NDP Theme Songs - 1984 to 2013

One of the annual hype of NDP is the NDP Theme Song. This year marks our Nation’s 48th birthday and the theme is “Many Stories… One Singapore”. The theme is selected to show the unity of all Singaporeans to celebrate what makes us Singapore.

With the theme in mind, this year’s NDP Theme Song, “One Singapore” brings us through some of the hopes and dreams of different Singaporeans, and showcases the dynamic and distinct natures of our people. This is reflective of the Sing A Nation choir, which is made up of ordinary Singaporeans from diverse backgrounds with different dreams.

One Singapore

NDP 2013 Theme Song - One Singapore
Music by: Elaine Chan
Lyrics by: Selena Tan
Performed by: Sing A Nation Choir
Directed by: Jason Joseph

First impression of the song: Not a very catchy tune, in fact personally I think it is very high school musical style (maybe my girls will love it). Some of my friends even commented that it was slightly childish. I think the important thing is to continue to encourage local musicians, song-writers, composers to do what they are doing and give them due credit. It will never be possible to write a song that pleases everyone, even a small nation like ours.

Having said all, IMHO, the older NDP songs are more heartfelt and easier to remember. Maybe I am getting too old for this year’s song.

For comparison sake, I have pasted the previous years’ NDP theme songs for your viewing pleasure.

NDP 2012 Theme Song - Love At First Light
Music by: Iskandar Ismail
Lyrics by: Paul Tan
Performed by: Olivia Ong, Natanya Tan
Directed by: Aaron Tan Mien Shawn

Love At First Light

NDP 2011 Theme Song - In A Heartbeat
Music by: Goh Kheng Long
Lyrics by: Haresh Sharma
Performed by: Sylvia Ratonel
Directed by: Brian Gothong Tan

In A Heartbeat

NDP 2010 Theme Song – Song For Singapore
Performed by: Corrinne May

Song For Singapore

NDP 2009 Theme Song – What Do You See
Performed by: Electrico

What Do You See

国庆庆典 2009 主题歌 - 就在这里
演唱者：陈伟联

就在这里

NDP 2008 Theme Song – Shine For Singapore
Performed by: Hady Mirza

Shine For Singapore

 

国庆庆典 2008 主题歌 - 晴空万里
演唱者：蔡淳佳

晴空万里

First time in NDP history, there are two official theme songs instead of one in the year 2007.

NDP 2007 Theme Song – There’s No Place I’d Rather Be
Performed by: Kit Chan

There’s No Place I’d Rather Be

NDP 2007 Theme Song – Will You
Performed by: Janani Sridhar, Asha Edmund, Emma Yong, Lily Anna Rahmat, Jai Wahab, Shabir Mohammaed, Sebastian Tan and Gani Karim

Will You

NDP 2006 Theme Song – My Island Home
Performed by: Kaira Gong

My Island Home

国庆庆典 2006 主题歌 - 幸福的图形
演唱者：龚诗嘉

幸福的图形

NDP 2005 Theme Song – Reach Out For The Skies
Performed by: Rui En and Taufik

Reach Out For The Skies

国庆庆典 2005 主题歌 - 勇敢向前飞
演唱者：瑞恩

勇敢向前飞

NDP 2004 Theme Song – Home
Performed by: Young Voices

Home

国庆庆典 2004 主题歌 - 家
演唱者：陈洁仪、林俊杰

家

NDP 2003 Theme Song – One United People
Performed by: Stefanie Sun

One United People

国庆庆典 2003 主题歌 - 全心全意
演唱者：孙燕姿

全心全意

NDP 2002 Theme Song – We Will Get There
Performed by: Stefanie Sun

We Will Get There

国庆庆典 2002 主题歌 - 一起走到
演唱者：孙燕姿

一起走到

NDP 2001 Theme Song – Where I Belong
Performed by: Tanya Chua

Where I Belong

国庆庆典 2001 主题歌 - 属于
演唱者：蔡健雅

属于

NDP 2000 Theme Song – Shine On Me
Performed by: Jai Wahab and Mavis Hee

Shine On Me

国庆庆典 2000 主题歌 - 星月
演唱者：许美静

星月

NDP 1999 Theme Song – Together
Performed by: Evelyn Tan and Dreamz FM

Together

国庆庆典 1999 主题歌 - 心连心
演唱者：陈毓云、梦飞船

心连心

NDP 1998 Theme Song – Home
Performed by: Kit Chan

Home

国庆庆典 1998 主题歌 - 家
演唱者：陈洁仪

家

This is the classic era, where everyone, young or old will know these songs.

