“Disney’s A Christmas Carol” Coming Out in Theatres! November 7, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Upcoming.Tags: a christmas carol, christmas movies, disney's a christmas carol, jim carrey
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The Disney presentation of the Dicken’s christmas classic, “A Christmas Carol”, stars Jim Carrey as Scrooge. Scrooge, a miserly old man, is visited by ghost of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come in a bid to undo the ill-will that he has done in past years.
The trailer of the movie is very reminiscent of one of my favourite Christmas movies: The Polar Express. And indeed, this movie is from the one and same director. 
The cast of the movie is stellar and looking at the animations, i’m more than sure that Disney Animations will definitely not disappoint. What’s more, the movie is also available in 3D!
Sounds like one great movie to catch in true spirit of the upcoming Christmas!
Out in theatres in November!
A Christmas Header to Fit the Season! November 6, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Miscellanous.Tags: christmas header, merry christmas
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You might have realized a slight change in my Singapore Birthday Party Entertainer Blog – it is near Christmas, and hence I’ve adjusted my header accordingly to fit the season! *grin*
When do you feel Christmas is near? When Starbucks start offering their Christmas flavor?? (“Toffee Nut = Christmas in a cup” –quoted from Mr J C Sum whom I so totally blame crazy craving of Toffee Nut on 
) When the Christmas lighting goes up on Orchard Road? When your children start their December holiday (and pestering you for Christmas presents? Or when you start preparing for the big bang to the end of the year with the BIG Christmas party?
Well, for me it’s a combination of quite some things… admittedly in Singapore, there’s no white Christmas. But the recent onset of heavy thunderstorm in Singapore seems almost very much like winter in Singapore. Combined with the Starbucks and the various places putting up their decorations, Christmas which is almost still one plus month away seems pretty near!
Christmas is quite a different meaning to me… I’m not a Christian, so the religious meaning of it doesn’t really come off on me. But, having taking Christmas as a reason for the family to come together to enjoy each other’s company, to buy presents for each other (and friends), you can so see why I look forward to Christmas each year.
Following this post, I’ll be writing about some movies and games for this season, specifically, so stay tuned…
Princess Christy’s Princess Birthday Party – Magic, Juggling and Dancing!! November 4, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Shows/ Parties.Tags: christy princess birthday, jai ho dance, princess birthday party, Singapore Birthday Party, slumdog millionaire
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Princess Christy - 6th Birthday!
In the last party i hosted, the activities of the birthday party were carried out at the lift landing area… A perfect area for the magic and juggling show (Pearl, Christy’s mum had prepared princess mats for the princesses to sit on), and thereafter, a perfect area for mass dance!
Look at all the princesses! 
Peal has just emailed me that they have uploaded the youtube video of the dance so i decided to post it up here too! Kinetic Gal is not in the shot, simply because… i may be good at juggling and magic, but impromptu dancing is not my cuppa tea! I might look like i’m swimming instead… … and spoil the picture.
There are actually two videos, second one of the encore – but it is not a complete video, so i won’t post it here… The children danced to the music of Jai Ho from Slumdog Millionaire. I had to search for the song (and there were some last minute hiccup at the party) but it was all well-worth the effort!
As you can see the children are REALLY good! From what i know, the children practised this for two long months for their graduation. Fantastic! You can see all the proud parents, ah mas, ah gongs beaming away. *grin*
Pearl mentioned she will be sending more photos to me (yay!) so i will post them up here and they arrive. This princess party definitely goes down as one of the most memorable ones.
Once again, from Kinetic Gal to the children: Here’s wishing the princesses and prince the best of luck in the upcoming primary school years… May your learning be voracious with the best teachers! And may all of you always keep this amount of zest for life!
THIS is absolutely one of the reason why i love performing for children. <3 <3
Parents Take Note! November 4, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Miscellanous.Tags: Magic, magician in singapore, Singapore
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This was once again brought to my attention by a friend who asked me about the person-involved.
I blogged about this a couple of months ago – about a magician who was arrested for sexual assault of a young boy who had trusted him as a mentor and as a friend. I’m very glad to see that justice has been served and that he has been sentenced to a jail term of 6 years for his actions.
http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_449819.html
Personally i still think this sentence is too light for someone who has now scarred a young boy for life. I hope the boy goes through some counseling and will be able to put all of this behind him.
I’m glad that parents are now a lot of cautious when hiring entertainers… many parents especially of girls point out to me that they feel more relieved that they can find a girl for an all-gals party. It is true that one cannot be more than careful when it comes to these kind of things!
