Moment Musicaux

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lFfNDFDUuA

An interactive game on Youtube! Talk about a game book translated into video. I wish I’d thought of it myself. 

I can’t post videos, so click here to watch it.

[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]

So this week I’m taking it back to a study published in Nature in 1976 to tell you about a freaky auditory illusion called the McGurk effect. However, it also requires some visual input, so I’ll have to send you to a video at http://snipurl.com/sciam-illusion (or simply click to play the video posted below this transcript.)
 
If we watch a video of a person mouthing the word "ga," but have a synced voice-over of that person saying "ba," what we end up hearing, is a third variation that’s never been said! That word is "da".
 
And even though you now know it’s an illusion—you will still, when you see the video, think you are hearing "da". But if you close your eyes, and do not see the person’s lips forming the word "ga," you’ll hear what they are actually saying, which is "ba".
 
We think of speech as dependent on auditory perception. But this study eerily shows just how important visual input is.
 
From this, it’s clear that our senses did not develop in isolation, but rather, they work in tandem to form an accurate perception of our world. Here we learn that the position of the lips is key in accurately hearing what someone is saying.

To experience the McGurk effect, please go to: http://snipurl.com/sciam-illusion

It’s been a long wait.

I have till maybe July to prove myself, and I have no choice but to.

Thank God. =)

Aaron was blogging about his dream, so I thought I’d share some of mine.

The Boy gripes that I always have very interesting dreams and he doesn’t. Do feel tired or find it hard waking up when you dream? I do. And my dreams are pretty clear, but I’m not sure if they can be considered ‘lucid dreams‘ — I’m not conscious of my physical surroundings when I’m dreaming — yet I am aware that I’m dreaming. 

I’m also able to induce sleep by thinking of a fictional or non-fictional scenario. (Whether I continue dreaming about it or not, I don’t really know.) I can also wake up from a dream, go back to sleep in a short span of time and continue the dream. Which is probably this:

"Mnemonic induction of lucid dreams (MILD)

The MILD technique is a common technique developed by Dr Stephen LaBerge, used to induce a lucid dream at will by setting an intention, while falling asleep, to remember to recognize that one is dreaming, or to remember to look for dream signs when one is in a dream." - Dreams, Wikipedia.org 

I don’t really look out for ‘dream signs’ because (as mentioned earlier) I’m aware when I dream. Which is also why I can recall the clearest ones (probably in a state of R.E.M.).

Brief examples of my dreams:

• Meeting all kinds of random people from my past and present, then going into a huge mansion owned by a couple and realising that they’ve captured my comrades. I become a Superhero and the next thing I know I’m escaping from the their firing spells. Their backyard is my primary school.I’m going to have lunch with a churchmate’s dad (I somehow called him my uncle) at a restaurant, and somehow we were walking around the Bedok market where a lot of papayas were on sale. My mom insists on buying some.

• ____’s family leaves him. He then pours out his sorrows to me. Well, the whole city/world’ is divided into 3 divisions: Intelligent, Strong, Agile, and one more I don’t recall.

  We (__ and I) are under the same division (Intel) and stay in this big warehouse thing. A war ensues between the 4 divisions, and his wife leaves him to join another division.

  So the battle begins. The Strength group bombards us. Apparently, the way to trick them is to praise them and make them stop in their tracks (Strength = low intel). E.g. "Hey, you’re really strong and powerful!" and they’ll stop, a la a dumbass, and scratch their heads and say "d’oh, really?"… Then we close in. You get the drift.

• The latest (last night’s): I’m the bridesmaid for a group local celebrity wedding. I can remember 3 out of 6 celebs, one couple which is a real-life dating couple. I was in a mad rush most of the time, being invited at the last minute to be the bridesmaid, but things keep going wrong.

  I’m wearing the same white dress I that wore in one of the pictures in my recent blog posts, then I stain the sleeves with my lipgloss. -_- The wedding is held in a Theme Park, and I see many of my NH juniors working there. Crystal, my band junior, is there too, and she’s a pool shark. Wearing gloves to play pool and all…

  The wedding dinner was delayed because dinner was a DIY one, and it’s already 11pm when my mom and I are frantically taping pieces of paper together with cut-outs of newspaper recipes for the guests. I remember being flustered.

