[MyAppleMenu] Apr 8, 2011

[applesurf at myapplemenu.com]

MyAppleMenu
====================================

**** Finding A Facebook Client For The iPad <http://www.macworld.com/article/159100/2011/04/ipad_facebook_apps.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Lex Friedman, Macworld

I began my tour of iPad Facebook clients convinced that Mobile Safari would win again—that full access to Facebook’s Website from the iPad would remain my preferred way to poke people and post snarky comments on their walls. In the end, however, my Safari preference ended when I befriended Friended. It smartly uses the iPad’s screen real estate, eliminates ads and other Facebook cruft, and manages to feel more like an app than a Web browser—something none of its competitors can manage to do.

**** iBooks Now Opens EPUB Files Directly <http://www.tidbits.com/article/12100>
Adam C. Engst, TidBITS

**** ESPN App Delivers Live Broadcasts To iOS Devices <http://www.macworld.com/article/159107/2011/04/watchespn.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Philip Michaels, Macworld

On Thursday, the Worldwide Leader in Sports announced a new mobile app that will let you stream live ESPN broadcasts to your iOS device—provided you’ve got the right cable provider.

**** iStopMotion Pro 2.7 <http://www.macworld.com/article/158173/2011/04/istopmotion27.html#lsrc.rss_main>
Mike Curtis, Macworld

If all you want to do is stop-motion animation and need some tools to help you see what you're doing, this program will definitely get you there pleasantly. It is only if you are looking for truly professional level input and controls you will find this product lacking. I found iStopMotion 2.7 to be reliable and easy to use, but limiting for the kinds of professional production I'd like to do with it, and too expensive for what it does do.

**** BootCamp Updated For 2011 MacBook Pros <http://www.tuaw.com/2011/04/08/bootcamp-updated-for-2011-macbook-pros/>
Dave Caolo, TUAW

Apple has released Boot Camp 3.2 Update for MacBook Pro (early 2011). This update fixes issues with unexpected shutdowns as well as problems with Japanese and Korean keyboards.



MyAppleMenu Reader
====================================

**** The High Art Of The Tamale <http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2011/apr/28/high-art-tamale/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+nybooks+%28The+New+York+Review+of+Books%29>
Alma Guillermoprieto, New York Review Of Books

Diana Kennedy was born in England some several decades ago (she does not like to be precise about such things) and grew up high-spirited, feisty, and no-nonsense. In 1957 she came to Mexico with her soon-to-be husband, Paul Kennedy, who was a foreign correspondent for The New York Times, and then she really fell in love—with her new life and with a universe of flavors, colors, textures, shapes, and aromas several light-years removed from her own. How could she have resisted? She was coming from the drab kitchens of postwar England, and in Mexico City just a short walk through any neighborhood market was enough to make her swoon: armfuls of blossoms the color of gold, the smoky perfume of dried chiles gusting through the corridors, the racket of a dozen vendors vying for her attention, waist-high pyramids of unheard-of vegetables, pumpkins of every description, gourds, melons, purple amaranth plants, shocking-pink cactus fruit, blood-red hibiscus flowers, and, above the general din, the metallic cries of the vendors...¡cómpreme, marchantita! Buy here! Buy here!

**** So You Want To Start A Food Truck? <http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2011/04/07/lawyer_owned_food_trucks/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+salon-food+%28Salon%3A+Food%29>
Aviva Shen, Salon

For most of the 20th century, corporate drones wanting to jump ship have had a pretty reliable road map to culinary glory: You started at the bottom, maybe as a dishwasher somewhere, and worked your way up to line cook, to sous chef, to positions at steadily fancier and more expensive restaurants. Or, you enrolled in cooking school. Either route helped you build up the broad, deep culinary repertoire you need.

But the rules are changing.

**** Libambulators Unite! Walking + Reading To Save A City <http://www.swinkmag.com/index.php?page=home&artID=42>
Lee Klein, Swink

Hold a book in front of you, a little to one side. Focus on the sentences but also use your peripheral vision. Mark your place with a thumb as you sample what’s ahead: the sidewalk continues for 200 feet; that biker will glide around you; long before that dogwalker approaches, veer from her oversized Akita. Such sights don’t interfere with steady, immersive reading. There’s no annoying entanglement of thought and text. Look up, store an image, and walk through it as you read. Instead of walking solely in the real world, inhabit a fictional world you imaginatively co-create with the book that’s in your hand.



