In the ole' days of black and white film camera, Sonja Henie of Norway won the gold medal in the 1928 Winter Olympic Games in St. Moritz, Switzerland for the Women's Figure Skating event. It looks like then, they did figure skating out in the open, amidst towering mountains and rolling seas of green! That must have been so beautiful and awe-inspiring...

 

Now, this event is held in an indoor stadium, where everyone (except the atheletes) are decked up in warm coats and pants. I think they must have gone through BCLD101 Bearing the Cold while on the Rink. Seriously! But figure skating is not for sissies. It is a real sport that sets the heart a pumpin' and the adrenalin a flowin'.

This year, I happened to watch the women's figure skating event and boy, was it beautiful! Leggy and arm-y bodies gliding gracefully over the ice, executing turns and spins and pulling all sorts of stunts... what is there not to be amazed by? Even if they fell, they still picked themselves up and went on with their programme. This is true sportsmanship: picking yourself up after a fall, and learning from it.

While someone muses over that, here are some pictures of the event.

Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Sarah Meier of Switzerland looked stunning in her leotard. This is the first year leotards are allowed into the Olympic rink, and quite a few of the atheletes wore them. Sarah looked the best though, and the leotard really helped to bring out the song and helped in her programme. I really enjoyed this leotard programme.

Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Emily Hughes of the United States was called on about 10 or 11 days ago when Michelle Kwan announced she wouldn't be competing this round due to her injury. Emily put on a good fight despite all the pressure and the short notice she was given, and really, it was so wonderful to watch her because she was just enjoying herself on the rink, doing her routine. Her smile, her enthusiasm, the fire and spirit in her eyes... amazing! I enjoyed the energy there.

Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images

And now, for the top three in the Women's Figure Skating event: From left, Sasha Cohen, Shizuka Arakawa, & Irina Slutskaya. They all did wonderfully, creating this magical experience that no doubt left many 'live' spectators awe-struck!


Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

Shizuka was the Ice Princess, not that she was cold or anything, but that she had such mastery on the ice. Her programme on paper was the most technically demanding, and she pulled it off "perfectly", as the commentators said. When she took to the rink, everyone seemed to wait with abated breath, and as she twirled, whirled and spun her way to victory, the crowd grew wild with cheers and thunderous applause. Many of the audience gave her a standing ovation because of her mastery over the ice and the elegant and beautiful way she skated. Of course, her costume also contributed to the flowy and elegant nature of the sport. As she glided at high speed, her skirt and sleeves fluttered in the wind. Even when she did her backward glide, the skirt did not rise up too much to emphasize her bum. And at the end, the elation she showed... it was really the elation and smile of a winner. A true smile!

Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images

Sasha Cohen was a strong favourite as she had topped the previous segment of the event. However, a few tumbles during the warm up might have rankled her nerves. Whatever it was, she was not at her top form today. And yet, after all the tumbles, she still pulled herself together magnificently and glided to a Silver. Sasha, like Shizuka, is extremely supple and flexible. Her formations were so amazingly precise! Her loops and spins were well-executed with a good take-off and in-the-air position, but unfortunately landed with not quite so much precision. Still, she wowed the crowd and truly deserved her Silver.

Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images

The Bronze went to Irina Slutskata of Russia. While her programme may not have been as technically demanding as the United States' Kimmie Meissner, it was still beautiful to watch. Hey, she chose FLAMENCO and not a classical piece! That, I thought, was what differentiated her from the rest and gave her an edge. Unfortunately, she, like Sasha, took a few tumbles. Still, Irina has shown the world that flamenco is not only danceable to, but also skateable to!

 

Now I feel envious of their suppleness and flexibility... and suddenly have the urge to go learn how to skate! Just normal skating will do, I don't need to do turns and spins... Just normal skating. Anyone wanna go? And teach me?

You scored as Journalism. You are an aspiring journalist, and you should major in journalism! Like me, you are passionate about writing and expressing yourself, and you want the world to understand your beliefs through writing. Journalism 92% Engineering 75% Mathematics 67% Dance 67% English 67% Sociology 67% Theater 67% Linguistics 67% Psychology 67% Anthropology 58% Art 50% Chemistry 33% Philosophy 33% Biology 33% What is your Perfect Major? (PLEASE RATE ME!!<3) created with QuizFarm.com

Qantas. The airline that comes from the land of Kangaroos and Koalas.

Qantas. The airline that has very welcoming and warm crew members. Which is good if you're on a day flight but utterly terrible if you're trying to get a good night's rest.

Qantas. The airline with the only pilot I've ever heard who blamed an airport's management for a bumpy takeoff. And that was his opening and welcoming statement.

Qantas. Where continental breakfast is cold, dinner is best not eaten, and supper... eat the Asian food for supper. It beats the cold weird plasticky cream of the pasta.

Qantas. Where planes are allowed to take off with a faulty entertainment system so faulty it might as well have not existed. And nary an apology from the captain or the crew.

