The parade sequence; the UGs are all holding replica model guns, and not marching. That'll definitely make the U-turning of the marching easier to execute, but kinda harder to stand there for 40 mins I guess. If only they allowed the participants to carry it home too. =D
Everything at the beginning of the Parade was pretty cool. Couldn't see the 40 commandos rappeling down the Sheares bridge or something. But everything was pretty novel and cool. They'll have to spice things up a little if they're gonna do it at Marina Bay again though.
Why Marina Bay though? Isn't the floating stadium just right in front of the Marina Square Shopping Centre? I thought Marina Bay was on the other side of the ECP? It ought to be NDP @ City Hall.
The President must have felt awkward not having anyone to wave to for a 1/4 of his journey. Not that anyone could, army law prevent them from waving. But dude, the UGs got to wave to the President!!! Normally we'll have to stare straight ahead and pretend to have tunnel vision. If the camera catches you shifting your eyes to follow the camera or anything, you're basically Lolz-ed. Lolz. Though the President was really sincere in thanking the participants. At the end of the Parade, the MCs said the President was preparing to leave, which was supposed to be a cue of some sort. But President S.R. Nathan continued shaking hands, till he finished the width of the row and went back to his escort car. Makes me have a better impression of him than just a figurehead of the government.
The stage is kinda too bright I think. The performers with all their slightly glittering suits, don't really stand out a lot in all that glow. And the animal placards thingy, they're virtually invisible in all that light.
What was with that really really really monotonous and irritating narration about water?
Who was THAT in a Lamborghini? Why was there a Lamborghini?! How come there are still parachuters that late into the segment? And the singer Gandhi, I wonder if he did notice, but the crowd was cheering for the parachuters, not for him. Though he was really immersed. And when he finished singing, he stared up expectantly, only to be plunged into complete darkness. =| hm. Maybe I'm over imagining things. This is not his first performance [rehearsals].
The National Day Theme Song was really ... unpatriotic, in that there was no notion of nation, of community, or of society in that song at all. And it's really "artistic". Rock was better in comparison, though rock versions of previous National Day Songs had a slight ruinous effect. This is the worst National Day Song EVER. It's basically crapping a whole lot about entrepreneurship and creativity. Commitment, loyalty, cultural diversity were all non-existent.
I was wrong. I just watched the rerun and heard the artistes' voices. The entire NDP had a feel of a musical concert rather than a NDP. Especially the Gandhi guy, who made it like a rock concert, seriously. Some performances were lacking luster. Some choreographing issues perhaps; the performances moved along really slowly; the performers' dance actions were completely unrecognizable from such a distance, especially with full blasting lights that made everything so ... bright. The performers are supposed to be highlighted by their sparkling suits. Instead their suits were just another bright spot in a really bright stage. Contrast problems, really.
The last segment was kinda the best. They played the 3 most famous of Songs, and it was really nice to hear them. The crowd obviously felt that way too. Or maybe the Parade was designed that way, atmosphere-wise. Anyway, I would love to be there for the last segment. And to be part of a contingency for the first segment.
Fireworks were okay. I could see the fireworks while eating at Tiong Bahru market. =D Got to see the fireworks every year. Though I'm still surprised Marina Bay is actually close to Tiong Bahru. Relatively.
The "flares" on top of some skyscrapers were quite insignificant. Too far and too small to be observable to the Parade goers. Might as well not be there; they made the Parade look cheapo. Or being overly excessive. 画蛇添足.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention the billboards were completely DISTRACTING. What, is this Windows Media Player or what? What's with the darn "visualizations"? I prefer they do a close-up of the performers/their dance moves (Yes they do, but not enuff). Us TV viewers can see some details, but not much. I hate to think what little sense the spectators can make of an overly bright and distant performance.
One final thing. Did anyone notice that this year's NDP was solely ENGLISH?!?!?! Not a single Chinese word uttered, much less Tamil. [Malay was present in the Pledge and Anthem.] The entire NDP stinks of rich/upper-class English-ness, or at least the 2007 Theme Song is. I'm not a favourite of English radio/local TV [gee, I must hate English a lot], if that explains anything. XD I'll be happier if they at least HAD a different language. Even German will do.
Conclusion? This year's NDP was cool and novel. The fact that only 1/4 of the "normal capacity" was occupied, the rest were open stadium, allowed for quite some nice stuff. But they should have more amphibious floats I guess. The skating and the giant moving pearl was kinda cheap-skate, no pun intended. The main skater is really really lucky to be the main attraction for nearly the entire NDP. The stadium must have had some cooling sea breeze, though a bit humid and stingy [salt]. They should have more Navy stuff on the sea. The mirror-like sea waters made really mesmerizing waves in the wake of the boats [could possibly use to great effect if there's little turbulence. Think drawings]. The drive-in APC/Tanks/Armoured Riot Cars sequence was too small to see anything. Couldn't make out what they were doing with the hoses, or their shields or whatever. Lower the intensity of the bloody lights. PM Lee Hsien Loong returned the salute of an officer who welcomed him when getting out of his Mercedes transport. [For those who don't know, saluting without Army/SAF/Navy kit, and that includes the beret/cap, is against Army regulations.] PM Lee does not exercise as much as MM Lee. His speech at the NLB talking about economy forecasts was a bit cliche and suspicious, (the stare-far-away-then-turn-around bit), though nothing to do with NDP. Damn lucky for there not to be rain. It rained in the morning. That's how many consecutive years of rainless NDP? Blessed.
I wonder if other countries ever have this kind of nation-wide sense of NDP in the air. Sure we might not go crazy over it like others do over Fourth-of-July, but we like our NDP a lot [IMHO]. I'm not sure if there's an equivalent NDP to speak of, probably separated for each of the regions, which doesn't quite unite a nation as well as an island-nation does.
Konjiki no Gash Bell rocks!! Don't say it ain't.
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