No Bird Flipping in This Year’s NDP But There Were 3 Meme-ly Moments

Last year, NDP 2017 saw many things: aircraft, performers and even birds.

And in case you’re wondering, I’m talking about a rather different breed of birds.

The hand-flipped ones.

No idea what happened to the kid, but I have a feeling he won’t be flipping birds anytime soon.

Anyway, lest you’re unaware, yesterday was 9 August, which is also…

My mum’s cousin’s brother’s forebear’s mynah’s birthday.

And now, let’s just take a moment to wish our mynah, Bob, a very happy 98th birthday…

…

Sorry, it seems that my boss wants to prioritise the nation’s birthday (it was yesterday?? Oh ma gawd Bob you share the same birthday as Singapore! What an honour for the nation!), because apparently something similar to last year happened just yesterday.

Although it’s not a finger bird this time, but…

I think you should check it out below for yourself.

Let’s spot the circle

During the show, there was a segment where singer Gareth Fernandez could be seen crooning to the crowd.

And naturally, the crowd swooned in response, although it might not be for the reason you think it is.

If you look very closely at the dancing ‘construction worker’ on the left, you might notice that he has a very interesting handsign going on.

While at first glance you might mistake him as a hidden Konoha ninja trying to release a Water Dragon Jutsu, it seems that we’re kind of overestimating him here.

And here’s another excerpt of him pulling off the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Didn’t catch it? Here you go.

What the hell’s he on about?

According to the good folks at Mothership, he might have actually had a secret agenda all along.

To make us lose.

See, the gimmick is apparently based on a thing called the “Circle Game”, where you gotta make a circle with your index finger and thumb.

And the purpose of the game is to trick your audience into looking at your hand. If they do, you win (for some weird reason).

Incidentally, the game has actually been around for a long time, which means that we might’ve been losing right from the very start.

Fortnite

But The Circle Game wasn’t the only highlight to have graced the event, as elsewhere, something very interesting was going on.

So here’s a quick backdrop; our dear president Halimah Yacob was shaking hands with the performers during the end of the parade, when the camera cut to a bunch of kids celebrating the end of the NDP.

Which wouldn’t have exactly been headline-worthy news, had they not been doing this.

Yes, my friendly folks. That’s the legendary Shoot Dance that has pretty much been immortalised in the popular multiplayer game Fortnight.

(Didn’t know policemen who wear shorts are characters in Fortnite!)

Way to ramp the day up, boys!

Last but not least…

We have Mr Security Guard, who seems to treat his job like how young boys play Pokemon for the first time.

To be the very best, that no one ever was.

So here’s a quick run-through; it’s reaching the end of the ceremony, and our lovely president was engaged in friendly, hearty, warm handshakes with performers.

And then next to her, we have burly Mr Security Guard.

Just look at him eyeing down that hand, treating it like a planetary weapon of destruction. It’s obvious the man gives 101% effort to his job.

Thereafter, it was time for Halimah to get back on her vehicle, which was surely a sad moment for everyone there except for one.

The cameraman.

Ascertaining the cameraman as a threat, Mr Security Guard wasn’t too friendly about pushing the camera away.

And it wasn’t even the first time that the cameraman was unceremoniously turned down. Barely three seconds after, he had his heart broken again by Mr Singapore Schwarzenegger.

Oh c’mon, MSG, he’s just doing his job. Cut him some slack.

But to be fair

Being the President’s security guard must be pretty stressful. After all, you never know when someone will be baying for her blood.

As such, we respect his dedication to the cause, and really the comments above were more for the sake of humour than anything else.

So kudos Mr Security Guard, for giving your all for our country’s beacon.

(Sorry, it was so uneventful, unlike last year, that we had to focus on this)

All in all

It was a ceremonious occasion, and I’m gladdened to see how far Singapore has come, to even reach its 53rd milestone.

As such, keep prospering Singapore. And despite constantly complaining and rambling on about how unnecessarily hot and high-maintenance you are…

I really wouldn’t pick any other place to have been born in.

So keep on growing, and let’s meet each other next National Day. 🙂