Author: Vera Leng

Why do we call them toppings if they sink to the bottom?

Having started her musical journey at the tender age of 4, kotoji learned the piano from her classically-trained mother. Eventually, she developed a keen interest in pop rock, alternative rock, indie rock, power pop and Japanese rock, which crystallised her musical identity in the aforementioned areas. kotoji pursued higher education in Sheffield and London at the age of 18, and also contributed to a number of student projects with the school—ranging from co-songwriting to back-up vocals and even assisting in vocal directing. She has since continued to further her songwriting and production skills independently, along with delving into soundtrack composition…

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I’ve always wondered what it’d be like to relive our colonial days in a shophouse and to reminisce the good ole’ era when our colonisers acquired political control over Singapore and economically exploited us. I kid, I’m not here to fight—I just want a cute apartment. And while my shophouse home dreams are currently impossible seeing how I don’t even have cash for a BTO downpayment, renting one for a month or two comes as a close alternative. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Figment (@figment.live) on May 16, 2020 at 3:17am PDT Figment is…

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I’ve never been one to dabble in yoga, chakras, crystals, gems, or any of that jazz. Achieving inner zen just sadly seems a little too distant a dream for busy old me—I mean, I can barely find the time to sit down for an episode on Netflix, let alone achieve the final state of calm attentiveness. Today, Spa Esprit at Great World Mall greets me with extended arms, as I delve into the realm of energy reading for the first time. There are four parts to their signature Super Vibrator package. Drawing inspiration from Einstein’s famous quote, “everything in life…

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In light of National Day and a show of support for the nation during the dark days of the COVID-19 outbreak, citizens all over the island put up national day flags as a sign of solidarity. It’s all fun and games, however, until someone gets fined. Come 30 September 2020, this might be your reality should you forget to take your flag down. Any citizen who continues to display the national flag after 30 September will risk being fined up to S$1,000 under the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Rules. The Singapore flag can be displayed outside a…

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We’ve all been ~haunted by our demons~ as some point, right? For some of us, it’s an internal battle to keep our mental health on the right track. For others, spirits and ghouls quite literally plague their lives. It is said that some experience the paranormal way more often than others due to a sensitivity that they have been bestowed with since birth. To local YouTuber who runs the True Horror Stories POV channel, supernatural encounters are just a typical Tuesday night for her. “My mom says that it’s cause I was born different,” she writes, and she means it…

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We all know the age-old, sagely saying that goes something like, ‘gRaPhIc dEsIgN iS mY pAsSiOn”. No? just me? Since iOS14’s arrival, netizens have been quick to explore its new offerings, like this SafeEntry hack we think you’ll appreciate very much. That’s not the only good that has come out of the new operating system, however. 31-year-old game marketer Thomas Reisenegger discovered that iOS14 allows users to redesign mobile app icons, so naturally the first thing he did was to recreate them all in the style of MS Paint—because that’s what legends do. iOS 14 let’s you re-do app icons…

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Skincare can either be a joy or a dread—depending on who’s asking, and what tickles your fancy. If I’m being terribly honest, I’m not always the kindest to my skin, and in fact don’t spend more than five minutes out of my day on a basic cleanse and rinse twice daily. This revelation horrifies many, I know, but skincare doesn’t always have to be elaborate nor lengthy. Sometimes, what a girl truly needs is to arm herself with four or five solid products and a simple yet effective skincare routine. I love a good ol’ unpretentious, gentle routine that doesn’t…

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You’re a millennial, you’re cool, and you’re looking for an aesthetic way to subtly (but not-so-subtly) flex your music taste. Inspired by Instagram account @albumreceipts—where popular music albums have been translated into adorable receipts complete with track times and credits, Receiptify creator Michelle Liu has come to the rescue of us laypeople. 1. Consent to usage of your data As with any decent site or company that uses your data, your consent is often first sought. 2. Login via your Spotify account After you’ve logged in, there’s an option to extract your music data from the last month, last 6…

