Mummy discovers the Talking Tom app for the first time and is so amused.

Did a shoot for Sennheiser awhile back, and besides the usual I also got paid in products too. I really wanted to get headphones, but the designs were just not cool enough. They pretty much all looked the same:black and silver. If I were to get headphones, I would get something a Skullcandy.

So instead I chose 3 earphones.

Model Number and retail prices
CX 200 Street II White – S$68.90
CX 281 – S$79.00
CX 680 Sports – S$139.00

Ever since I bought my first pair of in-ear earphones, there was no turning back. I loved how the plugs fit into the ear canal, providing the best isolation and blocking out a significant amount of outside noise. And most importantly, the bass is far superior when it’s in-ear which is my major issue I have with normal earphones. You’re just not giving music the credit it deserves using normal ear phones. Especially when you’re listening to tracks like the one below remixed by Designer Drugs with the sick baselines.

By the way, Designer Drugs at Zouk tonight for ReadySetGlow. Probably going to give it a miss, but dang I’m sure they are going to be shredding the place up!

*Side track…earphones, headphones…why phones?

Do not use in-ear headphones while cycling or driving. And if you’re walking, just be extra careful when you cross the street. You can’t hear a thing besides your music, and you don’t realise how much we rely on sound in road safety.

One of our family’s favourite tea time treat is scones.

The scone is a small British quick bread of Scottish origin, most typically served with clotted cream and raspberry jam. Last Sunday Mummy had a craving, so she whipped out a batch of English buttermilk scones for us. Here’s some snaps of the final outcome.

Daddy is definitely a fan. Look at him devour it!

Am so disappointed. All that sneaking around this whole week living in fear to avoid assassination gone to waste.

First of all the game got canned, and second, found out my target was not even in the country! I didn’t even stand a chance.

Today is Sunday and I’m still recovering from the Saturday morning stake out! Woke up at 3:30am to pack my bag ready for battle. Snacks, newspaper, water, dossier, handphone, water pistol. Waited at his HDB block all morning only to see his mother leave the house and no sighting of Agent Ice_Cool_Dude.

Back to the first point. So what happened? Typical of the Singapore Police to rain on the parade. They should be renamed the Fun Police. Sometimes they just got to loosen up a bit, it’s just a game! Citing the reason why it was cancelled is because organisers should have applied for an Entertainment License (which honestly they wouldn’t have approved anyway).

Here’s an excerpt from the email sent by the “Shadow Government” (organisers) to all “Agents” (me).

Police involvement:
Assassins, we regret to tell you that the Singapore police has requested that we shut down the tournament.

We always work with the local authorities to ensure a safe and fun environment, and although this really sucks for us, we shall respect their wishes and close this tournament early at 00:00hrs Monday March 17th

What happens to you and the game now?
As much as we respect the police’s concerns, we also respect your experiences so far, working hard as a top notch assassin.

We want to give you, the remaining players, some sense of closure, so we will end the tournament 00:00hrs next Monday March 17th. So those of you who are close to your first or next kill, you still have a chance to tally up your score and and close out any pending assassination plans that you have.

After that, we will be forced to officially close down the tournament as requested by your police department.

What the hell happened?
In over five and a half years of our history, we’ve never had issues with the Police. In fact, we’ve had help from the police in cities like Vancouver.

Apparently, we’ve just learned yesterday, that the Singapore police had contacted our local partners to express their concerns…..
…… we would have done all we could to iron out the issue right then and there with your police so that we can provide our best game experience for you all.

We are filled with sadness at this unfortunate and regrettable turn of events. We loved reading your stories and how much ass you guys are kicking.

We are sorry, sad face.

Response from the local rep at http://www.streetwars.sg/

The Real Story – Singapore’s Not Ready?
What did life lack in Singpore? A little excitement and color? Well that was what we thought when we decided to bring this game to our sunny shores. We always wanted Singapore to be a vibrant city and this was a great game concept that we just had to try to bring over for everyone to experience.

