There is [increasingly] no spoon

Posted on by cheryl

“De río arriba Guayas” (upstream of the Guayas River) is where these Arríba chocolate bars originate. Ecuador’s lowlands produce some of the richest cacao on the globe, an heirloom of sorts for the country. Grown only in Ecuador, these chocolate bars are a seamless confluence of floral notes and fruits, jasmine and orange, just barely laced with a smoked earthen timber.
Text and Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2013

Admittedly, I like broad sweeps and this is going to be one of the broader that I take. But please bear with me. We’ll eventually be back to the chocolate. Promise.

First we will need to go back a little bit in time to a scene in the 1999 movie, The Matrix, where a little boy flexes a spoon, bending it at will. He then looks up and says, “There is no spoon”.

Now, that is a point of view I will try to demonstrate that is increasingly worth being considered.
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Capriccio for Carolina – classical notes that rock your soul

Posted on by cheryl

It isn’t that my interest in the field of fashion has waned over the years since I began my blog in 2007 thereabouts, but rather, a percolation of ideas had resulted since then with regards to fashion.

In previous years, I would experiment with fashion styles, fabrics and designs, today having perhaps settled into a general theme that evokes a frame of mind in terms of style and dress, I am more intrigued by the innovative processes of design in itself. I have little qualms mixing and matching fabrics and designs according to context of situation, not in the least, accounting for the weather conditions, and am also apt to carry an extra pair of shoes with me if and when possible – an idea I was introduced to as a form of social etiquette for formal Swedish dinner affairs, when people are expected to have proper indoor shoes that haven’t touched the (what I think are charming) cobbles of the streets outside.

So what captures my attention these days in the field of design and fashion is a sense of the creative. To that extent, I’ve been following behind the scenes, the New York and London Fall RTW collections, whilst at the same time, searching for new classical notes for my playlist.

There are a few designers that inspire me, Carolina Herrera being one of them. I’ve been a fan of Herrera’s collections for several years, where in enthusiasm for my summer in Barcelona 2011, I even packed in luggage to Montjuïc El Xalet, a clean pleat, black Carolina Herrera dress for IESE IFP’s closing dinner.

Following-up on her Fall 2013 RTW, I was this time around, floored not just by the clothes (her signature balance between conservative, long elegant lines and sultry femme), but the absolute soul rocking music!
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Valentine’s Medley 2013

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To the sounds of Rhiannon,
in an emerald green qipao / cheongsam, St. Valentine’s Day 2013, Sweden.
Text and Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2013

This year, the girls thought it a wonderful idea to triple celebrate in Sweden, ushering in the Year of the Snake whilst at the same time, celebrating St. Valentine’s Day that which is also my birthday. I couldn’t myself have thought of any better than this.
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PS Café Ann Siang Hill, Singapore

Posted on by cheryl

Heart of Chinatown at Ann Siang Hill, Singapore.
Text and Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro 2013

I have an affinity for quiet corners in today’s current targeted 7 million inhabitants Singapore. And whether explained by quantum theories of alternate realities, or on a less philosophical level, simply taking the time to find that quiet spot during peak hours in the heart of bustling Chinatown, PS Café at Ann Siang Hill is an utterly serene and cosy meeting place.

Ann Siang Hill is the name of a one-way road located in Chinatown in Singapore. Situated immediately inland of the old harbour, it is today one of the more authentic areas that remain of old Singapore, right at the heart of where all trade of the olden days of this developing city would have taken place.
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The ambassadorial role of Miss Singapore title holders

Posted on by cheryl

In a recent article in Urban of the Singapore Straits Times (by Joyce Chua, 18 January 2013.)I was given an opportunity to expand on my own experiences as being a Miss Universe Singapore winner.

A recurring question I get is what goes on behind the scene after that the pageant is won, after the crowning ceremony on stage, after the stage lights have dimmed and the TV cameras shut off. Most people probably expect the answer to be, incessant and non-stop partying for a whole year. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your disposition, that is not really correct. Instead, that is when the ambassadorial role of any Miss Singapore title holder begins.

The double portfolio

Till today I feel that the modern purpose of beauty pageants remain undefined. There are at least two aspects built into the structure of most beauty pageants, the entertainment front and humanitarian efforts, of which the public is more familiar with the former but see less of the latter. From this double portfolio comes numerous international opportunities and public relations efforts that begin immediately after the winner has stepped off the stage.

The ambassadorial role of Miss Singapore title holders

A few years ago I was invited to Penn State University to give a talk on my experiences of living outside of Singapore. At that time I had the pleasure of exchanging ideas with Ambassador Ashok Kumar Mirpuri, Singapore’s current Ambassador to the USA. His main point and experience from representing a comparatively small nation in the US, was reflective of my own, being that Singapore is listened to, when and because we are successful. Even as a small nation, Singapore experiences as large problems as any country. It is both vulnerable yet seemingly resilient to the processes of globalization, so to the extent that we are successful, the world is interested in what we do.

Any representative bearing “Singapore” in her title, is necessarily a reflection of our country and an investment in Singapore’s international public relations. An attractive young woman bearing the title of “Miss Singapore” will be sought after, spoken with and listened to. Whether we like it or not, whether Singapore uses it or not, she will have an ambassadorial role.
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Complex systems theory and the biological organization

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An abstraction of Michael Conrad’s (1970) Biological Organization on Clare W. Graves’ (1980) Levels of Existence.
Text and Photo © CM Cordeiro 2013

In reading about self-organizing structures for the relevance of theory applied to the field of international business (IB), I thought the ideas expressed by Michael Conrad in his paper entitled, Statistical and Hierarchical Aspects of Biological Organization (made accessible via NASA) was interesting when also applied to the theoretical constructs of Clare W. Graves’ Levels of Existence.

Conrad discusses the differentiation and uncertainty associated with the organization and variability in a biological organization’s compartmental structures, that are expressed in terms of certain entropy measures. In his paper, he tries to ascertain the most efficient operative level of a biological system, landing on the principle of static equilibrium that he uses vector models for representation.
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Bitter orange peel gingerbread cookies

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Gingerbread cookies with bitter orange peel, just because.
Text and Photo © CM Cordeiro 2013

I was over at a friend’s place recently, where in Sweden, gingerbread cookies make an abundance of appearance at coffee tables in various shapes during this time of year. Most store-bought gingerbread cookies are made with the basic ingredients of flour, sugar, syrup and spices, where they are generally a tad too sharp in sweetness for my liking, the reason why the ones served at the table on this occasion at my friend’s place intrigued.

The cookies were lighter in colour and more voluminous than the standard dark gold, thin flats of gingerbread cookies bought off the shelves at the grocery stores. And they tasted, different. I enquired after their source and her lighthearted answer was that they came from an artisan bakery shop just down the street where she lived, and no, they didn’t come off the shelf from the grocery store, her eyes just barely flinting in horror.

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