting against aliens from outer space was rather promising, but this movie is bogged down by all the spoofs (something Dreamworks almost never want to stop doing) and lame jokes.

At the end of the day this is an ‘okay’ movie for everyone, but I can’t help but feel that they could have done sooo much better than this.

6.5 / 10

***

Night At The Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

Um.. I can feel that this movie is trying too hard and overdoing it. What was originally very fun and refreshing from 3 years ago is now continued by a sequel no one really expected to see nor looking forward to see.

This time they’ve made it even bigger, with more characters (many of them who are actually annoying rather than likeable or funny) and stronger visual effects. But it’s actually nearly the same thing as the first movie.

More isn’t always better and I definitely prefer the first movie to this one.

6 / 10

Have you ever smelled something pleasant and unforgettable and immediately wished you could capture that smell in a bottle for re-smelling later on?

Every time I enter a shopping mall in Singapore the first thing that greets me (or in this case, my nose) is a fresh chilling flood of fragrance unique to the place itself that is instantly recognisable. There’s the Esplanade scent, Marina Square scent, Raffles City Shopping Centre scent, etc. Can you tell them apart?

A recent trip down to The Asylum at 22 Ann Siang Road has exposed me to the Real Art of fragrance.

These perfumes, created by Christopher Brosius, contain no alcohol and are what I’ve always been looking for ­— favourite scents and experiences stored in a bottle. It was as if I have finally found a like-minded soul mate who has achieved what I’ve dreamt of for years.

These scents are not merely fragrances that make you go ‘Ah! This smells exactly like what the label say!’, but they also tell stories — stories of people, places, objects, relationships or just a day of someone’s life.

I have never felt so intimate with bottles of perfumes before.

I didn’t know this is possible until I smelled them myself. And Smelling is Believing.

Here’s an excerpt from the CB I Hate Perfume website:

We live because we breathe and with each breath, we smell. This is inevitable. The Sense of Smell is our first and most immediate link to the world around us. It reminds us of what (and who) we love. Smell is perhaps the most complex sense we possess and possibly this is why it is the least understood and most often taken for granted… Scent is the record of your own special life – it’s your experience. My mission is to capture that experience. I bottle it so you can have it, use it and love it whenever you wish. I can give you scent experiences you never dreamed possible. I create perfumes as unique & individual as those who wear them. And I use a great many scents never before thought of as “perfume”. But I know these are just the scents that really hit us where we live – they’re the ones we remember and love. These scents are life.

I highly recommend you to give your nose a treat at The Asylum. (I’m not so sure if other places in Singapore have these perfumes for sale.. =/)

Some of my favourites are Winter, In The Library and I am a Dandelion.

Come to think of it, maybe I should begin a similar project to bottle my own experiences too.

.

Introducing bottled Desmond’s Gas.

Star Trek

I enjoyed this movie.

Mind you, I have never watched any of the Star Trek movies or TV series and I knew nothing about Star Trek prior to catching this movie, not even the trailer. The closest sci-fi movie that I’ve watched and highly enjoyed is the spoof comedy Galaxy Quest (which was released nearly 10 years ago).

A tragic scene in the earlier part of the movie of a doomed crew member made me tear a bit, and I must applaud Michael Giacchino’s efforts for composing such an emotional soundtrack that brings out the sense of wonder, optimism and adventure of Star Trek.

I like how they captured the lens flares, giving the movie a very polished and positive look throughout.

Combining strong story, decent humour, out-of-this-world action and stunning visuals, if you declined to watch this movie just because it’s sci-fi, you’ve missed out a lot.

9 / 10

***

Angels & Demons

The previous movie, Da Vinci Code, was so forgettable I can’t remember what the story was about. Perhaps the production team has learnt their lessons and decided to try another movie with Tom Hanks coming back as Robert Langdon in Angels & Demons.

I can’t review this movie properly because I didn’t really watch the whole thing — I fell asleep a few times (due to sleepiness).

What puzzles me is, if an assassin wants to kill a few people, why does he have to deliberately follow a pattern and leave behind clues for a professor to solve? Is he hoping to get caught?

5 / 10