a Christmas season

I love Christmas trees. I adore them.

 

And year on year on year it's become a trend of sorts for me that wherever I be, I go around taking pictures of Christmas trees. It can be anywhere. It can be in a home. It can be in a mall. It can be in a hotel lobby. It can be outdoors. It can be small. It can be big. The size doesn't matter. The decor doesn't matter. It is the beauty of the tree that charms me. It can be whimsical. It can be natural with the scent of pine. It can have Santa Clauses on it, or little presents or little fruits or little ribbons or turtledoves or any sort of decoration that makes a tree a tree.  

 

Christmas this year was urban-tropical.

 

Meaning that it was celebrated in the sunny island of Singapore with her fluffy white clouds and blue skies and warm, warm weather... and the annual visit to the lobbies in the Bay area. :) I make my rounds as and when I can, and it often starts from The Fullerton Hotel (because it just looks so grand) to the Ritz Carlton (because they've got this really tall tree and lots of lights) to the Mandarin Oriental (because they like to do this really dark glam style)

 

Conrad Centennial

Ritz-Carlton Millenia

Mandarin Oriental

Because I love Lights

 

One of the Fullerton trees

 

Pillars and Little Lights

Of course, there's Orchard. You got to go to Orchard when it's Christmas time and just dive deep into the atmosphere. It doesn't matter what faith you are. It doesn't matter whether you believe God exists or not. It's just heartwarming and delightful and there're families and friends posing around the beautifully lit road, and in Ngee Ann City and Paragon, and there're a couple of hotels all along the stretch.

 

I missed out on the hotels over on Orchard this time, but I got one outside Paragon. 

Reindeer!

I have my personal style of celebration for Christmas. If there're big parties, I'm happy. If there're small parties, I'm happy. If there're no parties, I'm just as happy.

Because whilst I like my mince pies and apple pies and smoked salmon and oysters and chocolate log cakes and lamb and beef and gingerbread cookies and port and sherry and wine and everything, I like the company even more, and when the company whips up a Christmas meal of steak seasoned with sea salt with cherry tomatoes and what passes for scrambled eggs but is really a chunky cheese sauce, a blessing it is for me.

Sea Salt Seasoned Steak

 

the WW brand Integration

This poster picture I got from Wikipedia.

Bless their hearts and their web-based encyclopedia. They're like the first resource for whatever it is that you want to look for at short notice and don't want to delve too deep into details. Just a general overview, that sort of thing.

Right, I'm getting sidetracked here.

I was going to write about the movie itself, but I'll do it another time.

Because right now, I'm thinking about something else. Something that's what this movie is all about and something that I've been talking about for the last one and a half years to nearly everyone and anyone.

People whom I've interacted with over meetings and networking events will know that there's been lots of sharing about branded entertainment and brand integration and product attributes and licensing and product integration and characterization and personalization from Lauric and/or Brand Pathogen.

And despite the fact that everyone seems to find the concept new, or mind-boggling, or unheard of, truth is, it's been there since 1941. We're talking 70 years. Seventy years this concept has been sitting there in the world of digital comics and despite the fact that it's not often discussed, well, this "geriatric" concept is making a comeback now.

You could head off to Wikipedia and take a read.

Wonder Woman was created in 1941 by the same psychologist who invented the systolic-blood-pressure-measuring apparatus which led to the development of the polygraph test. His apparatus wasn't as well received as he hoped it would be when it made its debut in 1921, and twenty years would pass before he created the character of Wonder Woman as a superheroine, redefining what the roles of women were during the WWII era and featuring his systolic-blood-pressure-measuring apparatus integrated into the character's weaponry as the Lasso of Truth.

It is the Lasso that is now recognized as a "device to extract truth from people", more than as an allegory of feminine charm. Whilst it has been stated that the Lasso was more about how emotions work itself into submission and truth, today, it is oft quoted that it is the pop culture representation of modern day polygraph test.

Yet, do you see the systolic blood pressure measuring apparatus anywhere in the Wonder Woman franchise? Is it frequently featured? Is it even featured at all? Does it have to? And let's say if it was, can you imagine how it would be in Wonder Woman 2017  if Gal Gadot aka Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman was lugging around that piece of gear besides her already conspicuous sword and shield? How would she have looked like when changing into her dress? How would she have escaped notice? How would she have blended in amongst the ladies?