SingaporeSurf
====================================

**** A Single Party Can't Represent All Views <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/Story/STIStory_654254.html>
Michael Cyssel Wee, Straits Times

Scarcity of talent is a poor argument for not having a multi-party system. No one party can presume to speak for the needs and views of the entire populace. In the last general election, the People's Action Party (PAP) garnered only 66 per cent of the vote. This means there is a sizeable minority of the population wishing to be represented by a different voice in Parliament.

The parliamentary opposition's raison d'etre goes far beyond whether the ruling party 'screws up' or not. So long as there are different views in society and voters who do not wish to be represented by the ruling party, there is a need for more than one party in Parliament.

**** GRCs And The High-stakes Game <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_654187.html>
Sin Wei Xiang, Straits Times

It is the introduction of the GRC scheme and the People's Action Party's (PAP) institutionalised practice of having Cabinet ministers helm GRCs which have significantly changed the nature of the general election into a high-stakes game.

Hypothetically, the concerns of Mr Ang may be non-existent if there were no GRCs. In this scenario, such equally qualified candidates from the ruling and opposition parties may not necessarily face off in the same SMC, and we can speculate that they may each stand an equally high chance of being successfully elected.

**** Don't Equate Interests Of Party With That Of Nation <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_654185.html>
Carl Yeo, Straits Times

Interestingly, if it is in the long-term interest of Singapore to both allow the PAP its leadership renewal process and to retain alternative views given by Mr Low and Mr Chiam, then perhaps while Mr Chiam and Mr Low should stay put, PAP also should not contest Potong Pasir and Hougang SMCs.

This I believe, makes a mockery of Singapore's democratic electoral system. Therefore, political parties should be free to contest wherever they choose to. Elections allow the people's will to be expressed and the best party will naturally win the elections.

**** A Strong Opposition Will Draw Talent <http://www.straitstimes.com/STForum/OnlineStory/STIStory_654186.html>
Tan Soon Meng, Straits Times

With a two-party system, well-qualified candidates would have a choice of parties to join, and that would raise the level of national debate and encourage the competition of ideas.

**** The Unique Minister Mentor <http://singaporerecalcitrant.blogspot.com/2011/04/unique-minister-mentor.html>
Singapore Recalcitrant

In fact MM Lee is an incorrigible highfalutin character who often opened his big mouth to make booboos to the chagrin and embarrassment of his prime minister son, only the latter will find it unfilial to show it.

**** Tharman And George Yeo, Must Resign, And Join The Opposition! <http://theowlcritic.blogspot.com/2011/04/tharman-and-george-yeo-must-resign-and.html>
The Owl

**** PM Lee Justifies The PAP’s Weak Candidate <http://newnation.sg/2011/04/pm-lee-justifies-the-pap%E2%80%99s-weak-candidate>
Fang Shihan, New Nation

Not only does PM Lee admit that the lack of qualified candidates has led to MPs needing to be trained on the job after being elected, the need to enforce racial harmony through the GRC system has sustained repeated batches of low-profile MPs with the ability to do a disappearing act better than David Copperfield.

**** WP: Team A- Or Playing A Subtle Game <http://atans1.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/wp-team-a-or-playing-a-subtle-game/>
Thoughts of a Cynical Investor

**** That Elusive Swiss Standard Of Living <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/4711-that-elusive-swiss-standard-of-living>
John Tan, Singapore Democratic Party

Even though your Malaysian friend earns less than half of what you earn in exchange rate, he nevertheless has the ability to consume more goods and services compared to you. This is because prices of the same basket of goods in KL are much lower. Is our standard of living really higher than our counterparts in KL?

 Now back to that Swiss standard of living. The DPP for Zurich is 110.5. That's 3 times more than ours. In other words, for the same amount of work that a Singaporean and a Swiss put in, the Swiss can buy three times more goods and services than the Singaporean.

This is the truth about our Swiss standard of living.

**** Multi-party Democracy Needed In Singapore <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/04/multi-party-democracy-needed-in-singapore/>
Ng E-Jay, The Online Citizen

It is not wise to wait for the PAP to fail in a major way before voting in the opposition. When that day arrives, it would be too late, because if the PAP turns bad whilst still having full control of all the levers of power, there is no telling the extent of damage it can do.