Busy Day – Birthday Parties in All Parts of Singapore!! :) November 1, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Shows/ Parties.Tags: Birthday party, birthday party in singapore, jai ho dance, magic juggling for children, magic party, Singapore kids magic, starlight 7
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It’s been busy and there are many things to work on for Kinetic Gal! This Saturday’s birthday parties felt unusual – really great for me… so i decided that i must blog about it! Apologies there are no photos! We usually run on a one-man show basis and thus do not have much luxury of taking photos. (Just in case you’re wondering… one-man, or in this case, one-gal show?? yes I can handle all 30 kids by one person, and have been doing so for years, and YES this is one of the reason we still keep the cost affordable)
In any case, the Saturday that has just came and went was Halloween. BUT! While Kinetic Gal had calls for Halloween shows, i was already booked for a couple of birthday parties, so birthday parties it was. As usual, my parties were for the all-gals party (or almost all-gals)… I guess being Singapore’s only Female Magic Juggler, it’s always easier for gals to relate to me; and younger kids take to me too. *grin* Back to the topic though, one of the parties was for Lauren and one of the parties was for Christy.
Lauren’s party was very memorable for me – because of the spontaneity of the children. For this party, i hosted games as well, and the children all had super great fun even dancing and twisting to the music! I must admit Kinetic Gal is a little out of shape 
for i was quite out of breathe after jumping around with the children… The party layout was fantastic! With a BIG hall clear of almost everything, the children had so much space to enjoy themselves. Lauren’s birthday wish during the cake cutting was very interesting! She wished that her Daddy’s new house will be even bigger and better! *grin* That’s a first for me! Her house is already beautiful! LOL.
One of the other party that had such an impression on me is Christy’s princess birthday party! I’m always continually amazed by how much effort the parents put into the party. Christy’s party was a princess party – which was why Kinetic Gal was hired! An all-gals party was right down my alley 
The princesses and prince (one singular one) were all dressed up so nicely in their prince and princess costumes!
In any case, i had been told before hand, that the children had a graduation song from a famous movie – Slumdog Millionaire… and understanding so, I went searching for the soundtrack for this party!
The specific song from the soundtrack was: Jai Ho. I believe many of us who have watched the movie would be familiar with it. There is even a PCD (Pussy Cat Dolls) version!
Even though we had a big of lag time because the funny MP 3 just refused to work and we had to pull out a laptop and use that to sound into the speaker, it has fantastically worth it.
Can you imagine a mini concert like dance (spontaneous) at the apartment floor landing? What was amazing was that the children could still dance to the choreography even at the floor landing with only half the class (they danced as a class during graduation).
EVERY single one of the parents and the children were so high during the dance (me included!). I’ve never find myself enjoying so much… *grin* I found out that a proud parent had uploaded the clip of their class doing the same dance during the concert, so i got the link to share it with you…
I find it amazing the children are only 5 or 6 years old! (I can still remember my K2 graduation dance… It was a slow moving waltz – and nothing like this!)
There is footage of the ‘mass dance @ floor landing’ but it has yet to be uploaded… I’ll definitely post that here when Christy’s mummy let me know about it.
For now, to the children: i wish everyone the best of luck in the upcoming primary school years… May your learning be voracious with the best teachers! And always keep this amount of zest in and within yourselves!
And of course to the birthday gals: Happy Birthday!!
Toxins Found in many Facepainting Paints!! October 29, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Miscellanous.Tags: Birthday party, birthday party activities, face paints, facepainting, facepainting singapore, singapore face paint, toxic
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!!! Parents take note!!!
A recent article on HealthDay News two days ago reported about reseachers finding lead in the facepainting paints usually used for Halloween and facepainting. If your kids love facepainting especially for the Halloween upcoming, you might have to take note!
The full article can be found here: http://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100247626>1=31036
And the full research paper here: http://safecosmetics.org/downloads/PrettyScary_Oct2709.pdf
To summarise the article, researchers have done some testing and research on common brands of facepaints easily available on the market – either off the market or on the internet, and have found that:
“All 10 face paint products tested contained lead, and six out of 10 had known skin allergens, including nickel, cobalt or chromium, at levels above recommendations of industry studies.“
For those who did’nt know, heavy metals (eg. nickel, lead etc) are detrimental to children, especially for their growth and development. Even more scary is that many of the facepaints are also mislabeled! Some of them were labeled as hypoallergens even though they were not!
By the way, FDA approved paints actually do NOT check for heavy metal, and many of the brands were FDA approved, which really raises the question if FDA approval is a good enough standard for face paints to go by!!
