The Crane - National Bird of Singapore

The only constant is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account, not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.

- Isaac Asimov

Change maybe the only constant, but I think Singapore is thriving on change a little too much. Ask any Singaporeans, and they will be quick to say, that they have lost the whatever little sense of nostalgia they had in the country. When a Singaporean shows you around his/her country, you cannot expect him/her to say, "Oh that was the place I used to play when I was young", or "That is my grandmother's flat, that is where my dad, and my uncles were born", or "That is the primary school I used to study in!". No you can't expect them to say things like that, because those places would have been knocked away from the face of earth years back, and in their place will stand newly constructed buildings, shopping malls, or pricey apartments.

Try entering the CBD of Singapore, and you cannot turn to a place, where there are not cranes. Of course! Because they are the national bird of Singapore anyway. Cranes dominate the skyline of Singapore, and there are just so much of them, that you can't keep up with them. And what do they remind you? "Change is the Only Constant".

So, since I am a Singaporean, and have constantly been living with these national 'birds' and loss of nostalgia, why am I suddenly blogging on this? Because, I woke up in the morning today (My first off day, since like 3 months, and have been working all 7 days because of 'Dhool' and was so looking forward to some uninterrupted sleep") to loud pounding under my block. When I looked down, I was appalled to see some major construction started near our void deck, and coconut trees around the area being chopped off, and sawed away mercilessly. Now nobody will understand if I tell them that I could see 3 coconut trees when I looked out of my window.

Xochiquetzal... The goddess of fertility

The ancient Aztecs of Mexico associated Chocolates with Xochiquetzal, the ancient goddess of fertility, thus immediately impressioning us with the aphrodisiac qualities of chocolates. Since I am feeling extremely chocolatte today, because of the hot chocolate i had yesterday, I am presenting below the list of chocolate associated nouns we should all know... After all, "Life is a box of chocolates..." Cocoa
The basic necessity of all cocoa products taken from roasted cocoa beans.
Croquant
Combination of nuts and chocolate.
Dark Chocolate
Has a rich, slightly bitter flavour. According to European standars, dark chocolate contains atleast 43% cocoa paste.
Ganache
A smooth filling attained by adding boiled full cream to chocolate.
Gianduja
A paste which is formed by mixing ground hazelnuts or grilled almonds, with white sugar and chocolate.
Marzipan
A mixture of peeled almonds and white sugar.
Milk Chocolate
Also rich in flavour, but sweeter in tast. The content of cocoa in milk chocolate is a minimum of 30%
Nougat
A square chocolate filling made from caramel sugar, crushed roasted hazlenuts or almonds.
Praline
The Belgian name for chocolate shells with an assortment of fillings in different shapes.
Truffle
Chocolates with cream or butter ganache. Usually rolled into a ball in cocoa poweder, flakes or nuts
White chocolate
A chocolate flavour prepared with cocoa butter, sugar and milk powder.