Home

Forget about Kit Chan being the original singer of it, JJ Lin re-singing it unpleasantly as a rap five years later or even the failed attempt by a whole lot of attention-seeking Singaporean celebs (though some of them are unknown to me) singing it for this year's Total Defence campaign.

The ever-popular and only song that Kit Chan relies on to gain a bit of spotlight here is back again, but with a spoof and loads of parodies this time. Chua Enlai as the main character in the video more than enough sums up what kind of entertainment you are about to enjoy upon clicking the play button.

This is what you call genuine creativity from a dull and boring place called Singapore. Kit Chan, as a veteran in the entertainment industry, should understand the phrase "withdraw when it's enough". "Home" has been a hit among the young and elderly but re-singing it again and again with the same style will only make it more and more tasteless.

Oh and before I forget, how the heck did they manage to find someone who resembles Tin Pei Ling so much to act as that unpopular woman in white?

IamSingaporean

Don't play play hor, every Singaporean (and I don't mean PRs) ought to check out this website, www.iamsingaporean.com. In conjunction with the upcoming National Day where Singapore will celebrate its 46th birthday, this website was launched to celebrate the uniquess of being a Singaporean.

All you have to do is to connect your Facebook with this website and the latter's programme to search your profile on the social networking site for proof of Singaporean-ness like using Singlish words and complaining just about anything. The number of times you checked in at a hawker centre will also be totalled as the amount of "chopes" you ever made.

I am 81% Singaporean. Quite a decent result but I think I deserve to score at least a 90.

Singapore vs malaysia

What a bunch of losers! Balek kampong lah!

Singapore and Malaysia will face each other again in the second leg of their second round World Cup qualifier tomorrow at the Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. In case you don't know, the Malaysians were humiliated 3-5 by Singapore during the first leg last Saturday.

Oh, and what bad losers were they with the Tigers' captain Safiq Rahim claiming that Singapore is noting without their foreign imports. Coincidentally, all the five goals scored by the Lions in the first leg were from naturalized players while Safiq is banned for the second leg due to a red card.

Maybe it is because that he won't get the chance to compete with players who are better than him that prompted Safiq to make such comments. It is certainly true that the Malaysian team as well as the Malaysians who supported them are sore losers.

If you lose a match, you can blame it on the referee, weather or even yourself but never your opponent. Your opponent is there for you to beat but if you fail to take the chance, then don't put the blame of him/her.

Seriously, if Malaysia was really that good, they would be able to win any team with players of any nationality. The fact that foreigners chose to take up citizenship in a tiny country compared to one that is 476 times larger than it explains the difference between the two.

Moreover, the Malaysian defence cannot even stop a 41-year old striker called Aleksandar Duric in the first leg. How are they going to fare when playing with younger opponents who have more agility and energy to boast?

Of course, Singapore is not going to have it comfortable despite having a two-goal advantage. The Bukit Jalil Stadium will be a living hell for the Lions with 80000 Malaysian bad losers cheering on their team.

Singapore's main problem for the upcoming match is the right-back position as Ismail Yunos is suspended after copycat-ing Safiq Rahim by collecting a red card in the same match.

Isa Halim looks set to be the replacement although there is also a possibility that Juma'at Jantan will be shifted from left-back to cover that position with Shaiful Esah taking over the former's role.

Either way, Singapore will still go on to advance into the third round hence making Malaysians aka ultra sore losers (the word "Ultra" is what Malaysia fans call themselves) hate their Causeway neighbours even more.

My prediction? A 1-1 draw where Singapore either score from a penalty or rely on some stupid goal. Most probably netted by a naturalized player.

top 50 most delicious food

Taken from insing.com

Recently, Cable News Network or better known as CNN cooked up a list of the 50 most delicious foods on earth after its reporters scoured the planet, as claimed by them. Without even looking at the list, one can conclude that it is just an opinionated thing.

Anyway, I have decided to give my own opinion on this. However, before doing that, I would like to let you know that Singapore's name appeared not once but twice on the list. Sadly, the two Singapore delicacies, chilli crab and chicken rice, settled at a modest 35th and 45th place respectively.

The controversial champion was Thailand's massaman curry, an ubiquitous food that can be bought at almost every street in the country. Number two was another humble dish that consists of a few ingredients called neapolitan pizza from Italy.

Filling up third to fifth place were chocolate that came from Mexico, Japan's iconic food, sushi and China's popular Peking duck.