NDP 1990 Theme Song – One People, One Nation, One Singapore

One People, One Nation, One Singapore

NDP 1987 & 1988 Theme Song – We Are Singapore
Performed by: onathan Tan, Roslinda Baharudin, Anne Weerapass and Robert Fernando

We Are Singapore

NDP 1986 Theme Song – Count On Me Singapore
Performed by: Clement Chow

Count On Me Singapore

NDP 1984 & 1985 Theme Song – Stand Up For Singapore

Stand Up For Singapore

Hope you enjoyed all the NDP songs! Happy Birthday Singapore!

iPhone To iParenting

For some reason, I have decided to remove my iPhone 5 cover and it was one of the best decision ever made. Now I am truly enjoying the beautiful design by Apple. I read a tweet recently that said something like, “Apple spent millions to make their iPhone as thin as possible, but users spent $5 to buy a plastic cover and made it twice the thickness”. How true and funny that is.

After I took off the $5 phone cover, a few interesting things happened.

(1) I hardly drop my phone before that, but a few days after I took off the phone cover, I dropped my iPhone 5 on a cobbled floor and dented one corner slightly. Of course, I silently cursed myself for being so ‘kaypoh’ and regretted the decision for that half a day. But subsequently, I got over it and now as I looked back, it was just a small incident. I still prefer the phone with a small dent than the phone with a cover.

(2) Now, when my friends see my mobile phone, one of the first thing they will say is, “Wah, you did not put on a phone cover? That is so ‘garang’ of you. But the iPhone looks so nice without a cover”. All of a sudden, people are realising more of the phone I am using than before. And I have become a “brave” person.

(3) Previously when I had the phone cover on, I was thinking to myself that I will one day sell of my iPhone 5 when a newer model is out. But now, I have this unexplainable decision to keep using the phone until it is spoilt or at least until the line contract is over. Why? I don’t really understand, but I guess it’s because I have realised it’s real worth and beauty that I no longer feel like changing.

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Strange enough, all these happenings got me thinking deeper into why did I feel what I felt.
And this is what I figure out - my iPhone to iParenting philosophy.

As a father, I did not start off with the intention to bring my daughter into this world so that I can protect her. My intention was to have someone to enjoy life with, to share my joy with her, and to see her grow up to be like herself, the way God has created her, a unique person. It’s the same like buying an iPhone 5, it’s not for the purpose of slapping a $5 cover on it to protect it. It was for the purpose of using it and at the same time flaunt it as a nice accessory. As Singaporeans, it has become a sigma that parenting equates being kiasu & kiasi. Are we too over-protective of our children? Are we putting a cover over their lives so much so that no one can see the beauty or creativity hidden underneath? I am reminded that a futsal kaki of mine is migrating to Australia by the end of this month with his wife and 2 kids. He cited the reason that Singapore has become a stifled place for his children to grow up in. His children are not getting the best out of their lives. Sad but to a certain extent true.

Parenting is not about winning but it is about handling failures. So what if I took off the phone cover, I will have a greater risk of dropping my iPhone and spoilt it? Just pick it up and continue with life after a short period of heartache. Similarly to educating my girls, I won’t discourage them to try new things even if I know the risk failure may be higher than not trying. But at least they will learn something out of it, which is definitely learning nothing out of not doing anything. I feel as a father, I want to encourage my girls to be a true champion, who is never afraid to fail but must never quit.

