Insects for dinner?

Insects may be man's biggest enemy since ancient times. There are mainly three reasons why humans hate bugs so much.

First, bugs are ugly and we humans hate ugly things. When was the last time you heard somebody praise a grasshopper for looking so cute? Other ugly things which we dislike include the blobfish, monkfish and Rebecca Black fish.

Second, bugs are irritating creatures. Insects are always present to distract us from working, playing and well, sleeping. Other stuff which we find irritating include crows, baby cries and Jeanette Aw's voice.

Lastly, we hate bugs simply because we dare not eat them. At least more than half of us in this world would not consider putting a bug into our mouths. "I would rather be a monk and remain a vegetarian for the rest of my life than eat an insect!" you might say.

However, the last point is set to change. Bugs will still remain ugly and irritating just like how the Philippines remains unapologetic for killing a Taiwanese fisherman. But, if we change our perception of insects and pluck up the courage to consume them, the last point will cease to exist.

That is what the Food and Agriculture Organization is advocating. A diet which is rich in protein. Hang on, we are not talking about pork chops or hard-boiled eggs. It's insects! Yes, in a report released on Monday, the United Nations urged more people to supplement their diets with insects.

According to the report, there are already two billion people in this world who include creepy crawlies in their diets. Biologists have studied the nutritional value of insects and some of them like crickets and grasshoppers, can rival red meat in terms of protein per gram.

Other than keeping you full and providing a nutritional boost, the consumption of insects is also known to be environmentally-friendly. These living things emit less ammonia than pigs and reproduce very quickly unlike cows.

If eating insects becomes a norm in the neat future, we might get to see local dishes like char kway teow with cockroach topping, cheese plus worms prata and spider hor fun. Sounds disgusting? Yeah, we'll rather eat Kim Jong Un's fat belly with kimchi.

Disguise

Below are 10 different kinds of disguises you can have in Singapore. They are simple and require little effort to pull off the look. Alright, so how do you disguise yourself as...

A disgruntled Malaysian

Wear a black shirt and shout "Ubah!". Do it near a Merlion for maximum effect.



An innocent party after shooting someone

Be a Pinoy and get hated by the Taiwanese.



An innocent party after switching off the lights

Ask Najib gor gor for more tips



Prince Harry

Do not react to anyone calling your name even if there are 500 of them.



A poor man

Buy an Executive Condo (EC) and claim that it was too expensive.



A man deep in thought

Talk about Syria, Israel, Hizbollah, America and Russia and how to solve the problem.

 

A singing contest judge

Join The Final One where results are based solely on fan votes.



A fashionista

Talk about the Chanel cruise show and your admiration for Karl Lagerfeld.



Alex Ferguson

Stay with the same employer for 26 years...Too long? Ok, just eat some chewing gum then.



A filial child

Be especially nice to your mum only on Mothers' Day.

Jumping Ship

I scored the best goal by joining Man U!

If you watch football, you should read this. If you do not, then you must read this. This post is not about football, it only uses footballers and football clubs as references. Are you ready for kick-off? Let's go.

Alex Ferguson, the soon-to-be-retired old hag, has been hogging the headlines of the sports section in every newspaper after announcing this week that he will step down as Manchester United manager after 26 years. Yeah, and he'll be retiring for good, at last.

While the press continues to churn out articles and columns that honour and pay tribute to him, I would like to direct your attention to another Manchester United employee. He is part of the playing staff and has been at the club for less than a year. However, he deserves full marks for his KPI despite being a newbie.

The man is none other than Robin van Persie. The striker spent eight years with Man United's arch-rivals Arsenal before switching sides. He arrived at his current club at the peak of his career and continued his fine form for them this season. van Persie is currently the top goalscorer in the English Premier League with 25 goals.

He was the top scorer last season where he found the net 30 times for Arsenal. For his country, the Netherlands, he has amassed a total of 34 goals in 74 appearances. Goals are what a striker needs to thank his fans, impress the neutrals, silence his critics and most importantly, contribute to the team.

Arsenal fans can whine and groan all they like about van Persie betraying them by joining an arch-rival. But all of them plus manager Arsene Wenger must agree that the Dutchman made the right move for his career. The Red Devils clinched the title with a 3:0 win over Aston Villa last month while Arsenal are fourth in the current standings.

To make matters worst (for the Arsenal faithful), van Persie was scorer of all three goals that sealed the title.

Other than marvelling at van Persie's footballing talent, we can actually take a thing or two out of this. Firstly, jumping ship is never a bad thing. There are many "ship jumpers" in the world who have went on to achieve greater success or success which they never achieved in their previous jobs.

