Dubai

{Photo Credit Jay Khemani}

5 Things About Dubai

1. Dubai is the most popular of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates.
2. Dubai is the fastest growing with one of the highest per capita incomes in the world.
3. About 80% of the population of Dubai are foreigners.
4. The currency has two versions of every coin available.
5. Upon completion, the Burj Dubai will be the world’ tallest towers.

A Short Break

Hi Everyone,

I will be taking a short break as I travel away from home to go on vacation for a little bit. Regular blogging will continue on February 16 with our next destination: Dubai (subject to change, though not likely to change). In the meantime, I thought I would leave you some links to my favorite travel sites on the web.

• Family on Bikes Follow this family (2 parents, 2 kids) as they travel from the top of Alaska to the bottom of Argentina… and blog about it! Sound impossible, well they’ve crossed the USA once before, and are already in the middle of Mexico. VERY interesting, inspiring and insightful…
• The Travelers Notebook A fun site with a large variety of articles on anything remotely travel related.
• Chicago Bloggers I’ll be in Chicago, so I’m sending some love north to the Chicago Bloggers.

See you soon!

Singapore Inspires

When looking for arts inspiration, it’s always fun to see what is emerging. If your search takes you to a new country… even better. In Singapore, LASALLE College of the Arts, is a great source for the cutting edge.

Take a look of some samples of work I selected from their 2008 class:

More than just creating new design, they are also facilitating art conversation. Their  Integrated Studies 2008 program  included thesis topics such as:

• Agnes Cheng Lee Kiang
  Thesis: The Viability of the Commercialisation of Graffiti Art in Singapore
• Lee Whee Hong
  Thesis: Factors which Contribute to Nurturing Creativity Through Art in Lower Primary Schools
• Martha Widjajanti Soemantri
  Thesis: Developing Engaging Exhibitions: A Case Study of Textile Exhibits in Asian Civilisations Museum
• Ng Qing Yi Magdelene
  Thesis: Opportunities to Develop New Audiences for the Museum Through its Food and Beverage Outlets

And there’s more!

Art-e. An online magazine with insightful articles about art.

And finally, the 2008 design show:

So, what do you think about LASALLE? Sign me up!

Set in Singapore

For those that want to get more perspectives of Singapore, I give you a selection of books and movies set in Singapore!

Movies set in Singapore

Singapore Dreaming

Books set in Singapore

From Third World to First : The Singapore Story: 1965-2000

Singapore The Encyclopedia

My Kiasu Teenage Life in Singapore: A novel for anyone who is or was once a Teenager
Do you have any more recommendations?

Noodles: Singapore Style

Cooking recipes found on the web tips:

1. The recipe that forms the basis for your grocery list… yeah, you should save that recipe somewhere.
2. It is really difficult to find some recipes after you close the window.
3. Because the ingredient, that you went downtown to a more authentic ethnic grocery store to buy, doesn’t pop up in the dish’s recipe anymore.
4. At least none you can find.
5. When you decide to just go with a different recipe, and pass on that ingredient, save the new recipe.
6. It is really difficult to find some recipes after you close the window.
7. So now, you can’t find the two recipes you really wanted to try.
8. And have to use an alternate.
9. So be flexible, because while you may have made the whole experience more difficult than it needed to be.
10. Sometimes, you get a delicious result anyway.

So, this is my version of Mee Goreng… which I’ve also seen as Mie Goreng and Mi Goreng. On my initial search for a recipe from Singapore, I came across some sources that said “Mee Goreng” should be the national dish of Singapore, and I set my sights on making it.

After purchasing the ingredients for the disappearing recipe, I learned more about Mee Goreng. It’s a dish with roots in India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. There are a lot of restaurants in Singapore that serve Mee Goreng, and I figure if I were in Singapore, I would try it. So, I did. And I liked it. I loved it.

It’s the fusion of all those countries that make this dish so memorable. Curry. Soy Sauce. Chili sauce. Ketchup. Who knew that combination would be so delicious? There was even the added ingredient of Oyster Sauce in the mysterious disappearing recipe. Next time.

If you are looking to try the Singaporean version of Mee Goreng, here are some links:

• The recipe I mostly relied on, except I used chicken instead of beef.
• A recipe with great reviews!
• I used a little of this recipe, too.
• A recipe I would’ve used, but I didn’t know what some of the ingredients were.