Which brings me to my final point, after falling and picking themselves up time after time, I pray that my girls will learn not only life-skills but also the importance of treasuring what they have. To be a contented person. One phenomenon I am starting to see in my own girls’ live is, not being contented with their current and always wanting more. I mean it’s not bad to have expectations and want to have more things in life. But that is definitely not the only purpose in life. And the fact of the matter is, most of our children in this age are already having more than is necessary. Why do kids need more than 2-3 pairs of shoes? Why do kids need more than 2-3 bags? Why do kids need to have all the toys? Learning to be contented is such a huge lesson. Even adults like myself is learning it constantly.

This is all my personal humble opinion of parenting and do not represent any group of people or society. Simply saying, do not crucify me if I may sound wrong in any of my writings.

Have a good iParenting day!

Zespri Kiwi Dinner

All Singaporeans like to eat. I’m a true blue Singaporean and I love to eat too!

This is the first time Kless and I attended the Zespri dinner event, we missed it last year with much regrets. The event was held at a very nice restaurant, Fern & Kiwi located at Clarke Quay. It’s a New Zealander restaurant that offers the best of New Zealand food, wines, beers, music and live entertainment. Definitely a place I would like to revisit in the near future. And it seems so apt to hold a kiwifruit event in a New Zealander restaurant too. Perfect!

We were one of the earlier guests to arrive and had a chance to talk to the person-in-charge from Zespri and got some pretty cool information about kiwifruit that we have never known.

- kiwifruit is a seasonal fruit, we get it mainly from New Zealand between May to Nov
- all the growers / farmers in NZ grows and sells their kiwifruit to only Zespri (it’s by law)
- there are about 3000 growers currently in NZ, producing about 100 million trays of Zespri kiwifruit for export (each tray is about 30-40 kiwifruit)
- there are currently only 2 types of kiwifruit available in the market (green and gold), but there are 60 types of kiwifruit in research in NZ now
- this year’s green kiwifruit is considered the ‘vintage’ harvest because in the beginning of 2013 (Jan to Mar), there was a drought in NZ and thus the fruit will tend to be sweeter and with more flavour

Here are the amazing kiwi dishes.

Appetizer
Seafood Salad
Marinated Prawns, Scallop, Snapper tossed with Zespri Kiwifruit

Mains
Pan seared Pacific Snapper Loin served on a bed of Lyonnais Potato and Kiwi Coulis OR
‘Canterbury Plans’ Charred-Grilled Lamb Cutlets served with Mashed Potatoes and Kiwi Relish

Dessert
Duo of Kiwi Panna Cotta accompanied with Fresh Kiwi Compote

What is a Zespri feast without the Kiwifruits?

Yummy!!

Singapore Zoo Celebrates 40th Birthday

To celebrate the 40th year birthday, the Singapore Zoo is giving a 40% discount to all visitors (T&C). Just print and cut out the following coupon and present it with your NRIC to enjoy the fantastic discount.

Since Monday was a school holiday (Youth Day), the young and young-at-heart decided that it was the perfect chance to visit one of our favourite places.

The three ladies trying to get the attention of the monkey, now knowing they have probably become the ‘monkey’.

One of the newly open exhibit was the Frozen Tundra. It’s the size of 2.5 basketball courts put together for our locally born polar bear, Inuka. We were a bit disappointed because the polar bear was on a off-day, resting lazily at it’s habitat instead of swimming in the cool pool.

So I decided to take a few shots of the girls in front of the tank instead.
Joey is the model-looking child with her long legs. Jayne on the other hand is the cutie pie.

   

A trip to the Zoo cannot be complete without visiting Kidzworld.

Although we have been to the Zoo for a few times, but this is the first time Joey took the Pony Ride.

Jayne prefers the goats. I think it’s a good way to clear the dry leaves on the floor as the kids are all picking leaves to feed the goats.

And don’t forget to try the Rainforest Challenge. It is an obstacle course where the kids can take on to test their balancing skills or muscle strength.

   

 

I actually was on the pulley-raft too, but I think I was a bit too heavy for the girls..

It was definitely a fun-filled day. Some photos of the animals that we managed to see.

Make use the 40% discount and visit the Zoo in July.