Marissa Mayer, the president and CEO of Yahoo!, is another classic example. She was Google's first female engineer and stayed with the company for 13 years before taking up her current appointment in July 2012. Mayer had a take home pay of close to $6 million USD in her first year on the job, which works out to be a million a month.

Mayer's salary easily trumps those of fellow Silicon Valley CEOs. Google's founders pay themselves a dollar per year while Steve Ballmer of Microsoft and Tim Cook of Apple made $1.3 million and $4.2 million last year. But she is still miles away to those like Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, who pocketed $96.2 million in 2012.

Back to football. There are many players who decided to move on and proved that it was the right choice. Sadly, a number of them used to be with Arsenal. Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy left the Gunners for Manchester City and won the Premier League last season. Francesc Fabregas headed back to Barcelona and now has four medals including the FIFA CLub World Cup at home.

van Persie was quoted as saying "from my side, and Arsenal as well, there are no hard feelings. There were certain elements which were vital to me that we had a different view. That is life. Nobody is angry at me and I'm not angry at them." when he was asked to give his thoughts about his transfer from Arsenal to Man United.

Jumping ship may be a risky move and seen as unloyal to your previous employer. However, if one is high-flying (Dutchman like van Persie, if you catch my drift), one doesn't need to worry about upsetting the boss who nutured you and the colleagues who went through thick and thin with you. The potential taste of greater achievement at your new workplace is stronger than the plain lifestyle you have been leading all along.

Of course, you should not jump ship after just six months at a company if you are attaining great results there. Staying on the job for a while longer may enhance your employability and attract more prospective employers. You should only make the switch when you are confident enough of your capabilities.

Lastly, you might want to think twice about defecting if the new workplace is full of politics. Unless you are sure that you can work your way up to the top instead of struggling to compete with an equally capable co-worker, otherwise you should consider staying where you are, a farmilar and comfortable environment.

van Persie has displaced Wayne Rooney has the first-choice forward in the squad and the latter is planning to put an end to his Manchester United career. Rooney is a quality striker by world standards. However, I am sure that van Persie was sure enough that he can be the top man there before making the biggest decision in his profession.

Ordinary Singers

This year's National Day Parade (NDP) will not have any celebrity singing its theme song. Instead,  a choir which consists of 68 individuals will take over the likes of Stephanie Sun, who is busy selling milk powder at the moment, and Taufik Batisah, who sang the National Anthem wrongly on more than one occasion.

So, why did the organizing committee choose commoners like you and I this time? The reason given at yesterday's press conference was that the parade wanted ordinary Singaporeans to be in the spotlight in conjunction with its theme "Many Stories...One Singapore". Sounds a little clichéd?

By deciding on using ordinary individuals with the excuse of giving them an opportunity to take centre stage, what message is the NDP Exco Committee trying to send? All those years before 2013, we wanted singers to dominate the event but now we are giving you a chance after neglecting you guys for a long time?

I view this decision in a totally different way. It's more like the price of re-hiring established singers like the ang moh-like Corrine May or Olivia Ong is too costly. On the other hand, investing in celebs with less popularity like Sylvia Ratonel or Electrico (who, you may ask) have been proven to be a risky move.

Somebody within the committee must have came up with a plan to utilize ordinary citizens who aspire to perform on stage. Since it is morally justified and economically correct, most if not all of the members would agree with that genius.

Perhaps the schedules of all the Singapore singers that the committee had in mind clashed with date of 9 August, leaving it with little choice but to "mobilize" the commoners. But will these commoners make an impact? Will they be a Kit Chan multiplied 68 times or will they be another Electrico? I dare not comment in case one of them reading this finds it offensive.

Quack!

Quack quack quack! A 54-foot tall inflatable rubber duck sailed its way into the Victoria harbour in Hong Kong on Thursday. The gigantic duck was constructed in 2007 and since traveled to 9 different countries. Despite its huge size, I still think that it looks extremely adorable and can't resist giving it a hug.

Speaking of which, does anybody still remember the Great Singapore Duck Race? It was an annual event where you fork out ten bucks for a rubber duck which will, together with other ducks, be dumped into the Singapore River for a race. It stopped for a few years before making a comeback about five or six years ago. And I've not heard news about it since then.

Singaporeans, known to be foodies, are not really interested in such races after all. Well, I suggest a duck rice race instead where participants compete against one another to see how many plates of the dish can they eat in one minute. There will be other categories in laksa, nasi lemak and char kway teow too. We can call the whole event The Hunger Games: Singapore Edition.