Qantas. Many things to learn from them:
1) When things go wrong, blame others if possible. If it's your fault, keep mum and hope to get away with it. Hey, this strategy sometimes works pretty well in the corporate world.

2) When potential competitors appear on the horizon, twist facts. Say that Qantas will oppose SIA being given rights to fly from Australia to US as Qantas is not given the rights to fly anywhere else from Singapore.

Let's see... I think we can see two flights out of Singapore on Qantas flights to London and Frankfurt. Then we have 4 on codeshare to Helsinski, Paris, Zurich, Bahrain. And we have 9 on Jetstar Asia to Bangalore, Kolkata, Yangon, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Manila, Taipei.


If this large number of flights out of Singapore counts as nothing compared to the lone Australia-US route that SIA is asking for... then I think someone needs to revise rudimentary math.

So Qantas has 5th air freedom rights (as per the 1944 Chicago International Convention) to fly Singapore & beyond, but not SIA.

3) With respect to (2), also consider manufacturing words to boost your case. Mr Geoff Dixon's buzzword seems to be manufactured competition, or other grammatical forms of it. He decries the bilateral negotiations between governments as being intervening and implicitly, bad for a lasseiz-faire economy.
I quote Mr. Dixon: "I do not think anybody has to go and manufacture - as they would not do in any other industry in Australia - manufacture competition from another party, that other party being Singapore Airlines."

Unfortuntely, he seems to have forgotten one big important point. The exchange of commercial air rights according to the 1944 Chicago International Convention is determined bilateral negotiations. That means, the government is given the perogative to give these rights to whoever they want to.

So, the aviation industry, with its set of bizzare rules, has given governments the right to do precisely that: manufacture competition. If rights are not granted, then competition cannot enter. And then Qantas will have a lovely monopoly pie to eat from.

It seems strange how CEOs can conveniently forget the intricacies of their companies and industry when they want to make a politically-charged statement. Please Mr. Dixon, I'm sure you as the CEO can come up with better arguments than that! Those arguments do not hold any water just like colanders drain water out from a pot of spaghetti in water. I'm eagerly awaiting a better set of arguments, but till then, I'm very sorry, but can't think much of Qantas.

Rose and Lily put on pretty soft skirts that emphasized their beauty, making them look a million dollars. If anyone had to pay to have a date with them, they would be willing to fork out a ton!

But that was yesterday.

Today, Rose and Lily are still in pretty soft skirts, but few are willing to pay so much. The same sad story goes for Mr. Potato and Moo Moo... and Cocoa and Cacao. Then again, it's all in a day's work.

It just baffles me how usually rational people would fork out hundreds for a meal that costs much less, or tens for a bouquet that costs about a tenth of the price.

Romance and love isn't about flowers. It isn't about expensive meals! Heck, it isn't even about the chocolates or ribbons or whatever. It is an insult to love to equate it with money. Seriously.

And if these thoughts seem choppy, it's because I had a wonderful time today, courtesy of the Big Friendly Giant, and am just so mentally tired but have to blog! Ok... if that didn't make sense, ask me. Ahahahaha...

Ever dreamed of juicy meatballs with a bite and a taste that is oh-so-wondrously meaty-salty? Alright, that doesn't make much sense, but it will when you see the next two words. IKEA's Meatballs. Come, everyone, one-two-three "Mmmmmmmmm".

While at Ikea's Singapore webpage, I found the recipe for their luscious meatballs smothered with cream sauce and cranberry sauce. The good thing is, the recipe has instructions for making the meatballs and cream sauce. The bad news? Nothing on the cranberry sauce. I think it's cranberry. It could be boysenberry as well... i don't know! But I do know you can get it at their specialty food store on the first floor of their Alexandra building.

And if the page for the recipe is gone... I've written it down for all us meatball fanatics out there. Here it is!

Meatballs with Cream Sauce
How to make your own meatballs:

Ingredients:
250gm minced beef
250gm minced pork
1 egg
200-300ml cream and water (or milk and water)
2.5 tbsp. finely-chopped onion
50ml unsweetened rusk flour
2 cold boiled potatoes
4-5 tbsps butter, margarine or oil
Salt and pepper

Instructions:
Heat the onion till golden in a couple of tablespoons of lightly browned butter.
Mash the potatoes and moisten the rusk flour in a little water.
Mix all the ingredients until there is consistency and flavour generously with salt, white pepper and (optional) a little finely crushed allspice.
Use a pair of spoons to shape the mixture into relatively large, round balls and transfer to a floured chopping board.
Fry them slowly in plenty of butter.

How to make the cream sauce:
Ingredients:
100ml cream
200ml beef stock
Chinese soya sauce
1 tbsp white flour
Salt, white pepper

Instructions:
Swirl the boiling water or beef stock in a pan.
Add cream and thicken with white flour if preferred.
Season well with salt and pepper.
Serve the meatballs with the sauce, freshly boiled potatoes, uncooked lingonberry jam and salad. There you have the perfect Swedish meal!

This recipe was taken from IKEA’s Real Swedish Book which is available at the Swedish Food Market on Level 1.