Kinetic Gal @ Via Ferreta Singapore in Orchard Central! November 13, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Miscellanous.Tags: orchard central, physical activities, rock climbing singapore, Singapore, team building, via ferreta singapore
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Here’s a little add-on to the last post that i did on the healthy body and healthy mind! I did mention that weekly physical activities can be fun too. Here’s an interesting physical activity that you could consider if your kids are old enough. 
Via Ferreta! Kinetic Gal just had a taste of rock climbing @ Via Ferrata in Orchard Central and it was an awesome experience! What exactly is Via Ferrata?
Via Ferrata is a traditional European mountaineering activity and Italian for “Iron Way”. It is a fixed-protection climbing path without the risks associated with unprotected scrambling and climbing.
More on Via Ferreta history on wikipedia here.
Via Ferreta Singapore is Asia’s Tallest Indoor Via Ferreta and is located at Orchard Central. The Concept: Magic Team, which i was also a part of, had a great bonding and acitivity day at Via Ferreta thus allowing me a great experience with via ferreta!
The team split into two to climb the wall (so we could understand the different difficulty levels from each other). I was tethered with J C and Ning, and together, we attempted the course on the right. From what we learnt from Mr Poh Yu Seung there are different courses on the wall and different teams could go up together. There was also the Via Ferreta part and the traditional rock wall part.
We had the chance to try both and it was really a great experience. 
Personally i felt that unlike the traditional rock climbing, Via Ferreta had a big element of teamwork and stuff to do which made it very fun – even though it was more challenging than the traditional wall!
I personally think that besides it being great for teams doing team building, friends trying out the cool stuff, it’d also be real great for families with slightly older kids who love physical activities! Afterall, you’re tethered to each other, and everyone have to work together to move up the wall. It’s a great way to bond as a family too, don’t you think? 
There’s a very comprehensive mini-lecture on safety and technical aspects of the climbing that all had to understand and then off we go on the wall. Looking very much like spiderman (woman), or at least a good imitation thereof…
Kinetic Gal half(??) way up the wall and looking wayyyy more relaxed then i actually was.
Kinetic Gal hanging on for dear life… 
(Well, actually i was really resting! There is one carabiner on the harness which after hooking on, allows you to sit back and relax – which you’d learn how important that is, by mid-way!)
My friends show you the RIGHT way to pose:
Mr J C Sum, ala THE ILLUSIONIST way…
‘Magic Babe’ Ning – the glamorous hands-free way… with fitting colours of helmet, top and shoes to boot.
As i understood from Seung, we (J C, Ning and I) took the more difficult course… and after many grunts, pants, heaves, ‘whatnots noise of effort which you can imagine’ (for myself, the other members of the team were more glam) and much sweat, all members of the team finally made it to the top! Hooray!!
At the top of the world Via Ferreta Wall!
We learnt after reaching the top, that the height that we had scaled was almost equivalent to 8 storeys in HDB terms! WOW!
For parents with young kids wondering if this is suitable, i heard from Seung that they have had 7 year-olds climbed the traditional rock climbing wall before. And i usually do see young kids (primary school age) doing rock-climbing at another venue which i frequent too. The oldest person to have climbed the via ferreta wall to date, is a (i guess, funky!) 61 year old grandmother! When I grow as old, I’d want to be that active too! But honestly, just approach their counter and check it out with them if it is suitable for your family. These people are really passionate about what they do, and i’m sure they will provide you with the best advice!
You can also visit their website here: http://www.borderx.com.sg/ for more information!
A Healthy Body makes for a Healthy Mind! November 10, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Miscellanous.Tags: active lifestyle, badminton, healthy body, healthy lifestyle, healthy mind
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“All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy… and Kinetic Gal a dull magician!”
I’ve had this in my mind for a week now, but Ning beat me to saying it!
Here’s some sharing on how Kinetic Gal tries to keep active. Like my title says, I do believe that a healthy body makes for a healthy mind, so i’ve always striven to maintain exercising and keeping an active lifestyle, despite the many things i do. Now being school holidays, it’s time for you to bring your children out for some games and have some good quality bonding time too!
Since young i have always had a very active lifestyle… and the weekly exercise days doubled up as family days. For as far back as i could remember, i’ve always done at least swimming, badminton, table tennis and squash once a week with my whole family. Even in my secondary school life, when i was in table tennis, i’d have training two times a week and still head for my regular mix of swimming, badminton and squash on the weekends with the family. In fact, when my grandmother was still pretty strong, she would come along and just watch us play…
Well, ever since i have started performing, my weekends have been pretty much taken up by parties, but still, whenever i can, i would squeeze in time to play badminton, or basketball with my family!
One of my favorites – badminton! I used to play weekly, but now, i can only play it whenever i can!
In action!
Happy… and SWEATING after the game…
Personally, i feel it is very important for ANYONE to keep an active lifestyle. Besides maintaining in shape (a top priority for many girls ) an active lifestyle is part of a vital point of staying fit. Eating right and maintaining the right attitudes also contribute. But with the ever pressing matters that seem to rush us on, most of us tend to skip by the active lifestyle, and stay glued instead to the television… Hence, Kinetic Gal’s recommendation for this holiday, besides lots of movies and etc – some physical activities! Having your body in tip-top condition is THE pre-requisite to being able to focus on anything. Be it work, studies or exams!