Singapore Tourism Board aka STB, are you reading this? Does that sound shiok to you guys?

Malaysia General Election preview 2: The Singapore Link

Singapore and Malaysia, best described frenemies since the Lee Kuan Yew and Mahathir era, have always been linked to each other, and I am not just referring to the Causeway. There is only one day left before Malaysians head to the polls to decide the outcome of their country's most entertaining election ever.

Throughout the two weeks of campaigning, the word "Singapore" was mentioned more than a few times by political candidates of both the ruling Barsian Nasional as well as the opposition Pakatan Rakyat. If merely verbalizing about Singapore is not a big deal, then check out what BN's Abdul Ghani did a couple of days ago.

The outgoing Johor Menteri Besar, who is supposed to be campaigning in Gelang Patah, entered "senang diri" mode by paying a visit to Singapore on Thursday. He claimed that the trip was to have a taste of the daily commuting experience of those who work in Singapore but live in Malaysia.

He ended up having a taste of fast food chain Wendy's where he patronized its outlet at Jurong East MRT station for breakfast. Ghani's Singapore trip was expected to be criticized by his direct opponent, Democratic Action Party's Lim Kit Siang and the latter didn't let the neutrals down.

"If I go there, I'll be accused of being a stooge of the Singapore Government." Lim was quoted in a Malaysian news site.

Why is Ghani making the effort to cross over the Causeway for his election campaign? Does Singapore really play a part in influencing Malaysia's politics? Or is Lim right about Ghani being a follower of Malaysia's cleaner and tinier neighbour? Then, does Malaysia affect our political landscape?

When Singapore concluded its 16th parliamentary general election in 2011 which saw the ruling People's Action Party receive only 60.1 per cent of the popular vote, a number of Malaysian voices were heard to be longing for some "change" in their country too.

Having witness what their Singaporean counterparts did at the polls by making PAP lose a GRC for the first time, many Malaysians now have greater motivation to not vote BN. Moreover, with the ongoing Arab Spring thingy then, people were fired up to give their government a few whips.

The fire has since been doused and reignited by BN and PR. However, one thing for sure is that having seen what transpired in Singapore, Malaysian voters now have the mentality of "if they can vote for change, so can we!". This might benefit the opposition a little more and explains why both coalitions are in a head heat in opinion polls.

Even the most prominent politician of the country, who is in fact nothing more than a retiree, can't resist mentioning about Singapore. Mahathir drew parallels between the 1964 PAP and the current DAP. He claimed that DAP, like the PAP then, adopts a meritocratic system that woud crack the community. Dr. M is clearly playing the race card here and neither Singapore nor Malaysian voters should take this old man seriously.

Back to the lightning trip to Singapore by Abdul Ghani. Actually, Lim Kit Siang did not totally blast his BN opponent. The opposition veteran said that he was considering being a copycat by coming to Singapore to campaign too. He did not do it after all because time was running out I think.

The fact that Singapore has featured in Malaysia's general election is due to the opposition's attack down the south. Johor, once labelled as a safe haven for BN and its largest member party Umno, is no longer a sure-win state for the ruling coalition.

Big names like Lim and Pakatan Keadilan Rakyat's Chua Jui Meng are arriving in the southern portion of Peninsular Malaysia to harass the BN. Johor whose population has the Chinese make up 35 per cent, is seen as a good bet for PR which is more popular among the non-Malays.

Whatever the outcome, let's hope that Malaysia-Singapore ties continue to be strengthened and co operations between both countries ensue.

Egg Tarts: looking innocent

If you happen to be an egg tart fan, then I would like to inform you that this post is going to  be awfully disturbing, extremely traumatizing and incredibly unpleasant to you. And I am not going to make any apologies here. Or should I? But that will make me look weak.

Anyway, to the rest of you who are not really addicts of egg tarts, here the bad news which can also be viewed as good news if you are planning to snack on one. It's one of the unhealthiest food you can find in a bakery.

Egg tarts look pretty innocent? Certainly not. Just having one will see you consume 180 calories. Imagine eating two or three of them at the same time, that's like downing two bowls of rice in one go.

Calories are not the main concern though. Its high sugar content (20 grams per egg tart) makes it a nutrition demon. Abstaining from soft drinks? Then you should avoid eating egg tarts as well. Oh yes, and you should know why a high sugar intake is detrimental to your health.