Singapore at a Glance

Singapore! To me, it’s one of those places I’ve always been aware of, but didn’t know much about. So, let’s start with some basic. This is where Singapore is:

{Image credits Wikipedia, Google}

This is what Singapore looks like at night:

{Image Credit I’ll Never Grow Up}

or from another angle:

{Image Credit Alex Steffler}

Oh, and look, they have a Starbucks!

{Image Credit Alex Steffler}

I like the Dynasty Travel in the background. I haven’t really been to a city with a whole building with a travel company’s name on it. I decided to look them up… here’s more information.

Singapore is:

• 26 x 14 miles… it’s shorter than a marathon!
• a little more than 3.5x Washington D.C.
• populated with 4 million people.

The number 1 reason I’d like to travel to Singapore in real life? To experience the Singapore Airlines A380 Suites:

{Image Credit Singapore Air}

Just kidding. As much as I would love to experience these suites, there are many reasons I would love to visit Singapore. I LOVE big cities, tall buildings, especially in the tropics. I plan to stop in Singapore for a week (or less) the next time I head over to Asia, so I’m really looking forward to learning more and would really love YOU to join me.

Tasmanian Timeline

10,000 BC approximately The end of the ice age melts water enough to separate the land mass between modern-day mainland Australia and Tasmania.

1642 Abel Janszoom Tasman (of the Dutch East Indies Company) is the first European to sight Tasmania. He names it Van Diemen’s Land after the governer-general of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia). {The original name for Tasmania has been referenced often in popular culture.}

1772 Europeans start to settle Van Diemen’s Land, first the French, then the British.

1825 Van Diemen’s Land becomes a colony on its own right.

1830 “Black Line” campaign to round up Aborigines started. Protector of the aborigines, George Augustus Robinson, attempts to move them to Flinders Isand. While Black Line fails, many Aborigines do move to Flinders Island.

1830 Port Arthur, Australia’s largest penal system, was established.

1836 Charles Darwin visits Tasmania as part of his round-the-world trip.

1856 The name officially changes from Van Diemen’s Land to Tasmania.

1869 Truganini, possibly the last full-blooded Tasmanian Aborigine, dies.

1877 Port Arthur, Australia’s largest penal system, closed.

1901 Australia becomes a commonwealth, and Tasmania becomes a state in Australia.

1947 World War II European migrants move to Tasmania for work.

1997 Tasmania is first state to formally apologize to Aborigine community.

Arts in Tasmania

Tasmania feels like the place for artists. Artists are embraced. They find inspiration locally and internationally and it all collides to this happy place. A place I wish I could be a part of, but I can’t. Fortunately for us it seems the people of Tasmania want us to know what’s happening around there. They provide a ton of resources. Here are a few examples:

Handmark Gallery

They bring Tasmanian artists to other parts of the world. Their talent works in areas such as paintings, ceramics, glass, and so much more. Here’s are two great samples: (Click on the individual images to go right to the artists specific page at the Handmark Gallery.)

Design Centre > Tasmania

The beauty of the Design Centre Tasmania is described within it’s own mission:

The Design Centre strives to:

• Sustain the wood design industry in Tasmania
• Inspire Tasmania and the world with an understanding of the potency of design
• Create an identity for Tasmania as a place of excellence in the world.

Don’t you wish you lived there? I do. Here is an example of one of their artists. Peter Costello born, raised and educated in Tasmania.

(Click on the image to go right to the page)

I know I’m inspired, how about you?

{All Images are credited to their respective shop}

Tasmania via YouTube

Set in Tasmania

Cook up some meat pies, make a trip to the library or surf on over to netflix and borrow/rent a book or movie set in Tasmania. You are now ready to have a Tasmanian experience, of sorts.

There aren’t a lot of modern movies set in Tasmania, but you may find a few. Here’s my suggestions

Tale of Ruby Rose

Dying Breed a scary film, with the trailer below and an article about the film here

If you aren’t in the mood to watch movies, here are some books to read:

The Rainbow and The Rose
Carnivorous Nights: On the Trail of the Tasmanian Tiger

Do you have any more suggestions?