Clik here to view.
SPIRIT OF THE CITY 城市精神
[CAPTION: 100 WAYS TO SEE… A STREET | 百看不厌：一条街] It’s been some time since I posted on DREAM OF THE CITY. The main reason for this was a sudden urge to get back to my novel. After a first round of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
WONDER-LUST – Resolutions 2026
[CAPTION: Lasem. The oldest tree in the city: a trembesi, or Monkey Pod, tree.] It’s the time of year for resolutions. Last time I made one was in 2020, so I figured I’m due. [This shall also serve as...
View ArticleClik here to view.
MOVED TO GASP – Art, Design, Architecture & Affect
[CAPTION: Monreale Cathedral, Sicily.] For the longest time, I’ve been preoccupied with how buildings and architecture make us FEEL. That’s the reason I’ve spent months and years wandering the streets...
View ArticleClik here to view.
THE HE(ART) ❤️ OF STORY-TELLING
[CAPTION: Part I of THE GREAT PORT CITIES OF ASIA: IN HISTORY evokes sea-faring, Sindbad the Sailor and historic shipwrecks.] In my various lines of work as cultural historian, museum director,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ME = CULTURAL HISTORIAN | The Great Port Cities of Asia: In History
[CAPTION: Cover, THE GREAT PORT CITIES OF ASIA: IN HISTORY. Backdrop – Map of the East Indies (detail). Jodocus Hondius. Amsterdam, 1606. Public domain.] It’s been a busy month and a bit. Short spurts...
View ArticleClik here to view.
IMPACT | RELEVANCE and the Importance of Having a (Strong) Personal Compass
[CAPTION: The Singapore Skyline from Bay East Gardens. Sometimes, I ride my bike from home all the way into the city, all around Marina Bay, and back. I find it amazing how there’s almost seamless...
View ArticleClik here to view.
…The Show Must Go On
[CAPTION: The Globe Theatre, London. I caught a fabulous performance here of Shakespeare’s AS YOU LIKE IT. From whence the iconic line, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely...
View ArticleClik here to view.
FUNDRAISING & HOSPITALITY, or Memories of Being in “High-End Geisha Mode”
[CAPTION: Utagawa Hiroshige, Kyoto: The Great Bridge at Sanjō, from the series Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaidō Road, 1833-34.] The scene is set. I’m seated at the table, surrounded by eight guests...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Joy of Moving in Slow Motion
[CAPTION: London… A paradise garden at an old friend’s home… Writer’s Retreat… ] This past week, I succumbed to a spurt of anxious activity, only to be reminded that I should be taking it easy. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
ORGANISATIONAL TRANSFORMATION, or a Healthy Preoccupation with #CATx+
[CAPTION: #CATx+, or a 5-Year Process / Framework for Organisational Transformation. Former colleagues will tell you I’ve always been a wee bit touched by whimsy. Background image: Cats / after Miss...
View ArticleClik here to view.
…To Begin Again
[CAPTION: The Rail Corridor – the perfect long walk for some major reflecting on life…] I’m back, in more ways than one. My year away from full-time work has come to a close, at least according to my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Fearlessness, Or How To Stay Alive As Long And As Fabulously As I Can
A profusion of life-affirming flowers in batik… [from BATIK KITA – DRESSING IN PORT CITIES] Recently, a former colleague of mine passed away suddenly while in his prime. He was actually one of my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Season of Anniversaries
[I’ve been receiving loads of flowers this past year for various reasons… This bouquet was specially commissioned by my colleagues at ACM to celebrate my being conferred the title of Chevalier de...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Nesting… or Twelfth Night at the Urban Farm
…and four Bantam Cochins makes a flock In the past, well… almost four months now, I’ve been spending a lot of time with birds. Specifically, ornamental chickens… Bantam Cochins, to be exact. Though...
View ArticleClik here to view.
FAITH BEAUTY LOVE HOPE – Bring On 2021!
This beautiful, serene Shan Buddha is one of the highlights of the FAITH BEAUTY LOVE HOPE exhibition. It is the centrepiece of perhaps the most spectacular sightline in the show. Last week, in an...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Place in the World – A(t) Home in the Universe
MY photos of Asian port cities, installed on the walls of MY bedroom, in MY NEW PLACE. Notwithstanding the stent in my heart, these past two months have been, ironically, the happiest months of my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Stent in Time
My heart, in Technicolour. Note the severely clogged entrance to my artery at top right. As I lay on the operating table, I couldn’t help thinking that this must be how it would feel like being...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A New Lease on Life / Affairs of the Heart
The Lake Palace, Lake Pichola. Udaipur On Tuesday, 27 October, just over a week ago, I collected the keys to my new apartment. Yes indeed, I have taken the leap and – with some financial help from my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Strength of Trees
Grant me the strength of trees, that my feet remain rooted, even as my hands reach past shade to the sun… Grant me the strength of trees, that I may face storm-clouds with gentle thoughts of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Change, Connection and Care
View of New Singapore. Two months into Phase Two, things are not what they had seemed to be… For starters, it’s now clear that the virus is not going away any time soon, and the “new normal” that is...
View Article
![ONEW – KAKERA -Unmei no Piece- – EP [iTunes Plus M4A]](http://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Music221/v4/d0/fb/86/d0fb86a5-ba60-4bea-41fb-7f54c125f518/VEATP-45908.jpg/296x296bb.webp)