Now, it could be possible, I suppose, but had that been done in 1941, given the circumstances, it would have been a blatant product placement in the comic and that would have garnered less interest than the Lasso itself. It would not have been a weapon used by a superheroine. It would have been... I don't know... something else. People in the midst of a world war do not wish to be reminded of a polygraph measuring apparatus, thank you very much. 

They don't mind a Lasso that's made out of special Amazon chemicals though. They don't mind a woman shaped out of clay and is immortal and can fight unarmed and so on. It's not in your face. It's not threatening. It's not shoving the lie detector into your face and telling you straight-up about its benefits and how it can shape the course of events or change the world or anything like that. And we're talking wartime s***.

It tells you that people who use these things are heroes (and heroines). It tells you that courage and love are what drives the results of the Lasso, oops, lie detector apparatus. It reveals to you the strengths of having a piece of equipment aka weapon that can make people submit and reveal the truth through, of course... their blood pressure readings. 

This is what Brand Integration or Product Integration is about.

The attributes of the polygraph lie detector are represented there in the Lasso. The goals it sets out to achieve are achieved when Wonder Woman uses her Lasso. What Marston did was to build his frequently-rejected systolic-blood-pressure-measuring apparatus into a Lasso of Truth. The key word being 'truth' because nowhere are we finding a hint of that d*** equipment in the comic except in revealing the TRUTH. 

And he created a character who would use it. A character that defied the norms of the day. A character that would definitely have caught the eyes of comic book readers in the day. A character sexy, tough, powerful, strong-willed, lover of peace, someone of high EQ.

And then he plonked the character right into the heart of the DC universe. We know the rest. Wonder Woman is the founding member of the Justice League and given that in 2017, "the future of justice begins with her", I think she's not going anywhere anytime soon.

That's product integration for you.

And by the way, the fame of the lie detector hasn't been overwhelmed by the Lasso of Truth. Popular culture didn't subvert the actual product itself, did it, and we know that d*** well, don't we? ;)

everything that is Salmon

I like this fish. I really, really do. I eat it as much as I can (within safe mercury consumption levels, if not I take lots and lots of onions which I heard are good to counter the mercury thing) and although I've heard that air-flown is the best, I'm not so much of a stickler, and if farmed salmon grants me my Omega-3 and everything good that comes along with it, I'm all for it. :)

roasted fatty salmon

roasted fatty salmon

salmon sushi

roasted fatty salmon



and... roasted fatty salmon

I didn't use to eat it a lot. I mean I ate it, but I wasn't as passionate as I am about it now.

But there was a time when the diet called for plenty of salmon, and that was the time we discovered Itacho Sushi and her roasted fatty salmon sushi. Okay, they've got lots of great offerings at affordable, fun prices, and they've got locations all round Singapore, from Jurong East to Changi Airport to Downtown.

 

I'm often around Downtown and so it is to Plaza Singapura, Bugis and ION outlets that I usually head to if I'm in the mood for salmon sushi that melts completely in your mouth.  I'm serious. It is not often that I get to have salmon sushi that melts, but this does.

This part of the salmon comes from the belly, and thereby, being one fat fish, the belly part is fatter. Which means that there's this rounded flavor, and this rounded flavor becomes further enhanced when the guys at the counter do the flame thingy with the gas canister all over the sushi, allowing the oil from the belly  drip down into the rice and so not only do you get melt-in-the-mouth salmon, you get salmon-infused rice served hot to you as well.

Is it no wonder that I can finish 6-12 pieces at one sitting? I'm not the only one calling this a favorite, by the way. I've seen a couple order 26 pieces and finish them all.

 

It's not all about roasted salmon for me though.

There's sashimi, eaten best with soy sauce and a dollop of wasabi.

 

There're a couple of places that I go to. At rare times there are the hotel buffets, and of course when you're at these buffets, you just whack. One plate full. Two plates full. There are times when I'm at Sakuraya Fish Market where the salmon belly sashimi is as soft and cold and fresh and distinctive. I've been to the restaurant at Hotel Miramar where the sashimi is skillfully cut and served. I've eaten salmon sashimi don at Raffles Place and at Ichiban.

And there are times when any counter in the nearest supermarket will do. :)

 

I'm not picky.