As the pastry's ingredients include lard, butter and omg...shortening, it is evident that egg tarts can be classified as high-fat food. The worst thing? Most of the fat are the not-so-kind saturated fats and wicked trans fats.

Although eggs are the main character in this pastry, do not expect protein to be good guy here. An egg tart contains less than 5 grams of protein so if you are thinking of it as a muscle-building food, then it's time to switch targets. Eat natural foods like hard-boiled eggs or sardines instead.

RIP Lim Chong Ping

Seems that life is really fragile after all. Not too long ago, I dedicated a blog post to the ex-principal of my secondary school. She left the world about two weeks ago. Then a couple of days later, it was Mediacorp artiste Huang Wenyong. All of a sudden, Singapore seems to have lost arguably the greatest actor of his generation.

This week, news about the death of a platoon mate of mine during my recruit days surfaced in the media, both in print and online. Lim Chong Ping, the tall and lean guy who used to gossip with me during PT sessions, you will be missed.

Actually, I already knew about Chong Ping's death the day after that unfortunate event took place in December 2012. I was quite devastated (for ten seconds) when I first came to know of it in my platoon's Facebook group. In fact, I was still questioning myself if it was just a dream.

However, after reading the comments of other platoon mates, I was certain that everything was genuine and just had to accept the fact one of my friends was gone for good. On a positive note, I was glad that I did not last see Chong Ping at the end of BMT. Many of them including some from my bunk were last seen by me on the day before the passing out parade.

I met Chong Ping, who served as a combat medic and was the only one in our platoon who was posted as medic, at Nee Soon Camp in September last year while I was on some medic course there. We talked for quite a while and he seemed rather joyful then. Little did I expect that to be the final encounter I had with him.

Sadly, Chong Ping was the only absentee during our platoon's photo-shoot as he was on medical leave then. Now, his absence will not only be felt in that photo but in reality as well.

After reading the reports in the media, question marks still exist in my mind. These question marks will never be erased unless Chong Ping is present to quell the doubts. Dude, I don't think you will ever jump into the river like that if you were sober. A moment of madness cost you your life.

Did Chong Ping really take the plunge just because he wanted to distract his cousin from his argument with his girlfriend? Couldn't he have done something less hazardous to stop the bickering? Did he choose to go for the water just because he was a certified life guard?

Only Chong Ping has the answers to these questions. Until then, rest in peace bro.

Thank you for making my day?

Saw this post on 9GAG Singapore's Facebook page a while ago and my first and only reaction was...

So touched? Feel appreciated? More motivated?

Nah.
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Where the heck is this chicken rice stall? Next time lim pei wear my No.4 plus beret go there eat liao.

SAF really takes good care of us

Less than a fortnight ago and after more than 15 years, the Singapore Armed Forces finally tweaked its list of core values by adding "Safety" to it. So, is SAF trying to tell us that safety was not one of its main priorities until this year? Maybe yes, since there were a spate of unfortunate events last year. Maybe no, if those accidents did not occur.

This week, something surprising and shocking was reported in the news. A coroner's court on Monday (for the death of Private Dominique Sarron Lee who passed away in April 2012) heard that combat medics of the SAF are not "fully equipped to handle asthma attacks among SAF servicemen".

Yes, you did not read that wrongly. SAF's medical personnel are not adequately skilled to administer asthma attacks. This incident totally contradicts with what the SAF has always been prided for. It cares for soldiers and is always watching out for us.

The training which Pte Dominique underwent includes the use of smoke grenades yet medical equipment which are potentially useful like Ventolin, an inhaler for asthma attacks, were not present. What? They can't even do such a simple yet crucial thing? How can parents whose sons will serve National Service in the future trust SAF to take good care of them?

The court was told by the platoon commander for the exercise that he threw extra grenades as there was no wind on that day to create the required foggy conditions. He had more than the usual amount of grenades issued to him as another troop was absent. Give you more means must throw more meh? Don't you know that your man, who is wearing a blue wristband, has a medical history?

This isn't the first time that Mindef and SAF's medical corps have appeared in the news for negative reasons this year. The debate on whether an electrocardiogram check was sufficient for the pre-enlistment check-up rages on.

Mindef argues that a more expensive test would not have detected the heart defect of specialist cadet Ee Chun Sheng, who was another NS casualy last year. Some doctors urged the use of echocardiogram machine instead of the ECG machine used by Mindef while others believe that there isn't a need to utilize them.

Whatever it is, those of us who have served/are serving National Service in the SAF will know how efficient, reliable and responsible it really is. Just admit it even if you are most loyal regular.