Or they’d (quite usually) be running either from bad guys/to save people, trying to run (from things like but not seeming to move — think treadmill), some adventure, or some scene that I’ve never been in reality but recurs in my dreams etc. Thomas the Train even cameos as a real train in a recent adventure-dream.

This year, my dreams have been relatively less evil — I used to dream of the apocalypse quite often. Not that I read much into them, but I sleep deep because of dreams yet wake up feeling not as refreshed after.

I’ve been having rampant weird dreams. Dreams full of adventure (I was a female Rambo in a certain tertiary institution that was having Resident Evil symptoms) and like a messy jigsaw puzzle (I was enrolled into a foreign university, King’s Uni, which had many Nan Hua people in it. All still wearing the dratted white uniform). And random people in my life appear in them…

And yesterday, I fell asleep on the bus to jamming. It was supposed to be a 15-20 minute ride; I woke up at 20 minutes, only to find the bus back at the office area. I freaked out a little, alighted immediately, and took a cab even though I had an hour to spare.

The bus does loops, but this time the loop was a bit too… Quick?

"Live Earth is a 24-hour, 7-continent concert series taking place on 7/7/07 that will bring together more than 100 music artists and 2 billion people to trigger a global movement to solve the climate crisis. Live Earth will reach this worldwide audience through an unprecedented global media architecture covering all media platforms - TV, radio, Internet and wireless channels.

Live Earth marks the beginning of a multi-year campaign led by the Alliance for Climate Protection, The Climate Group and other international organizations to drive individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve global warming. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is the Chair of the Alliance and Partner of Live Earth." […]

Well, here’s a simple point to ponder:
Just how much electricity and fuel will they (read: concerts, television audiences etc.) be consuming for the event itself?

Talk about saving the earth.

Dang, I can’t believe I was the millionth and counting to know about the Apple 1984 video spoof on Hilary Clinton. >>

It’s interesting to note that the creator of the ‘ad’ used to work for the Obama alliance, and even more interesting to see how much the Internet is being used and playing dog-and-bone in this U.S. presidential election. Read the New York Times article here. >>

MySpace has entered U.S. politics! These guys (MySpace, not the politics) are quite brilliant, and taking over the virtual world… >>

The MySpace site which links to all the other presidential candidates’. >>
(Just to satisfy your curiosity, Obama is leading the friends race by 60km. I mean, 60k of friends.)

This time, I was at Auntie Ching Ching’s (a church member) house. It was a condo (she does stay in one) with 3 lifts going to different floors. I remember going up and down the lift in order to avoid someone, but I remember know why. After that, we left to get to Uncle Jimmy’s (her husband) car. But the car was parked the other side of a mountain, and to get to the mountain, we had to climb a really tall overhead bridge. I remember having a bit of acrophobia - height phobia - (in reality, I don’t) then, but managed to reach the mountain anyway. On the bridge, a sprightly old lady joined me.

We walked along a path at the edge of the mountain which got narrower till it ended. What was left was the steep surface of the mountain, and the old lady told me that climbing up was the only way. The surface was surprisingly soft; I dug my hands into it and started up. It was quite tough though, and I had to overcome some inner fears to really climb. A few metres later, the old lady lost her footing - I caught her, but she slipped out of my grasp after a while and fell into the deep ravine. I didn’t fall, but felt the somersaulting and falling sensation too.

I continued up the mountain, only to be ambushed by natives — I had to play a piggy-back game and piggy-back 5 people in order to get across. The game’s actually a bit more complicated, but I shall spare the details.

With much difficulty, I got across. And I woke up. 

I had strange dreams last night. The weird stuff I saw probably provoked them. I think. My dreams are usually recurring ones, or have a similar theme to it. This time, they were unique.

I first dreamt of an extremely crazy rollercoaster ride that has 5 high consecutive loops and many twists - exactly the kind that I’ve always wanted to ride on. Then there were a few of us from Mass Comm riding on the single-seater carriages.

After hitting the first few loops, a friend’s (whom I dearly love but lost the friendship) carriage FELL OFF. Everyone looked on in horror as it plunged rapidly into the darkness. I recall myself almost hysterical and praying real hard. I was aware that I was dreaming but I refused to allow him to die. The next thing I knew, I saw him jump out. And from him, a parachute emerged. It didn’t catch the wind properly until 20 feet from the ground. I didn’t breathe till he survived the fall.

