M-I-L couldn't go to the Parade this year, so we grabbed her tix in exchange for a flurry of errands we ran for her this morning. We finally made it here and are now baking in the afternoon sun waiting for things to start happenin'.

It's a sea of red and the crowd is going a little crazy with the toys stuffed into this year's funpacks. Amongst the noisemakers, waving objects and nightlights, I found a fashion rubber band. Blue with the inspiring motto, "Keep Singapore Litter-Free." I'll never take it off my wrist again... :P

Most shots I had to take while there was still daylight. My digi-cam is total crap when it comes to night shots. These airborne blokes are making us dizzy with their spiral patterns as they jump out of a chopper and try to land in the middle of the Padang. Some people will do anything for an NDP ticket.

The F16 squadron executing a perfect "Bomb-burst" maneuvre. Military hardware is best put to use in peacetime as crowd entertainment devices. No one really wants to use them as they were designed. Let's keep it that way.

Standard NDP postcard shot. This is the cue for everyone to rise and sing the National Anthem.

Fireworks is one of the hardest shots to make on a digi-cam. Especially at night. There is so much lag between the time the cam focus locks to the opening of the apature that the big bang's usually over and all you've got is a picture of empty night sky. So here's a shot of a bunch of rockets going up. Don't complain.

Don't also ask about all that other stuff in the middle of the show. I know perfectly well what I came to the Padang to see, and you're looking at it.

Happy 40th, Singapore!