This is scary especially as a biological science student myself, because i’m all TOO clear about what kind of effects these heavy metal can have on the human body. I’m sure many of us are aware that certain crystals cannot be used to contain drinking water – simply because they contain lead! What more about paints that are directly applied to areas like the face, near the eyes (!!!) of the young children…
From my regular parties, i know that children really do like facepainting in general, and as some might say – what’s the harm in just once in a blue moon? Well the thing is experts do say there might be harm even if you use it only once a year (and i know many kids to be regular party attendees!), and in the case of health, it’s always better safe than sorry!
Even though the above article is based on paints in USA, i believe many of our local sources are similarly from overseas. Since that is so, here are some of my suggestion if your child really likes facepainting:
- Suggest other activites like customising your own party bags! This is an AWESOME activity at a party – the kids design their own party bags (and if they are too young, they get stickers to choose and stick) and they all have great fun showing off their bags too!
- If your child insist on a facepainter, check with your facepainter their paint source and insist only on safe paints from reputable companies.
- Use reputable facepainters only!
- Ask that the facepainter avoid the eye area. (Give a really wide berth at the eye area)
- Instead of painting on the face, do body paint (eg on the arm) instead. While it is applying onto the children’s body still, the body epidermis is less absorbent than the facial epidermal layer.
- Make your own colourful facepaint from organic sources for DIY fun instead. Wiki-How teaches you how to do it from food stuff! If it is safe for consumption, it is safe to apply on the skin! http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Own-Face-Paint
It’s always better to be safe than sorry – especially in the case of the health of our young ones, so i do hope that parents will take note about this!
Halloween Night Out @ Science Centre (30th Oct)! October 29, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Upcoming.Tags: activities for halloween, Children, fun activities, halloween, learning experience, science centre, Singapore, trick and treat
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Being the science geek student that I am, it’s no surprise hence, that i’d recommend going to the Science Centre for some thrills this halloween! Afterall, halloween is two days away… time to let your hair down with the kids and have a good fright!
Exams might still be in the progress, but why not let your child have some time out from the studies, and have some fun learning at Science Centre? Personally, I’ve always liked activities that are fun, entertaining and enriching. My mum told me that all my toys that she picked for me, when i was young, were all meant for me to learn something, or pick up some skills – though there were times of course when play was JUST play (like rolling in the mud… the good old days…).
There are ghostly night trails, trick or treat, stargazing, and many more activities on the 30th of Oct. In fact, Body Worlds exhibition is also on, so if your gals are as gung-ho as me, or if they really like science, this is one very cool place to be in for halloween. If you’re turning up in Science Centre for Halloween, come dressed up, cos there will be prizes for those in costumes!!
Details can be found on the poster above, or check out: http://www.science.edu.sg/ssc/index.jsp
Time to whip out your favourite costumes… Frankenstein, witches, wizards and devils!!
Frankenstein toddler…
Beautiful young witches (Sabrina style??)…
And one young devil, you just feel like pinching his cheeks!!
All cute, and none too scary!!
Prepare for all the frights, thrills, scares and laugh! Halloween is day after tomorrow!!!
Astro Boy: Out in Theatres on 5th November October 22, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Upcoming.Tags: astro boy, japan anime, japan manga, movies, movies for families
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Yay! Astro Boy is going to hit the theatres in Singapore on the 5th of November! This is perfect timing for primary school kids who are wrapping up with the school year to enjoy a great movie with the family.
Astro Boy is a very popular manga series from Japan which was converted into an anime series in the 1960s to 1970s. The cartoon was a great hit, and in fact, MY teacher is a big fan of Astro Boy too… Never did i know how adults could gush a cartoon like how my teacher did! (My guess is he’s one of the happiest to hear that Astro-Boy is coming out in theatres!)
Woohoo – for parents who ARE already fans of Astro Boy, i guess there’s only good in watching this with your kids! What better than to share your favourite with your loved ones…
Here’s the trailer for you:
I’d definitely be trying to catch the show if i’ve time… Prepare for blast-off, 5th November!
Body Worlds & The Cycle of Life Exhibition @ Singapore Science Centre! October 19, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Upcoming.Tags: BODY WORLDS, science centre, science exhibition, singapore science centre
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Well, I’m posting this because in all purpose, this is quite the educational exhibition and it is of a personal interest of mine. Coming from a undergraduate in the Biological Science field, i guess it’s not much of a surprise! I’ve refrained from posting the poster of the exhibition here in case of anyone who’s queasy or uneasy with seeing these pictures.