When that ordeal was over, we boarded an MRT train - which hit the railings. The rear carriages got damaged, and we decided to break off our section from the rest of the train in order to repair it. The next train was fast approaching, but we couldn’t find the root of the problem. At the last second, two 1-cent coins were found stuck in the rivets of the wheels.

We sped off safely - and were brought to another location - where I was supposed to be part of a singing competition. I didn’t know that I was involved until the contestant before my turn, and Terence Yeo was supposed to be doing a duet with me. The boy’s travelling right now (that is a real fact), so I told them I had no partner. Retro was the theme, and I browsed through my memory’s library, thinking of songs by Duran Duran to Simply Red and finally Whitney Houston, whose ‘I wanna dance with somebody’ I settled upon. But I couldn’t do all of the lyrics and didn’t have a costume - I refused to go up and embarrass myself.

So I told myself to wake up. It was 1045. 

What was/am/would I be doing at the age of 19?
Certainly not this. >>

I found some weird stuff strewn on the floor beside the stone tables at my lift landing tonight. Really, really, really, strange. I have a slightly dysfunctional neighbourhood, and I’m not joking. As far as I’ve heard from the pipeline, there are 3 mentally unsound people currently living in my block. Two of them  (a mother and her daughter) would start screaming at each other in the middle of the night if the mother (whose condition is worse) doesn’t take her medicine. I always feel very disturbed when the screamings start. The 3rd guy goes in and out of mental hospital. So much for living in a ‘prestigious’ HDB neighbourhood.

A Garuda Indonesia plane crashed this morning after it overran the landing strip. It’s a Boeing 737-400.

Another disaster to hit Indonesia after the earthquakes. >> 

The QC of The New Paper is dropping. I keep spotting spelling and typo errors in its articles of late. I’ll probably write in to them soon if the mistakes keep coming and no one tells.

Edit 1205: I felt tremors while typing this post. SC confirmed my fears, saying that there were tremors around the island. Capital Square is evacuating, so are a few office buildings around. This is a bit unsettling because previously, Bukit Timah never felt the tremors. And this time, since the tremors have reached the middle of the island, it must be bad news.

Edit 1350: Tremors again! This time it lasted for 6 seconds. Aftershock, I believe.

Edit 1640: The second wave of tremors were from another earthquake (6.1 Richter) that struck Padang, Indonesia again. News reports that over 40 people were killed. Read it here. >>

News update: ChannelNewsAsia.com

Singapore shaken after quakes in Indonesia
Posted: 06 March 2007 1538 hrs

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans felt two rounds of tremors in the space of two hours on Tuesday, following two earthquakes in Padang, Indonesia.

Singapore’s Meteorological Services Division said the first tremors were felt at about 11.50am after an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale struck Padang on the island of Sumatra.

The epicentre was 50 kilometres north-northeast of Padang and some 430 kilometres south-west of Singapore.

The second round of tremors occurred around 1.50pm after another earthquake, measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, struck Padang.

The tremors were felt in many parts of Singapore.

Callers to the MediaCorp News Hotline reported tremors in the downtown city area of Beach Road, Robinson Road and Shenton Way, as well as residential areas such as Ang Mo Kio, Toa Payoh, Choa Chu Kang and Woodlands.

Witnesses said some tall buildings in the central business district swayed slightly.

Several buildings, like the Concourse, Capital Square and Centennial Tower in the city, and even Ngee Ann Polytechnic in Clementi, were evacuated.

If you too felt the tremors, you can call our news hotline at 68222268.

You can also send pictures and videos to yournews@channelnewsasia.com

- CNA/ir

The (RED) campaign, spearheaded by Bono of U2, has been a mighty big one. This campaign is an attempt to ‘change’ cause-marketing strategy by enticing brands with a possibility of profit ontop of allowing partners to benefit from charity.

America has seen commercials and PR events being graced by celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Christy Turlington, the RED room at the Grammy awards et cetera on top of major RED product marketing campaigns by GAP, Apple and Motorola costing them an estimated USD$100 million.

The Singaporean version has local celebrities on a poster, wearing a white tee that has a particular word ending with -RED of their choice printed on. Apart from Amex, most of the abovementioned brands’ products arrived here, too. And of course, that includes RED iPod Nano that I, like, sooo covet. But didn’t get.

So, how much has the ultra-hyped Global Fund to Fight AIDS (a recipient of the campaign’s earnings) raised so far?

