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Loose Change
These are curious times we live in and the world we're stuck in is getting crazier every minute: There's a strange man with an awful accent - who allegedly has a penchant for grabbing women's behinds - running for Governor of California. There's a stranger man who's actually no stranger to us because he seems to break down and cry and they seem to keep wanting him to be Prime Minister. He says he's leaving this month. We'll see. Then there's another who came into power under the strangest of circumstances vehemently insisting that Iraq has very scary weapons. When he couldn't find any, he began planting them himself. Last we hear, McDonald's cheeseburgers and fries are ready for conquest. Oily food for oil, fair exchange, no? On the home front, we're embracing the once-taboo with fervour. We see sexy kittens in tight Gucci tops and Manolo Blahnik heels grinding on bar tops to roaming lustful eyes and patronising catcalls. These sexy kittens used to be domestic cats watching Ally McBeal at home. I never thought of bungee jumping in Clarke Quay. In the past, I would head down south to New Zealand to dangle myself upside down, but now I can simply do so in Singapore, while watching the beautiful riverside shop houses from a different view. Gay parties, similarly-themed theatre plays and accepting the homosexuals in the civil sector - it's really heartening to see the government chasing the pink dollar. And I used to think that the pink dollar was only found in the board game Monopoly. The news that nightspots in town will open for 24 hours seems to suggest that Singaporeans are ready to party hard till dawn. I beg to differ, considering we don't even have time for sex. The Censorship Committee proposes showing raunchy sitcom Sex and the City on our local cable televisions. Are they going to show a couple sharing passionate kisses on bed in the first frame and then them having breakfast in the next frame? I rather watch the animals humping on Discovery Channel. Indeed, times have changed. The talk of the town is that Singaporeans are liberalising and getting out of their conservative shells. But, the truth is, beyond the bar-top dancing and bungee jumping façade, are we ready for such changes? Singapore is a young nation, and it's been a rather long journey to reach the point where we're ready to shake our cute butts (without falling) and embrace the boa feathers and sequined gay crowd (without sneering). Change is inevitable, and it's nice to see Singapore moving forward. The liberal changes aren't radical, but rather done in a safe and gradual manner that pleases both the Gucci cosmopolitans and Giordano heartlanders. Perhaps one day, we'll witness Singaporeans reading Playboy magazine, for its awesome interviews, together with a Minister at a 'Read More Good Literature' seminar. All right, maybe, some things will never change.
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