Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers

This past Saturday we went to Beerfest Asia. Friends of mine told me about it and I had a hunch it was something Paul might be interested in. I knew about 5-10 others going so I figured it would be fun - beer from around the world under tents at one of the marinas. The tickets stated the time as 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., but that was a bit too ambitious for us. We got there just after 7 p.m. and left by 1 a.m., before some and after others. There was music, big screens showing the World Cup, some no-fuss food, a few games... and beer. Not to mention stuffed monkeys, Hell's Belles and Bono.

You see, live music was performed by cover bands, one called Achtung Baby doing all U2 songs and one called Hell's Belles, an all female group covering AC/DC. My friend from Washington state was quite familiar with Hell's Belles who hail from Seattle. Her husband is a fan. I was looking forward to the U2 songs. Our group congregated in one tent while the music was in another. Paul and I wandered over to hear some "U2" songs. For a band that only plays U2, they could use a little improvement on their U2. The freaky thing was that Australian "Bono" spoke with an Irish accent and introduced the members of the band as the members of the actual band. They dressed like them too (circa 1992). A little weird. Hell's Belles, however, were spot on for AC/DC, and the wild schoolboy outfits worked pretty well on women. The crowd loved them. Quickly after hearing how truly AC/DC they sounded, I remembered how much I dislike AC/DC.

Somewhere in between all the rockin' Paul and I played a good old-fashioned boardwalk game of toss-a-ring-on-a-bottle. As a team, we earned a monkey. If only there was skee ball or frozen custard and funnel cakes. It was one of the less boring nights we've had in Singapore anyway. But try keeping a beer cold while outdoors in this country... the bottles sweat almost as much as I do.

It's sort of fun to be in a country where people care A LOT about the World Cup. I mean, I still couldn't care less, but it's fun to be around people who do. I guess our neighbors are Japanese because there were excited screams coming from across the hall the night Japan won a game. I know people rooting for USA, Mexico, Australia. I might join in to watch the next USA game with some USA fans. Why not? Everybody loves an underdog. Here's hoping they... tie... again. Woohoo. And now I know what a vuvuzela is, whether I want to or not.

Related to the World Cup, there's a curious display that you might catch round a random corner while traveling the streets of Singapore. Cows. I don't know for sure, but I was told that a marketing company is behind this quirky project. Marketing what, I'm not sure. In different parts of town there are standing metal cut-outs of whole "teams" of cows wearing various World Cup team jerseys. My friend told me about two teams she saw in different spots and I though it sounded bizarre. Sure enough, I spotted a team the next day in a grassy field on my way to a train. The jerseys were light blue and white striped. I'm told that's Argentina. There's a sign among the cows that says These cows are under surveillance. If you must take one, call... and gives a phone number. That may actually be the kookiest part. I didn't have a camera on me but if I pass them again, or maybe Mexico's or Italy's cows, I'll try to snap a picture.

Happy Father's Day.
Happy Father's Day.
Happy Birthday.
Happy Graduation.

Australian U2

One of those fine fellows in the back came home with us