So to keep active, why not start by having a few hours of the weekend planned out as ‘exercise/family’ time? It could be something as simple as cycling at East Coast Park, a game of basketball, or whatever physical activity that you and your children can enjoy together! You can start small… if you live at condominium apartment, swimming would be something very convenient for you. If not, how about a walk in the park every Friday night?
Why don’t you try it out? With some thought and surprises along the way, weekly physical activity day/ family day could be really fun too! Afterall, it is also great to be able to ingrain in your children healthy living with an active lifestyle, and have a good break from the other-wise monotonous and fairly sedentary studying activities!
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…
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!
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!
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.
Hannah Montana Hoedown Throwdown Dance! October 17, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Miscellanous.Tags: birthday party idea, Hannah Montana, hoedown throwdown dance, hoedown throwdown party
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Hannah Montana is still a great hit with all the girls! Well, Kinetic Gal specializing in all-gal parties, how could i be missing out?
The Hannah Montana movie is still fresh from this year and if your daughter is a great fan of Hannah Montana, this video will be great fun for everyone.
The hoedown throwdown dance has been a great hit and even schools in US have been using this for their physical education lessons! (What are Singapore schools doing?? )
Kinetic Gal is still hard at work learning the dance! Hahaha! I have, on my own, learnt one of the dance from High School Musical, but THIS is more challenging… but FUN!
If you have a Hannah Montana party, why not consider having a DANCE party with this dance as the central theme? I think it would be quite fun!
Newly Updated Mighty Magic Factory Website! October 15, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Miscellanous, Upcoming.Tags: Birthday party, Children, Kids, Kinetic Gal, revamped website, Singapore Birthday Party
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Yay!! Remember I’ve hinted since the last few weeks about a new change and update coming up? Well, it finally is up! The newly updated Mighty Magic Factory website has just went live!
Check out the funky colours, layout and the newly updated information on my new website. I absolutely love it! Thanks to our designer for the great job on my fabulously funky website.
Even while the website has been revamped, there are new changes to be expected… What else is coming up?
A little hint:
And there are more… all to be revealed all at the right time!
As the Chinese saying goes: 学习如逆水行舟，不进则退。 That is applicable not just to studies or learning, but to things that we do as well. Rest assured we’ll continue updating and upgrading to serve YOU better. *grin*
Check out the newly revamped Mighty Magic Factory website right here: www.mightymagicfactory.com and lemme know what YOU think!
Kinetic Gal
Kinetic Gal’s Magic Wand Collection!! October 13, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Miscellanous.Tags: birthday party magic, funny, magic wand, Singapore Birthday Party
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For reasons unknown to Kinetic Gal myself, i have always had a huge penchant for magic wands. Perhaps it was the special significance of how magic is attached to wand. Perhaps it is just the fact the wands seem to be the magical stick that make things happen, and that it was the thing that one gets after being inducted into the magic community. Whatever it was, from the time i’ve started, i’ve collected a few wands along the way.
These are no collectable wands, but wands that i use in my everyday show (save for the last one) and they are all my precious! They take turns to be in my show and some of them have been retired in honour. =p Check out the collection of wands i use!
Wands Galore:
- Topsy Popsy Wand – A favorite HIT with the children! Pop goes the wand! (not the weasel!) It’s BIG compared to the usual wands…
- Breakaway Wand – Another staple that is in many entertainer’s show! It’s my first funny wand, and still remains one of the top choice for everyone!
- Silly wands – The newer wands that i have. Kids absolutely love the wand as it extends from a puny wand to a long and wriggly one! Also forms funny shapes that kids find absolutely hilarious!
- Flipper Tipple Wand – A relatively newer wand that few people use! It’s quite hilarious to see the kids trying to point out to me what’s happening to the wand!
- Spring wand – My ABSOLUTE favourite (and the kids’ as well!)! The wand does not break apart but wobbles!
Peppermint Nesting wands – One of the first few wands that i had in my show again, it used to be a staple in my silks routine but has retired in glory…
- Inflatable wands – Balloon wand that stays inflated for a long long time! It’s huge! And kids tend to ‘accidentally’ hit me with the wand!
- A ‘normal’ magic wand that i got from IBM, Ring 115 (that’s International Brotherhood of Magicians for you) and it is something that you get only after you are conducted into the Ring. Hence quite a special one for me
That’s quite a number of wands, don’t you agree?
*grin*
One More Great Weekend for Kinetic Gal! October 11, 2009
Posted by Kinetic Gal in Miscellanous, Shows/ Parties.Tags: Birthday party, Children, female entertainer, female magic juggler, juggling, Kinetic Gal, Singapore, Singapore Birthday Party
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Over the past few days, Kinetic Gal hosted birthday parties for a Power Ranger (aspiring power ranger who was all dressed up in rangers costume) and other children as well! I really love hosting the birthday parties because they give me great satisfaction when the birthday child is so happy! Today i was even happier when Alexandra, who just turned four insisted on giving me a big kiss and a BIG hug because she so loved my juggling and magic. *grin* It’s moments like these that really make me go awwwwwwww and really make me feel very happy!
Me with Alex sitting on my lap. She was dressed in a really pretty mermaid costume.
Besides the busy weekend, Kinetic Gal has also been busy with other things. Over the week, i met up with a local kids channel student producers for a show. It has been confirmed and Kinetic Gal will be appearing on the local kids TV channel soon. More info on that later… stay tuned!
Kinetic Gal