Malaysia General Election preview

 

 From left to right: Chattering, Nervous, Desperate

One week down, one more week to go. That is the current state of the election campaign in Malaysia. Next Sunday, Malaysians will go to the polls to pick their country's rulers and decide what its future will turn out to be in the next five years. Though a Singaporean, I believe that Malaysia's 13th general election is worth following. Simply because it has political entertainment.

There are numerous "clash of the titans" battles around the nation where party heavyweights from the ruling Barisan Nasional and opposition Pakatan Rakyat face each other for a parliamentary seat. Singapore didn't really had many titanic battles in GE2011 due to the GRCs, which resulted in only a few 1-on-1 duels.

Some of the more prominent fights include Gelang Patah in Johor where BN's outgoing Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman takes on opposition veteran Lim Kit Siang of the Democratic Action Party, Shah Alam in Selangor which sees BN's Zulkifli Noordin against Parti Islan SeMalaysia's Khalid Samad and Keningau in Sabah that has two (real) brothers facing each other.

In the case of Shah Alam, it is said to be fight between the hardliner and the moderate. The former, from BN, is known for his extremist comments on Hindus, while Mr. Moderate is a Catholic church visitor of the PAS. When we put white and black together, what will be get? Erm, grey?

Over at East Malaysia, two brothers, Joseph Pairin Kitingan of BN and Jeffrey Kitingan of the independent State Reform Party, are up against each other again. Joseph is the elder and the incumbent defending his seat.

Five years ago, Jeffrey lost to his brother when he was still with Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Five years later, what will the result be? I thought Kevin-Prince Boateng and Jerome Boateng, both professional footballers, were probably the only brothers in the world who would be on different sides. I guess you and I were both wrong.

Alright, then there is Gelang Patah which I reckon would be biggest fight in this election. Gelang Patah is only a little more than 10 kilometres away from my camp and I can travel there by car in less than an hour via the Second Link Expressway.

Useless info aside, the face-off between Ghani and Lim here is a essentially a clash of old and new (although both are old enough to be grandfathers). Ghani has been defending Johor, the Umno fortress, from the opposition for some 18 years and is name and face are familiar to voters there.

On the other hand, Lim is new to Johor after deciding to leave Perak where his Ipoh Timur seat of nine years was to spread the "political wave" from the north to south of Peninsular Malaysia. Is it worth the gamble when the opposition's de facto leader, Anwar Ibrahim opted to stay and defend his Permatang Pauh seat in Penang?

Another factor which makes the general election interesting is who will be the next prime minister of Malaysia. If the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional, continues to rule the country, it is understood that Najib Razak, the head of the coalition's biggest party, Umno, will be premier. Really?

If BN were to receive less than two-thirds of the vote, like what happened during the reign of Abdullah Badawi in 2008, Najib may face a similar fate like his predecessor. Abdullah stepped down as Umno president and prime minister in June 2009, a year after the watershed election. Najib, who was Abdullah's deputy then, was subsequently sworn in as the 6th prime minister.

So, if BN were to receive a barrage of hard knocks while barely clinging onto power, will Najib's place still be untouchable? Or will his deputy, Muhyiddin Yassin, launch an attack to bring him down within Umno? That sounds a bit unbelievable but Najib is, after all, an untested leader. And falling at his first hurdle would only make Mahathir and the rest of BN pissed off.

What if Pakatan Rakyat wins and end the BN's long-time rule of Malaysia? Most people would agree that Anwar will assume the position of prime minister. The centre-left DAP has ruled all its members out. That means the head of government will still be a Malay after all. What about the Islamist party PAS then?

Its spiritual advisor, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, at an age of 82, is certainly too old for that. That leaves us with Abdul Hadi Awang, president of the party. That's where the problem lies. Hadi, the MP for Marang in Terengganu, had not completely ruled himself out.

The three members of Pakatan Rakyat have also chose not to comment on who will be prime minister, which only increases the suspicion that Anwar is still not confirmed as first-choice until today. If Anwar, with the backing of DAP, goes on to assume office, will he create a split within the coalition?

Whatever the outcome of the election, it is for the better of Malaysia (and maybe Singapore if markets don't crash too much if BN loses big). Malaysians should use their vote wisely. They should ask themselves what are they most concerned with? Political corruption, economic issues or social reforms?

Vote whatever you think is right. I am not a Malaysia citizen but as an observer from its closest neighbour, I would say go for Anwar and co. because they seem to say more "right" stuff.