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It’s 2020, women are bada**es, and boy, do we love to see it. If you’re all about that high key feminine power, then these 6 Netflix shows featuring power women will surely tickle your fancy. To quote MP Raeesah Khan, we have no choice but to stan. Intrepid teen Enola uses her sleuthing skills to outsmart big brothers Sherlock and Mycroft to find her missing mother in Enola Holmes, astronaut Emma Green prepares to lead an international crew on the first mission to Mars in Away, school nurse Eun-young takes on supernatural jellies in The School Nurse Files, and more.…

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As if spectating from the safety of our homes as Wuhan took COVID-19 head-on wasn’t heartbreaking enough, raw and unfiltered documentary 76 Days perfectly encapsulates the struggles of both patients and frontline workers alike. It opens with what is almost fiction-esque—as if we’re watching the world undergo the aftermath of an apocalypse, the textbook segue of science-fiction. Except, it’s not storytelling—it’s real life. The flashes of doctors in full PPE dashing down the hallways seem surreal, yet serve as a sobering reminder that this is now the world we live in. The pandemic will be remembered in history for its…

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With heavy influences from R&B artists and a love for funk, soul, and gospel music Nick Zavior is Singapore’s multi-talented rhythm and blues singer. Nick has performed alongside the likes of superstars Babyface, David Foster, Yuna, and many others, in the process honing his talent and love for his craft. Focussing on releasing his debut album this year, Nick’s “I Don’t Wanna Waste Your Time” dropped on 26 June, making it the latest addition to the album. Tell us your name, and how you’d describe yourself to someone whom you’re meeting for the first time. Hello! I’m Nick Zavior. I…

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Like every other millennial out there, I’ve truly honed a penchant for sneakers and fine art. Like vanilla bean ice cream on a warm, fudgy brownie, the Van Gogh x Vans collaboration was truly, chef’s kiss. There’s something about post-impressionist paintings juxtaposed on the most modern article of clothing that just really makes you want to cop without thinking twice. Enter Salvador Dalí, Vasily Kandinsky, Claude Monet, Edvard Munch, Jackson Pollock, Lyubov Popova and Faith Ringgold—these are the names set to join Van Gogh’s on the list of special edition collabs. Driven by their shared goals to inspire individual expression,…

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The year is 2020. The location is Chinatown. People have been murdered off the streets, and it’s up to you to nab the serial killer before he takes his next victim. In a team of 2 to 5 persons, you must work together to solve the mystery, taking detective work into your own hands. 牛车水 Murders, translating to Chinatown Murders, is Tribe Tours’ latest addition, all in good fun and games. A tour guide cum game master will be there to narrate the happenings as you go, but it’s entirely up to you and your team to decide on your…

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KEAT is a classically-trained Singaporean vocalist-turned-electronic-producer, influenced by the likes of The Midnight, FM-84, Troye Sivan and Disclosure. His writing mirrors his candid nature and reflects a vulnerability edged by hints of playfulness. KEAT was selected as a mentee under the National Arts Council’s Noise Music Mentorship Programme 2020 under the guidance of DJ and producer Kaye, and has also performed at stages such as Esplanade’s All Things New and Baybeats Open Stage. His debut single, Leed Me On, was released in September 2019. KEAT has just released his debut EP “I WAS DUMB BUT NOW IM WOKE” earlier this…

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As a writer, I’ve always thought that even in the event of robots taking over our economy, our jobs would still stand because how could artificial intelligence conjure and pen down coherent, compelling sentences the way our human minds can? Today, I stand corrected. On Tuesday, The Guardian tasked GPT-3, OpenAI’s new language generator, to write an opinion piece from scratch on the topic of why and how robots come in peace. GPT-3 is an advanced language model that uses machine learning to produce human-like text and can complete a sentence from just a prompt. For this article, GPT-3 was…

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