Tiarnan's interpretation of a song.

Tiarnan, three, is rather fond of the Transformers. Therefore, it was little surprise, perhaps, that he has taken to singing its theme song. However, he came out with his own version. Part of it, went rather like this:

"...and wash the Americans clean!"

It was both sweet and funny to hear him sing these wonderfully reinterpreted lyrics. I, at once, thought of all those dirty Americans being washed. What a strange song. He sang it with such earnestness in a kind of rock style, that no matter how funny it was, you couldn't really laugh at it: it was just done too seriously for that.

I had to ask my wife what the lyrics were meant to be: "...and wash our memories clean!" However, on listening to the song on another occasion, it was obvious why Tiarnan had difficulty discerning the words: they weren't sung clearly at all.

On listening to both the real song and Tiarnan's version, I find that I much prefer Tiarnan's version. At least, his has a funny image in it.

What is particularly sweet about Tiarnan's singing is that he puts a lot of extras into the performance: a rhythmic nodding of the head, the intent expressions on his face, the "rock" voice...it is, as a whole, a great little performance.

Thank you Tiarnan for the wonderful - and unintentionally original - song.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

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IMDB is the Internet Movie Database for film and tv professionals.If you would like to look at my IMDb listing for which another fifteen credits are to be uploaded, (which will probably take several months before they are accepted) please go to: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3438598/ As I write, the listing is new and brief - however, by the time you read this it might have a dozen or a score of credits...so please do take a look. My son, Ainan Celeste Cawley, also has an IMDb listing. His is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3305973/ My wife, Syahidah Osman Cawley, has a listing as well. Hers is found at: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

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Surprised by Forty Years

On February 10th, my father arrived from the UK. We took him to the Botanic Gardens during the day, for lunch and, in the evening, he came to visit us at our home.

For me, the day was about his arrival. He had never been to Singapore before. He had not seen Tiarnan, before. So, there much that was new about it. It was warming simply to see him again, after so long.

We took him on a tour of our condominium estate, showing him the grounds, and the amenities. My wife seemed determined to show him every little thing. She even did what I thought she should not: she opened the door to the function room. I tried to warn her - I was going to open my mouth to ask her not to go in there, since there were people in there. I found myself standing in the entrance to a room filled with smiling people: "Happy Birthday!", they all shouted, as one, throwing strip-like confetti on me.

I was utterly dumbfounded. Without any expectation of it, I found myself in the middle of a surprise birthday party, in my honour. I couldn't speak. I must have looked so funny standing there, my eyes wide, my mouth no doubt parted, as confetti fell all around me.

Long minutes seemed to pass, but perhaps it was no more than a minute. I managed to squeeze out a "thank you", at last - but it was difficult. I really didn't know quite what to make of it.

One reason for the effectiveness of the surprise was that my fortieth birthday is actually on February 14th...and it was the 10th. Yet, I think I would have been surprised even if it was the 14th. My wife, who had arranged it (with the help of some friends), had let no hint of what was to come, out in the weeks before it. I had had been given no idea.

Never in my life, before, have I been surprised by a party. It was a strange feeling to suddenly be in the middle of one's own party - without having known anything about it. It was touching, really, that all these people had convened to give me a surprise.

There were friends from all aspects of my life present - and I am thankful to all of them for coming - and for not letting me know, in any way, that it was to come.

The evening was spent meeting, greeting and reacquainting.

One odd moment occurred when a woman wearing what was basically a bikini showed up. She quietly walked over to the corner of the room and put on some music. Then she began to sway to the music in a style I recognized: she was belly dancing. Syahidah had once taken me to a "Belly Dancing Ball" - and noting that I had enjoyed it, she had laid on a belly dancer. The dancer was really rather good. She danced with a rhythmic grace and a natural enthusiasm that spoke of her love for what she does. The dancers I had seen before, often betrayed a "by the numbers" approach - but she did not. There was a fluidity to her movements that gave them a distinct elegance. She danced a couple of pieces and then urged audience members to come up with her and join in. Sportingly, they did.

It turns out that the belly dancer taught dancing - and she proceeded to show the brave volunteers how to belly dance. Some were good at picking up the movements - and the others were at least brave enough to try. It was notable that all - and I mean all - the initial volunteers were women. None of the men wanted to give it a go. The dancer, Stephanie, asked me to join in - but I was too self-conscious and too sure that I wouldn't do a good job of it - so I declined. That didn't stop her asking me again several times. She also asked all the other men. None of them obliged. Finally my wife approached them all, one by one and whispered something to them (what I don't know). One by one, they stood up and walked to the front forming a circle. Finally, I joined them, too, to the cheering of all.

We danced - not well, perhaps - but we danced. All the men belly danced together, to the sounds of middle eastern music - with one true belly dancer among us. It was hilarious. It was also rather liberating to actually overcome one's initial hesitancy and dance. I rather think, though, that belly dancing is an art of much skill and not easily acquired in an instant.

Belly dancing was interrupted by a singer, who sang two songs - one of them being La Vie en Rose. She had a powerful, well-modulated voice that pitched each piece very well. She too loved what she did and sang with passion. She was, in fact, the very same singer that I had remarked upon in a prior post about singers in Singapore.

The atmosphere created by her voice was most intense: everyone was utterly silent and focussed on her.

Again, my wife had noted my enjoyment of such music - and had arranged for me to be sung to, by the very singer that I had noted was good.