In my opinion, some of the questionable food which made it to the list include hamburger of Germany (No. 6), donuts in America (No. 14), egg tarts from Hong Kong (No. 16) and erm ketchup (America) which managed to attain 39th place?

The real taste of hamburgers have been blurred after being over-commercialized and too common in every country excluding North Korea. Also, when CNN mention hamburger from Germany, are they referring to the ones cooked in Hamsburg where the food originated from?

Donuts hailing from the United States is another vague one. Who the heck understands what kind of donut is it? Oh, and why must it only be from America? I believe those made in Bangladesh will be equally tasty.

Hong Kong's egg tarts are certainly a decent piece edible material but it is of utmost disrespect and a total insult to Portugal that the latter's one is not featured at all. Authentic Portuguese egg tarts are a class above the rest. Just like Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ketchup can also make it? Then what about sambal chilli, kimchi, peanut butter or ikan billis? I guess I need not elaborate on this unless you are a great fan of tomato sauce.

If fast food is included, I bet KFC's deep fried chicken will be the only one that can garner a spot on the list. McDonald's french fries might be unforgettable to most people but not good enough to be listed within the top 50.

Actually, I think that fish head bee hoon should be included. Chinese people from other parts of the world like Taiwan and even ang mohs adore this delicacy a lot due to the velvety texture of its carefully-bolied soup.

After writing all the above paragraphs, I am feeling hungry now and I mean very. Here comes my "Out to Lunch" tag.

A Meat Eater's Guide to Climate Change and Health

Was reading an article about how to eat well and save the earth at the same time during noon. It is about this book titled "A Meat Eater's Guide to Climate Change and Health".

This 90-page publication draws the line for you between the food that you heck-care-just-eat to satiate your cravings and those where your conscience will be clear and crystal clear after consuming them.

The books emphasized that different kinds of meat and differing health and environmental impacts. Topping the list of carbon polluters is lamb, which amounts approximately 40 kg of carbon dioxide for every kilo consumed.

Taking the runner-up spot is beef which generates about 27 kg per kilo eaten. The book further justified the findings by allowing readers to understand from another perspective.

Enjoying a mere 110-gramme slice of lamb shank is tantamount to driving a mid-sized car for 21 kilometres. The same amount of beef is equivalent to just over half of that distance.

It is also mentioned that Americans eat (much) more meat than most developed countries, with a century of kilos produced annually for every adult man, woman and child.

Coming in third for generating the most greenhouse gases is cheese due to the fact that considerable amounts of milk is required for producing this diary product.

Seeing how critical the writers are of meat consumption, the conclusion of the report shouldn't be too hard to predict. That is, vegetables are virtuous.

But then again, some would argue that eating too little meat or going for a vegetarian diet is not the right way because of a lack of protein and how nutritious can a herbivore meal be? It is a vicious cycle.

amy winehouse death

British singer Amy Winehouse was found dead at her London home on 23 July 2011. The cause of it is yet to be known. As her death continues to shock celebrities and fans all over world, the media crowded outside her house to pay their respects to a musical talent gone too soon.

Winehouse has only two studio albums to boast in her entire showbiz career. However, one of them sold more than a million copies, won five Grammy awards and was also nominated for Album of the Year.

Her distinctive and unique style like the trademark beehive hairdo which makes her impossible to spot from fifty metres was also what made her stood out from the crowd. Needless to say, her powerful vocals was the main reason why she has propelled to fame.

The 27-year old was also credited to have paved the way for female singers with unconventional styles in the mainstream music industry. One of them who indirectly benefited from Winehouse's presence in showbiz was Lady Gaga.

A clash of talent, success and poor impulse control can be summed up into a name called Amy Winehouse. The singer's problems with drugs and alcohol regularly overshadowed her musical achievements and this self-destruction carried on until the day she rested in peace.

Her death is certainly not the end of a decline that started more than half a decade ago. In fact, her legacy will continue as people will switch to remembering her for positive reasons.

Like what pop culture writer Chuck Klosterman wrote "the greatest career move any musician can make is to stop breathing"

In memory of the talented British pop singer, I say each and every one of us buy a bottle of (genuine) honey to remember her for that unrivaled and outrageous hairstyle.

Street soccer competition

The day has finally arrived.

My competition will be held this evening and if you are still guessing what the hell am I participating in, I shall stop torturing you and reveal it.

