Make no mistake, Che Chew Chan is a “killer”. The former Malaysian national champion in Taekwondo has the following medals under her belt.

2001,2005,2007,2009 South East Asian Games – Gold Medal
2003 South East Asian Games -Silver
2006 Commonwealth Taekwondo Championship – Silver
Korea Open – Gold
Hong Kong City Gold Cup – Gold
2007 World Universiade Games – Silver
Asian Taekwondo Championship – Silver
Asian Qualifying Tournament to Beijing Olympic Games – Gold
2008 Olympic Games – 7th place

Chew Chan may have retired from competitive sports, but she is still pursuing her passion in Taekwondo while working as a marketing manager in Singapore.

Aesthetic or “flattering photography” is an art which I’ve been dabbling in for some years now. You can call it a kind of “trick photography” that can turn a tough and tattooed fighter into a sensual lady.

Absolutely no Photoshop

© Chan Joon Yee, Dewdrop Notes. Do not use photos without permission.

Photographer: Chan Joon Yee, Model: Che Chew Chan

Steve Wozniak: “Look at structured societies like Singapore where bad behavior is not tolerated [and] you are extremely punished” Mr. Wozniak said in a recent interview with the BBC. “Where are the creative people? Where are the great artists? Where are the great musicians? Where are the great writers?”

Read the full article here.

Mr Wozniak, we do or rather we did have creative people. We just got rid of them and replaced them with hardworking people who won’t rock the boat. Singapore’s economy thrives on conformity. The roadmap has already been drawn. All we need to do is to follow. Even the harshest critics must admit that the roadmap is a very well-drawn one. It satisfies the largest number of people and ensures that everyone has food on the table and a roof over his head. We may even be able to survive indefinitely on this formula. However, we are no longer the roaring tigers we once were. That’s because other countries with many more innovative ideas have risen above us.

Work hard and work smart. Just working hard is no longer enough. We need new ideas all the time. But how do you expect people who don’t rock the boat to come up with new ideas and reinvent themselves? How do you expect regulators whose sole objective is to make sure that the finger is never pointed at them to allow the trades and professions they regulate to try out new and untested things? Whether you’re talking about science or the arts, experimentation is essential. And with experimentation, mistakes and controversies will occur. Singaporeans are extremely pragmatic and self-centred people. They don’t mind if others act as guinea pigs on their behalf, but they themselves have little patience with ventures that do not yield immediate results. Hence, their intolerance to risks, mistakes, delays and unprofitable results.

Some people are crying out for more freedom. Others want a more gracious and lenient society. But very often, these self-centred people only want leniency for themselves. Others must be punished to the full extent of the law so they will feel safe. The authorities are harsh towards “bad behaviour” because the government needs to act when there is a public outcry over something offensive or distasteful. We can’t always blame them. Unless we ourselves learn to be more tolerant, sensible and forgiving, it is unlikely that things will ever change.

Creative Singaporeans

Boey Kim Cheng (now in Australia)

Goh Poh Seng (departed)

Chua Lam (now in Hongkong)

Dick Lee

There should be many more. If there’s anyone you would like me to feature or if there’s any book by a Singaporean that you think I should review, please send me a message.

It’s another moody, rainy Monday here in Singapore. Just hang in there, follow Dewdrop Notes and relax.

Photographer: Luke Luo Taiwanese models: unknown.

Some people love him. Some people hate him. Some people regard him as a national treasure. Some regard him as a national disgrace. Controversial figure Kumar is undeniably a national icon. This is a review of Ivan Lim’s book – Kumar – from Rags to Drag. It’s a coffee table book celebrating Kumar’s 20 years in show business.

Naomi Neo’s blog is actually quite stimulating to follow. It’s a long, unnecessarily verbose piece, but basically, Naomi’s points are:

1. She confesses to mixing around with “gangsters” but denies being influenced by them to do bad things like smoking or drugs. She says she can’t understand why girls would want to mix around with these guys, thinking they’re cool.

2. She gets put off by impulsive behaviour and how guys can go around slashing people just because of some staring incident.

3. She lectures these “gangsters” on setting a good example for the next generation! “And what if you’ve kids in future, do you want them to follow your footsteps? Do you want them questioning on your history, and all you could say is “Oh, I was a gangster back in my youth.”

4. Finally, she denies trying to criticise anyone. “I’m really not trying to criticize anyone here, I’m just talking about some people who think it’s cool when it’s really NOT.”

I find Naomi’s denials very amusing. She probably doesn’t want to get into trouble with the “gangsters”, but frankly, the real gangsters won’t be bothered with her.

Her blog is here. Check it out and let me know what you think.