Body Worlds & The Cycle of Life Exhibition is back in Singapore in a new location! Dates of exhibition from 23rd Oct to 6 March 10, so you have a long long time to arrange if you want to catch the exhibition.
This exhibition is NOT for the weak-hearted, not for the young kiddos, and definitely not for the easily-spooked. Though i do have the hunch that adventurous boys above the age of 7 would love the exhibition. Personally, i find the living way more scary, so i do not mind these exhibitions for i find them very informative.
I have actually gone for the exhibition the first time round when it came to Singapore, when it was held in SG Expo – that was some 6 years ago when i was 14 so my memory of it is a little blurry. But, i still recall being slightly disappointed to find out that donations of bodies from Singapore for plastination is not available… LOL! Perhaps this was one of the reason that prompted me to the field of study that i’m in right now. I recall being very very amazed and wow-ed by the human body. With my present knowledge of the human body, i’m even more curious as to what new gems of information i can find at the exhibition.
This time round the exhibition will include the following exhibits:
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – an exhibit related to the beginning of life, featuring a collection of embryos and fetuses from two weeks old to near full term.
This exhibit was already included in the 2003 exhibition, and it was very heart breaking to see. I remember walking out of the exhibition with a heavy heart and i’d strongly recommend that pregnant ladies NOT go through this part of the exhibition. In fact, if i’m not wrong, the BODY WORLDS exhibition states the same warning.
Smells Like Teen Spirit – Looks into the developing teen’s brain and the teen penchant for risk and originality that influences art, music, fashion and technology.
While not much can be told by purely looking at the brain, i think we can still understand something from it.
The Artists’ Gaze – Be awed at the display on sight and vision at birth and at other points later in life. Also, this display presents computer simulation of the vision of Impressionist painters whom suffer from eye diseases, Claude Monet and Edgar Degas.
I didn’t know that Claude Monet suffered from eye disease! Sounds very interesting and i think it is again a new addition. Either that, or my memory isn’t quite up to par…
Fast Forward Fandango – Have you always wondered what would you look like when you’re old? Or perhaps, what you would look like, if you’re weighed down by obesity or bad habits (such as smoking). Developed by Perception Labs at St. Andrews University, Scotland, and with the aid of a camera and computer programs, this display allows you to (somehow) see into the future and predict your looks.
Oh yes. I’d love(??) to see Kinetic Gal (Kinetic AUNTIE??!!!) at 70 years old.
Centennial Village – Longevity. That’s something which almost all hopes for. This display features findings on geographic clusters around the world where the oldest living people live, from Okinawa in Japan to the Hunza region of Pakistan.
We all wanna grow to an old old age!
What?
Body Worlds & The Cycle of Life Exhibition
Where?
Singapore Science Centre
When:
23 October – 6 Mar 2010
How much?
Adults – S$20
Children (up to 16) – S$12
Official Website:
–
If your child/ teen is very interested in science; or wants to become a doctor, i’m pretty sure this exhibition will be quite an experience for him/her! I’m pretty sure i’ll be checking it out myself and letting you know what i think about it!
What Magic Means to Me… October 18, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Miscellanous.Tags: Kinetic Gal, Magic, meaning of magic, thoughts of magic
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Many times, parents ask me, why and how i got into performing magic… Especially after knowing that i’m still studying and not in theatre studies like what some of the parents thought, but in Biological Sciences – something that they thought was miles away from ‘magic’. This would have been what they’d have expected (I think) of someone studying biological sciences:
*grin* but instead, they saw me!
I ‘got into learning magic’ through a book that i picked up in a bookstore… and have never looked back since. Magic has an exceptional place in my heart… and it means a lot to me.
Magic in its purest meaning is the expression of the moment of miracle, and the entertaining of people through that. For myself, in learning and performing magic, i manage to bring across the feeling of amazement and as Paul Harris so well put, magic is the art of astonishment.
Magic came almost, at a point for me, when i was lost. Through magic, i found myself and i met several persons who mean a lot to me. Through these people, Kinetic Gal found herself, and through her, I found MYSELF.
Through magic, i found the ability to amaze people; to bring smiles to my audiences. Through my performance, i see the innocent laughter on the childrens’ face. Through my performance, i see the amazement and in the one split second of amazement, the belief that miracles can be possible. And while magic may be just that hour, or that moment for the audience, for me and to me… magic is a philosophy for life. No one has managed to put what i feel about magic better than J C:
… (magic) goes beyond just a moment but is the portal to an optimistic outlook on life, knowing that anything is possible. -J C Sum
This is what magic means to me… and that’s why i will strive to continue with my magic – to keep improving and never stop.