After just a week of play almost everyone that we spoke to mentioned about what a great experience this game has brought to their life. How it brings out the best in people as killers and targets trade stories talk about each other’s experiences and meet new friends. It was our great pleasure to see so much excitement in the players and it was fun while it lasted.

After spending over 4 months trying to get this great game over to our shores it looks like luck has stuck out for us. This was a love affair by the local organizers personally and not comercial in nature. If you were to run a quick calculation you can see that it was run at a break even/loss contrary to popular belief that it was for profit.

Was the cancellation due to poor planning or lack of effort? Yes and No. We should have made 100% sure before commencing the game that was our fault and we apologize to you the players for that oversight. However, we did try, we had contacted the police on this issue a month before and got the round about on what was needed to run this event here. We had mistakenly assumed that if this was a private event taking place in the whole of Singapore with no mass gatherings where only 2 persons are playing at anyone time, that no permit would be required. We’ve all had orientation and other corporate games in and around singapore organized casually and those went without any issues so what’s the difference here, we thought? We were wrong.

After all that’s said and done, the police don’t have an easy job and we respect their decision to shut down the game. Our intentions were to bring this great game to Singapore, never to cause problems for anyone.

We all learn from our mistakes and we seek everyone’s understanding as we try to dig ourselves out of this hole. Stay dry guys.

Forgive me if the tweets or blog gets quieter the next week or so. I’m on a mission…… Who am I kidding, I’m such an easy target! I’d probably get killed tomorrow! I paid S$50 to live in fear.

StreetWars is a 3 week long, 24/7, watergun assassination tournament that has already taken place in New York City, Vancouver, Vienna, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, and Paris.

At the start of the game you will receive a manila envelope containing the following:
* A picture of your intended target(s)
* The home address of your intended target(s)
* The work address of your intended target(s)
* The name of your intended target(s)
* Contact information of your intended target(s)

Upon receipt of these items, your (or your team’s) mission is to find and kill (by way of water gun, water balloon or super soaker) your target(s).

You can hunt your target down any way you see fit; you can pose as a delivery person and jack them when they open the door, disguise yourself and take them out on the street, etc.

If you are successful in your assassination attempt, the person you killed will give you their envelope and the person they were supposed to kill becomes your new target. This continues until you work yourself through all the players and retrieve the envelope with your (or your team’s) picture(s) and name(s). Then you win. Cash…but first live in fear.

Safe Zones:
* The square city block where you work.
* Buses, trains, train stations, and bus stops (any public transportation)
* Inside bars (not restaurants with bars, ONLY bars)
* No parking lot ANYWHERE is safe, unless you work at a parking lot (ex: you are a parking lot attendant). The parking lot on the block of your office is not safe.

Team Play
* You may sign up as a lone assassin, or as a team.
* No limits on number of team mates
* TEAM PROS: There is a challenging kill quota per week, having more team members will make it a LOT easier to meet your quota, and it’s more fun to split up the work. Our winners, and sudden death contestants in the past have been overwhelmingly dominated by members of teams.
* TEAM CONS: Any member dies, the whole team dies. So pick your team mates wisely.
* Yes, teams may sometimes go up against solo assassins.

Weapons:
* Brightly colored water guns.
* Water balloons
* Super Soakers
* Any Other Water-Based Weapon that is conceptually similar to the above.
* Nothing that remotely resembles a real firearm. Obviously.

Kills:
* 1 hit kills.

Introducing another YouTube celebrity singer-songwriter. Her name is Melissa Polinar, and this is one of my favourite songs she has sung. Enjoy!

Because I spent so much time by the river and other parts of Swan Valley, we only had time to stop by one vineyard. We turned into the closest one called Lancaster Wines. It was spring going on to summer, so the vines were boasting luscious green foliage.

We walked down a few lanes in the vineyard, each row marked with its grape variety on a wooden post at the start of its planting strip. Peeking under its leafy hoods revealed little bunches of grapes. cute.

