A Rapturous Success

DinoTrails - Plaza Singapura

It's the Great Singapore Sale, a legendary shopping experience that draws visitors from far and wide.

Unfortunately the term "Great" is rather overplayed this year and, as several tourists have observed, the bargains are not immediately obvious.

Not that one can blame the retailers, many of whom are struggling to survive in the depths of the current recession and of course, there are only so many 'new suitcases' that one needs to buy.

From the upper level of the 111 bus going down Orchard Road I noted a feeding frenzy in the Gucci shop in Paragon Shopping Mall. Apart from that the place seemed quiet especially for a weekend.

Malls are resorting to other attractions to draw in the crowds. In Plaza Singapura a large dinosaur display had its young audience in raptures (a rather unfortunate pun). The Singapore Science Centre Explainers were excellent in the manner they entertained and educated the children.

Nearby in the Capitol Theatre, the teenage audience were queuing up to audition for Singapore Idol 2009. Many had camped out overnight to be first to get on stage.

Reports in the evening news said that 4,000 people turned up to the auditions and such was the demand that the judges are going to be subjected to a second day of excruciating auditory abuse.

This is bad news for those of us searching for some quality entertainment on local television if the previous years standard are anything to go by.

Not that all local talent shows are bad. Earlier in the year there was a series on local bands and some of these were excellent with deft musicianship and tight harmonies.

Not Worshipping Idols

Some television shows can be mildly addictive.  My wife watches American Idol and from time to time I will catch up with this parade of 'wannabes'. 

The frustrating thing about the show is that the supremely talented rarely win. So it was yesterday, when a pleasant enough contestant of moderate talent, named Kris, defeated the extremely gifted Adam Lambert. 

It is a contest about block voting and money rather than selecting a deserved winner.  

A noticeable trend in recent years is that it has become strategically important to declare oneself as a 'church leader' and/or a devout member of the Christian faith, thereby securing a large voting block of the US Moral Majority and congregations across the USA.   

Poor old Adam never really had a chance and I suspect a good 'ole dose of homophobia also reared its ugly head. 

If there is any consolation for the talented runner up, history shows us that the winners often sink back into obscurity from whence they came, whereas those who don't achieve the show's ultimate accolade go on to impressive show business careers. 

I shall not be making this show a viewing priority next year and by all accounts, as its slides down the ratings, many others are tuning out as well.