In fact, it can be reasonably argued that the PAP has already failed. The PAP has embarked on policies that are unsustainable in the long run. Our immigration and labour policies have put strain on our social fabric, depressed our incomes, and lowered our level of productivity. Our economic growth has come primarily from population expansion rather than growth in productivity and innovation. This clearly is unsustainable. Unless we reign in the excesses of our immigration and labour policies, Singapore will be heading toward the edge of a sharp cliff.

**** Non-subsidised Drugs: Secret? <http://theonlinecitizen.com/2011/04/non-subsidised-drugs-secret/>
Leong Sze Hian, The Online Citizen

I also do not understand how publishing the drugs’ list, will impact the drug company  CEOs who try to lobby the minister.

Because, with or without the list, wouldn’t CEOs know that their drugs are non-subsidised, and thus lobby the minister anyway?

Finally, is it not part and parcel of the minister’s job to expect to be lobbied by CEOs?

**** The People Crunchers <http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2011/04/people-crunchers.html>
Chua Chin Leng, My Singapore News

**** The Brutus That Was The Temasek Review <http://newasiarepublic.com/?p=26985>
Owen Tan, New Asia Republic

The demise of TR will mean that the online community will once again have to find another definition of what liberal public discourse is. TR is a symbol on its own, almost like a synonym for liberal, democratic exchange of words. TR will be missed, because thus far, despite the birth of several new online news sites including this one, none of them have gone – or intend to go – quite as far as TR in its approach to its anarchist openness.

**** Open Letter To Sm Goh Chok Tong On His Comments On Farmers <http://sg-quitters.blogspot.com/2011/04/open-letter-to-sm-goh-chok-tong-on-his.html>
Sg-Quitters

It is embarrassing that a senior statesman like yourself has such a narrow vision of quality of life. What kind of message do you intend to give to the younger generation? It also insults people like us who depend on land and nature for survival.

Your definition of quality of life seem to be amassing money to a degree that exceeds sanity and morality. 

**** Is PAP And Government One And The Same? <http://vinyarb.com/joomla/musings/343-is-pap-and-government-one-and-the-same>
Vinyarb

**** å¼ å¿—è´¤ï¼šå…¨èŒè®®å‘˜éžæœåŠ¡é€‰æ°‘æœ€å¥½æ–¹æ³• <http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp110408_012.shtml>
周殊钦, 联合早报

å‰¯æ€»ç†å…¼å›½é˜²éƒ¨é•¿å¼ å¿—è´¤å°±è®¤ä¸ºèº«ä¸ºè®®å‘˜ï¼Œå¹¶éžä»€ä¹ˆäº‹éƒ½è¦ä¸€æ‰‹åŒ…åŠžï¼Œè€Œåº”ç»„ç»‡æœ¬èº«çš„å·¥ä½œé˜Ÿä¼ä¸€èµ·ä¸ºå±…æ°‘æœåŠ¡ã€‚

ä»–æŒ‡å‡ºè®®å‘˜å¦‚èƒ½æ‰¾åˆ°ä¸€äº›å¥½å¸®æ‰‹åŽ»å¤„ç†é€‰åŒºäº‹åŠ¡ï¼Œå°±èƒ½æ›´å¥½åœ°æœåŠ¡é€‰æ°‘ã€‚å› æ­¤è¿™æ˜¯å¾ˆé‡è¦çš„ã€‚

**** Singaporeans – <i>You</i> Can Help To Save Lives. <http://kirstenhan.me/2011/04/08/singaporeans-%E2%80%93%C2%A0you-can-help-to-save-lives/>
Funny Little World

Help me save Ah Yen. Help me save Vui Kong. Help me save Iqah. Talk to your friends, your family, anyone you can get to listen. Blog, tweet, Facebook their stories. Keep them from becoming nameless, faceless statistics. Help people see them for the real people that they are. People who deserve second chances. People who do not need to die.

**** Railway Stations' Heritage Conserved <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1121472/1/.html>
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia

The Singapore government has announced it would be keeping both the Tajong Pagar Railway Station and the Bukit Timah Railway Station because of their deep historical significance and to protect physical reminders of the country's rich heritage.

**** Of Youth & Politics Eligibility <http://blinkymummy.blogspot.com/2011/04/of-youth-politics.html>
野人俱乐部

"Tin Pei Ling is not too young. Lee Kuan Yew was also 27 when he entered politics."

Eh? This has to be one of the worst insults to MM Lee ever.

