The Interpreter
All I wanted to do on Wed night was pass time b4 the eagerly-waited Liverpool-Chelsea champions league clash.
But what I didn't count on was the bonus that came with it.
Caught The Interpreter with Kok Ann at Orchard Cineleisure at midnight, and was enthrilled by the sterling display of Nicole Kidman.
This was no Moulin Rouge-ish or Practical Magic-ish movie - it was an action-thriller, and one that probably stretched her acting ability.
Besides, it was the first movie actually shot at the United Nations HQ in NYC.
Amazing.
It helped that Nicole Kidman still looked so stunning at the age of 38 (I swear it's the hair plus THAT look).
The script was smart and engaging, the cinematography top-class, and her portrayal was haunting... loved the mind games, and the bus scene.
Their faces say it all...
The biggest surprise is not that we'll have casinos, but that we will have not one, but two integrated resorts with casinos (to borrow the politically correct term).
My take: Having two IRs with casinos is taking excessive risk. It's like throwing in all your chips when you have been dealt an ace as your first card in showhand... premature.
What I thought interesting was observing the body language of the MPs and ministers. From there, you can roughly gauge who is for or against this decision. A few black faces were pretty noticeable today... heh
As Dr Hitch said - 90% of all communication is non-verbal. *wink*
casiNO - Economic prostitution
I might be in Phuket, but I can't help blogging about the casino issue.
It's plain rubbish, not so much the fact that it was pretty clear from day one that we ARE going to have a casino here whether we like it or not.
What irks me is the way the government is going about this decision.
Do they even care what we think?
This is the impression I get: we have already made up our minds, but we want to make ourselves look good so we get some public feedback...
It's not 100% certain that the casino will produce us economic benefits, though social ills are surely inevitable.
I read a morgan stanley research report that argued against the economic benefits of a casino.
It mentioned that a casino might not be unable to attract the foreign dollar... citing studies of those in Australia and even Genting that show this to be true.
What I fear, and that might happen is that the casino ends up pocketing our citizens' money instead of the tourists, and damages our society. Remember Singapore is such a small place. If one small family is affected, chances are many others will also be involved.
Another reason - a casino in Singapore is unlikely to attract the high rollers, who will still head for Macau, Australia and Las Vegas simply because these places are less restrictive - they can gamble, spend their money more freely, engage in other activities legal or illegal (e.g. women, drugs).
And it's naive to think that the economic benefits will surely outweigh social ills. Remember that recent family murder cum suicide? There were hints of excessive gambling that led to the tragedy... how do you measure the value of those four lives? Surely worth more than a billion dollars a year?
They are merely giving us lip service with so-called feedback forums, survey results etc.
What worries me the most is that this might just trigger off a host of morally wrong but economically right decisions.
It's economic prostitution, and it shows the new cabinet to be short on ideas to sustain our economic growth. There must be at least five better/easier ways to earn that money than having a high-class gambling den.
It frightens me to think what could be next...
On Phuket and Park
Woo hoo!
Just found out that I'll be going to Phuket next week to cover the Tiger Skins golf tournament.
It'll be good to get out of the office for a while, chill out, get to meet some VIPs... not forgetting interviewing four top golfers - Monty, Thomas Bjorn, Retief Gosen and... the rose among the thorns Grace Park.
Mebbe I should pick up some Korean other than the two lines i currently know -
Ahn-nyung-ha-seh-yo (hello) and you are very pretty (something that sounds like charm-hay-bu-shi-nay-yo).
