Next change... 2012, for better or for worse?

You can spot a Singaporean anywhere...
...by his or her lack of social etiquette, rudeness or just plain cluelessness when using and sharing public spaces. Here's the first few paragraphs from an ST report today (30 Dec, page one), "More S'pore students get a taste of China":

The Singapore students were on a school trip to Beijing. One of them confesses, as quoted in the report: "...it is not difficult to tell who the visitors from Singapore are. Just look out for those who cannot jog in a line or four abreast."

That's why I said yesterday that the idea of a "Keep Left" campaign for pedestrians here, while excellent and sensible, is doomed to failure.

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So, it was an American (a Lincoln) that accompanied KJI to his resting place!

When I first saw the pictures of the funereal limousine used for Kim Jong Il's casket, I thought to myself, "It does not look like a Chinese-made limo!" Now, car buffs who scrutinised the pictures have concluded that the vehicle is a mid-1970s American-made Lincoln Continental. Such irony!

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Mayan prediction or not, 2012's coming up...

 
This cartoon. from BizarroComic, has been making the rounds on the Net. It puts a funny spin on the so-called ancient Mayan prediction that the world will end in 2012. Of course, Singaporeans are not about to worry about such a dire event, as they get ready to party at Marina Bay at midnight 31 Dec/1 Jan:

I like how this Standard Chartered ad below conveys the celebratory theme amid the Marina Bay backdrop and the fireworks display:

   Even the museums got into the act:

But amid all the rah-rah, some saw the prospect of gloom ahead:

The Ikea store here was ready to give Santa the boot!

Dragons were pretty much on people's minds. As this headline for an ST commentary article says, the Chinese dragon isn't about to play Santa come 2012:

The coming year, 2012, will also see lots of Dragon babies here (especially among the local Chinese):

  
But, why a dragon -- in the Mind Your Body article above -- that looks more like the Western "Puff the Magic Dragon" sort than the Chinese-type "loong"? (See my "A brief history of dragons" posting).

Finally, there will always be those making all sorts of claims about 2012:

So, caveat emptor as the new year approaches!