**** PM Lee Contradicts Himself And The PAP <http://www.temasekreview.com/2011/04/08/pm-lee-contradicts-himself-and-the-pap/>
The Temasek Review

Sir, since you claim that upgrading programmes is a national programme, why do you have to create this divide?

Sir you seem to have contradicted yourself because you said that having a 2 party system could create a split, but I guess Singaporeans can see that the PAP is a single party and it has already created this split for Singaporeans.

**** Nitcharee’s Family Has A $13k Bill <http://mysingaporenews.blogspot.com/2011/04/nitcharees-family-has-13k-bill.html>
Chua Chin Leng, My Singapore News

**** Teo Chee Hean And His Nonsense <http://onesingaporean.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/teo-chee-hean-and-his-nonsense/>
One Singaporean

Do you think Singapore’s future is more secure in the hands of someone like Low Thia Khiang, or Sylvia Lim, or Chen Show Mao, or Hazel Poa, or Vincent Wijeysingha, or Tony Tan than someone like Tin Pei Ling, or Janil Puthucheary, or any of those “sons-of”?

**** Australia Says Rejecting Singaporean ASX Bid A ‘No Brainer’ <http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-04-08/australia-says-rejecting-singaporean-asx-bid-a-no-brainer-.html>
Shani Raja And Gemma Daley, Bloomberg

“This isn’t a merger -- it’s a takeover that would see Australia’s financial sector become a subsidiary to a competitor in Asia,” Swan told reporters today in Canberra, three days after the nation’s Foreign Investment Review Board advised the government to reject the proposal. “I am open to the right deal for Australia if it comes along.”

**** Not Enough Good People In Singapore? <http://yoursdp.org/index.php/news/singapore/4714-not-enough-good-people-in-singapore>
Vincent Wijeysingha, Singapore Democratic Party

This is not a party that has managed to attract the best people to itself. It is a party that attracts like-minded people and consigns those who challenge it with new ideas to the wilderness. It is a party that has never been confident of its views, its philosophy, or its policies.

**** GE: Alec Tok Quits Reform Party <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1121526/1/.html>
S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia

The Reform Party's vice chairman and member of the Central Executive Committee (CEC), Mr Alec Tok, has resigned.

Mr Tok said he resigned as he disagreed with certain clauses in the party's protocol for CEC members which he had to sign after he was co-opted into the CEC last month.

**** Struggling To Come Alive: Singapore’s Anti-death Penalty Campaign <http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/struggling-to-come-alive-singapores-anti-death-penalty-campaign/>
Yawning Bread

In the absence of a sustained conversation about that, the public remains confused, unconvinced and uninvolved. So public opinion doesn’t move. But until it moves, we can’t get judges or ministers to move. Yet we have no time to get the public moving. A capital case is carried on a relentless conveyor belt of court dates, and saving a life now always is more pressing than addressing the public on abstract generalities. It’s a horrible Catch-22.

**** GE: Workers' Party Clarifies Stand On "Insurance Policy" <http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1121575/1/.html>
Saifulbahri Ismail, Channel NewsAsia

Even with the addition of Non-Constituency MP Sylvia Lim from his Workers' Party, Mr Low said it is not enough as an "insurance" for Singaporeans.

Mr Low said: "We are not saying vote us in to form an alternative government. We are saying as a start, Singaporeans have to insure themselves by voting WP into parliament, to start the process of looking at the possibility of forming an alternative government in the future. We are not even starting yet."

**** Singapore: It Is Better To Be Feared Than Loved <http://365sunrise.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/singapore-it-is-better-to-be-feared-than-loved/>
Following The Sunrise

**** Have A Heart, Gwo Burne Tells Singapore <http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/2011/04/08/have-a-heart-gwo-burne-tells-singapore/>
Tashny Sukumaran, Free Malaysia Today

Kelana Jaya MP Loh Gwo Burne has added his voice to appeals for the life of Cheong Chun Yin, the 28-year-old Malaysian who will be hanged in Singapore next month unless President SR Nathan pardons him.

**** The Bullying, Blackmailing Mr.Lee Hsien Loong <http://theowlcritic.blogspot.com/2011/04/lee-hsien-loong-blackmailer.html>
The Owl

Mr.Lee blackmails you with the threat of withholding development, if you do not surrender your vote to him. It is extortion, of course, because he will use the power of his office, to make good his threat.