I've Just Had A Mint Moment!

Apparently the post-coital cigarette has been replaced by the pre-coital mint in Singapore. A tongue in cheek (and I use this pun in the figurative sense, not the literal) has seen a mint confectionery company promote the idea of increasing one's family size on the night of National Day.

Appalled by the prospect of a plummeting birth rate the government has for many years been trying to coerce the population to breed; so far with little success.  Whether a sugar shot will add to the national libido has yet to be seen but it certainly added spice to National Day!

In honour of this innovative advertising promotion I felt  the very least I could was to come up with a range of congratulatory buttons, magnets and to top off the celebrations (an even worse pun!), a beer stein.

Click on any of the images below to go through to the products in question.

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The Quest For Pop Immortality

This is a band called The Quests who had their first hit, an instrumental called 'Shanty' in 1964.  As with many bands at that time they started playing cover versions of The Shadows (video below).

The name of the band was derived from the school magazine of the Queenstown Secondary Technical School, located in a part of Singapore where I now live.

They were joined for a while by an Ex-British serviceman Keith Locke on lead vocals.  I still enjoy their musicianship although the songs are nearly fifty years old.

Leaning To The Right And Languishing Libido

The libido of Singaporeans has been in the headlines again. This is not a new topic as the government grapples with how to encourage Singaporeans reproduce themselves at a faster rate than they are at present.

Perhaps I should qualify this by saying it is really certain sections of society that are not doing their bit to grow the population. From what is reported in the papers the Malay population is doing rather nicely but the Chinese are lagging behind.

It has now been revealed that the sperm count is part of the problem. The solution, a band aid of testosterone, although the media doesn't report which part of the body this aid should be adhered to.

Could it be that the years of compulsory military training under the hot sun have been a contributing factor to the lack of libido? A combination of tightly fitting uniform and exhausting humidity would be enough for any self respecting sperm to call it a day.

Apparently and in a more serious vein (if you will excuse the pun), burn-out and obesity are significant contributing factors.

Whatever the cause, one in five Singaporean men are suffering the effects which are striking the male population in their mid forties rather than the expected sixties.

Better news this week from an expatriate New Zealander's perspective, is the change of government in that country. I am particularly delighted to see the demise of New Zealand First and its leader Winston Peters.

This right wing group had actively sought to alienate Asians from society and played to the baser instincts of older generations and the insular-minded who feared that they were being overrun by 'foreigners'.

Thankfully Singapore does not entertain the ridiculous MMP system of representation, which sees minority parties having power over policy development well beyond the realities of their election results.

In short, a small party can hold a major party to ransom and there is little stability - an essential building block for a cohesive and prosperous society.

A contributing reason for my leaving New Zealand two years ago was the political environment at that time and I now look forward to seeing what a National government under John Key can do.