I found the music moving - but more moving still was the fact that it had been arranged for me, by surprise. Nothing like it had ever happened to me before.

The food was generous, plentiful and varied - and so too was the conversation. There wasn't time to speak to everyone as fully as I would have liked to - but I am grateful that everyone who attended came. By doing so, you all become part of a permanent memory in me, for the day I was surprised to be forty.

I would like to thank all who came, for doing so, and for surprising me in the way that I was. I would also like to thank my wife for arranging everything - and Andrew and Zurina Bryant for turning up so early to help set everything up. I am also thankful to Hanisah and Shima who also helped everything turn out so well. If anyone else contributed to the success of the event, and I am unaware of their contribution (which is altogether possible), my thanks go to them, too.

Of course, I must thank Stephanie for her dancing, Karen for her singing - and Hawk for training her to sing so (he helped with the particular songs sung). Thank you.

It is funny how I was expecting to be 40 for so long, but then ended up being surprised by it.

I now have a much better memory of it than I could ever have expected. The oddest - and sweetest - thing about it was that my father attended my 40th birthday party. That I could never have expected, given that he and I now live on different continents. I have many reasons to be touched by that day - and I remain so.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and one month, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and seven months, and Tiarnan, two years exactly, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)

A nation of hidden talents: Singapore.

On Thursday of this week, my wife and I went to a strange kind of party, in Singapore. It was a kind of party I had never been to before.

It was held in someone's HDB flat. HDB stands for the Housing Development Board. It is the government provider of public housing to about 85% to 90 % of all Singaporeans. For those of you who have never been to Singapore, most people here live in apartments in towers of twelve or more stories (some are very much taller). So, this was a normal Singaporean home.

Most people sat on the floor, there being insufficient seating for the, perhaps, 30 or so people in attendance. For the first hour and a half, people mingled and talked, getting acquainted. But then, at about 8.30 pm, something unusual began to happen. One by one, the guests got up to stand to one side of the room, and sang.

I didn't expect much from this, for I had seen the Singapore Idol (a local version of the American Idol) and noted that, although they laboured under the belief that they could, most entrants to that show, could not sing well at all.

Yet, I was surprised. The evening passed in a mixture of classical, pop, rock and country songs sang with passion, love and attention. Some of the performers were nervous before an audience, showing both their youth and inexperience. But some were polished performers, very much at ease. Some of them irritated, somewhat, by preening and admiring themselves as they sang. I am not going to speculate on the cause of such behaviour. But others surprised in other ways: by just being damned good.

One girl, in particular, shone. She was of a delicate build - very, very skinny, in fact, and not at all tall. She introduced herself by saying she had "Never sung this song before" - at which everyone laughed a little, perhaps believing otherwise. Then she began. There emerged from her mouth the most assured, powerful, well-pitched and agile voice I have ever heard in live performance. Quite astonishing. The song she sang was a classical one. Clearly, she had practiced this song endlessly - despite her claim at the outset. The ecstatic applause she received was well-deserved.

There was a very tall man, too, who sang classically and rather well.

What I did note, however, was that those who sang particularly well, could only do so with classical music. They were unable to handle pop or rock. (That included the star singer described above - she was much less assured with a pop tune). Perhaps this is why none of them has ever appeared on Singapore Idol. There was one girl, however, who was comfortable with pop: the one who preened.

I learnt something sad, yet hopeful about this particular gathering of singers and musicians. They exist because they are outside the mainstream. They are unable to open the doors to the few opportunities that exist in Singapore for musical talent - and so, they come together regularly, to sing, at these "secret" soirees.

Singapore is a country that, historically, has had few outlets for creative or performance artists, to express their abilities. It has been a society focussed directly on activities that are more certain to produce an economic return. In this manner, it has been, for much of its history, a city without a thriving culture. In recent years, there has been some effort to change this, the government having recognized that, without a healthy culture, there is not a healthy city. The missing aspect of the arts, is something that diminishes the city's allure for foreigners - and locals alike. So, it has begun to encourage the growth of a local arts scene. Yet, there is much work to do and too few real opportunities for those who would follow an artistic career path of any kind. Quite simply, there is not enough work to make a living, for those who aspire to such a life.

Some of this group are, however, working together to launch two musicals, in Singapore, later this year. I wish them well.

(If you would like to read of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged seven years and eight months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, four years and one month, or Tiarnan, eighteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, genetics, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, creatively gifted, gifted children, and gifted adults in general. Thanks.)

Fintan sings his own songs

Today, I heard Fintan singing a song. At first, I just listened to the overall effect of what he was doing and didn't notice the words. The song was clearly his own: it was a rhyming song, with words that spoke of his love for his family - his mother, his father and his brothers.

What I was struck by was how he managed to make his song both rhythmic and rhyming, even as he improvised it as he went along. It was quite clear that he was inventing the song as he sang: it had that feeling of immediacy and spontaneity as he reacted to his own words and their requirements to rhyme, by simply conjuring the rhyme out of mid-air.

It was touching to note both the subject of his song and the way he composed it. It had a tune, it had rhyme and and it had rhythm. Not bad at all for a musically untrained three year old, expressing himself, as he felt best.

(If you would like to read more of Fintan, three, or his gifted brothers, Ainan Celeste Cawley, seven years and six months, or Tiarnan, sixteen months, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, the creatively gifted, gifted adults and gifted children in general. Thanks.)