After the short stroll, we headed towards a quirky and rustic little tin shack to enjoy free tastings of Lancaster’s premium wines and gourmet cheeses. Apparently this vineyard boasts some of the oldest vines in Swan Valley, producing “outstanding Chenin Blancs, Verdhelho, Chardonnay, Rose and Old Vines Shiraz.”

I may not have a trained palate, but I guess choice of wine is subjective. I really didn’t think much of their whites.

Definitely a worthwhile stopover if you’re doing a tasting with friends, atmosphere is more casual and relaxed compared to the other bigger established vineyards in the area.

Lancaster Winery & Vineyard
Website: www.lancasterwines.com.au
Tel: +61 (08) 9250 6461
Address: 5228 West Swan Road, West Swan, 6055
Email: wines@lancasterwines.com.au

In a little corner of Millpoint road sits my FAVOURITE Italian restaurant in Perth. Ciao Italia was opened in by chef Spartaco Rotella, who is more often now front of house rather than in the kitchen. I have not tasted ANY spaghetti cabonara or marinara as good as the one from here and I challenge ANYONE to recommend me a better cabonara!

I used to live on Millpoint, so it wasn’t too far of a journey for me. Ciao Italia doesn’t take reservations and is packed everyday from the minute doors open. Every time I go there, it’s at least a 15min wait. What you could do is open your bottle of wine and have a drink outside while you wait. When you do finally do get your name called, you will have to meander through a labyrinth of chairs to get to your seat.

Even though they are so busy, service is never compromised. Staff are quick to take your orders and even with a full restaurant, food is served fairly quickly. In all Italian style, restaurant is bursting with energy, vibe is lively and loud but cozy at the same time. Birthdays are a daily occurrence. At least twice in a night you will find the whole restaurant and staff piping to the happy birthday tune played on the sound system.

Mains are around $18.50-$27.50 and desserts from $5.50-$8.50. Portions are HUGE so I’d recommend sharing or doggie-bagging the left overs. If you have an impatient stomach, take away option is available and still highly recommended. The reheated pastas taste different, but just as amazing!

It’s been at least a year since my last visit, and it’s nice to know Spartaco still remembers his loyal customers.

My Recommendations (All prices include GST)

• Spaghetti Marinara (Combination of marinated seafood in a fresh tomato sauce) A$19.50
• Spaghetti Carbonara (Bacon, egg and cream cheese sauce) – A$18.50
• Ravioli Carbonara (Ricotta and spinach pillows of pasta) – A$18.50 – This one is a special request. I always get weird looks from the waiter when I ask for this combination
• Homemade garlic bread – A$4.50
• Tiramisu (A homemade Italian delight consisting of layers of sponge finger biscuits soaked in coffee, liqueur and mascarpone cheese topped with fresh double cream) – A$7.50
• Wood fired Pizza Siciliana (Whole peeled tomato sauce, Mozzarella cheese, mild italian sausage, bacon, black olives, Ricotta cheese and mushrooms) – A$21

Ciao Italia
Website: http://www.ciaoitalia.com.au/
Address: 273 Mill Point Rd, South Perth 6151
Phone: +61 (08) 9368 5500
Licensed: Yes
Operating hours: Tue-Sat 5pm-10pm
Payment accepted: MasterCard, Visa and EFTPOS
BYO $3 corkage per bottle
Parking: Limited lots available at the back of the restaurant. Alternative parking lots across the street at the jewellery & bookstore.

Race Date: This Sunday, 24 January 2010

Safra AVventura is an adventure race consisting of multiple disciplines ranging from trail biking, running, kayaking, rope ascend, abseiling, navigation and mystery tests all rolled into one exhilarating race to fully challenge those with a passion for adventure.

My last adventure race was the Penang Eco-Challenge a couple of years back. We did some training prior, but this time round, a BIG FAT ZERO. Read the post HERE to read how it all goes down in an adventure race.

EgaD! This Sunday!!! Wish me luck! Hope I’m still standing for The Killers later that evening!

Click here if you don’t know what an AT-AT is. Too funny! ROFL Thanks Aresha for the link.