A paltry USD$18 million.

Such a disproportionate ratio between the marketing outlay and the money raised is raising eyebrows and concern among many people, including non-profit watchdogs, cause-marketing experts.

Perhaps Trent Stamp, president of Charity Navigator, which rates the spending practices of 5,000 nonprofits, hit the nail on the head.

"The Red campaign can be a good start or it can be a colossal waste of money, and it all depends on whether this edgy, innovative campaign inspires young people to be better citizens or just gives them an excuse to feel good about themselves while they buy an overpriced item they don’t really need."

http://buylesscrap.org is a parody of the campaign by a group of San Francisco artists and designers, which encourages people to give money straight to the Global Fund. "The Red campaign proposes consumption as the cure to the world’s evils," said Ben Davis, creative director at Word Pictures Ideas, co-creator of the site. "Can’t we just focus on the real solution — giving money?"

I understand the intentions of the RED campaign. But does this imply that charitable values i.e., what should be voluntary and earnest, are fading away — hence the need for gimmicks?

Read the full article here. >> 

Any semblence to any characters — dead, alive or fits the current situation is purely coincidental. I just happened to come across it. Don’t be sensitive, lah.

Everytime I feel inner confliction stirring within me, I take an inventory of what’s going on.

Right now, I’m seriously thinking through how I should work on myself if Advertising is going to be my pursuit.

The way that God opened doors for me has affirmed my direction. Now that I’ve seen, heard and felt more, it’s time to weigh my actions against the "yes" that I’ve been giving. Pardon me as I try to sort out my thoughts.

It’s been a refreshing and nourishing journey thus far. Many of my colleagues have commented on how "lucky" I am to be guided by seniors — and the best seniors around, to be exact. I’ve never failed to remind myself the same thing all the time.

Well, I’m definitely not the smartest person around. To me, truly intelligent people are those who know self-discipline and practise it to their advantage. And that’s where I’m sorely lacking. This stint has once again reinforced the need for me to work on my time management, focus and self-discipline (my, don’t all jobs do!).

The next obvious thing — my command of English is nowhere near exemplary. Being able to string a sentence together without grammatical error is but one thing. Logical flow, fluency, framing of sentences and message accuracy — there’s so much to take into consideration for writing per se, what more advertising copy!

Even verbally, I have to work on the way I organise and voice my thoughts. Funny how I start stumbling on my words once I try to speak what’s on my mind. It’s a bad habit that I’ve cultivated from young — I’m more fluent when I’m being spontaneous i.e., not thinking before I speak. Very bad, indeed.

It’s not only important for me to be able to express my ideas clearly; explaining my reasons for writing and editing copy requires very clear and confident (and CORRECT) vocalising. Hemming and hawing doesn’t do much justice to professional attempts. When in the industry, people expect professionalism. Snap, snap. Don’t give crap. Don’t try to bull your way through. I’ve seen very few who are truly emphatic with those who are still ‘learning’ the ropes. It’s scary how hard people clamp down on your every move even though they smile at you all the time, but that’s how the cookie crumbles.

Yes, I’ve already gotten some flak. I pick up vague signals from one or two people not being very welcome with my presence. But as important as PR is to me, what now matters is that I handle all that come my way with thick skin. And most essentially, learn from my mistakes. Learn, learn, learn.

Next giant on the list: the BOOK. Read: self-discipline. Yes, the portfolio is everything. And yes, Mr Silver, I’ll keep working on it.

Actually, learning how to set priorities right has made my ‘anti-conflict-negotiator’ instinct to appease everyone somewhat less sharp. Unless a vital explanation is needed to save my skin, I’ve seen more need to set my focus on getting work done, rather than worrying about why he/she doesn’t like me on a personal basis. As long as I’ve never harmed anyone, I shouldn’t be worrying about little misunderstandings, should I. Those darned middle-child syndrome symptoms ha. I’m holding it well, I guess.

Next big thing — time flexibility. Will it disrupt me serving in the YF? Check. Will church band practice be affected? Maybe. How about You And Whose Army?’s jamming sessions? Again, maybe.

Tough call. Much as I would like to put serving God first, the surety of how I was led into this industry is definitely part of His plan. I’ll commit this to prayer, and see what God works out for me once again. In His ever-amazing way, of course. Pray for me.

2 weeks before the anniversary of 9/11.