H2O Energy drinks. Check. Powerbar energy gels. Check. Stylish (and fashionable) adidas apparel as attire. Check. Good old unknown brand sports shoes of mine. Check. Watching lots of football videos on youtube. Check.

Yes, you guessed it (at last). I am joining a street soccer competition. There are eight teams in total split into two groups to play round-robin. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semi-finals followed by the final.

Each team consists of four players and one reserve. Every team must have at least a female member. Each match comprises of 2 five-minute halves but I don't how long is the half-time break.

I have been maintaining a strict diet for the past few weeks to keep in shape and maintain my fitness for this event. People might think that I am too taking it too seriously but I believe in no pain, no gain.

Ok, that's all for now. Hope to blog about some positive news about the competition soon.

transport minister talk big

I was surfing The Straits Times' website earlier today and happened to read an article titled "Ministry to focus on transport service quality".

The first paragraph of the article was unbelievably shocking. Shocking in the sense that it is a big lie that has been told for countless of times.

It was mentioned that Lui Tuck Yew aka the PAP minister who is always seen taking public transport but hardly improving the system noted that more needs to be done to increase the standard of transport here.

He informed that his ministry is examining how much to reduce intervals between trains during non-peak periods. He also said that the current quality of service delivered by operators are not good stringent enough.

Well, I say why not reduce ministerial pay, starting with him, and use the money to improve the transportation infrastructure in Singapore? The money can also be used to subsidize transport fares for the elderly.

It is obvious that Mr Lui is just being a copycat to Raymond Lim who was succeeded by the former as Transport minister after talking big and doing nothing much year after year.

Since he is from the unpopular PAP, Mr Lui is likely to follow in Mr Lim's footsteps and be given the boot out of the Cabinet for being a canon king (da pao wang). Then, he wouldn't even dare to step into an MRT anymore for fear of being booed out of the train.

Thai elections

 

Congratulations to Yingluck Shinawatra for being granted eligible to be Thailand's first female Prime Minister.

The Election Commission has give the Puea Thai Party leader the approval stamp today after her party emerged victorious in the general elections more than two weeks ago.

At the same time, the commission also cleared and cleaned up outgoing premier Abhisit Vejjajiva of flouting any election rules which included buying of votes.

This means that the leader of the losing Democrat Party can still earn a parliamentary seat. However, that's not important, because Thaksin will be back soon.

Airport Fashion

A number of K-pop stars left their country for Tokyo, Japan through Gimpo Airport on July 12. They were scheduled to perform at the KBS Music Bank K-Pop Festival – Music Bank in Tokyo.

Well, here my two (or you can say one) cents' worth about some airport fashion. So much so for being someone who has never been to an airport to take an aeroplane in his life before.

6-member boyband, B2ST impressed me with their contemporary styles which look practical. The guy on the right, I don't know his name, stood out of the crowd with his colourful vest. He also ditched the ubiquitous blue jeans for a daring pair of pink pants which hardly made him look ah gua.

Goo Hara of Kara also scored good marks for her overall appearance with a healthy balance of elegance and toughness from top to toe. She should change that orange bag to something else to prevent others for mistaking her for a trip to the supermarket.

Unexpectedly, one of the worst-dressed turns out to be the face of K-pop's leading girl group, SNSD. Yoona, on the right, looked a different class from her well-dressed members. Plus her trademark alligator laugh, I can only say what a pity.

So I guess that's what airport fashion is about.

Enthusiastic Indian fans with Martin Kelly and Dirk Kuyt (Taken from Liverpool FC Facebook)

Yeah! Liverpool FC, the best football club in the world, has arrived in Singapore, the best country in the world! I heard that they will be training at the tiny little Bishan Stadium. Too bad the Reds are unable to play an exhibition match because there is no decent stadium large enough to accomodate the bulk of fans here.

mama lemon

This is definitely a worthy contender for the title of "Worst TV Commercial of 2011". How lame can advertising firms go? And how low can Pornsak go to take up an offer for such rubbish advertisement?

transport fares increase

We all saw it coming and it has finally arrived. The two (and only) public transport operators in Singapore, SBS Transit and SMRT, have submitted applications seeking bus and train fare adjustments to the Public Transport Council (PTC), appointed by none other than the unpopular PAP.

SMRT stated that "escalating energy and manpower costs" as the reason to seek for a maximum fare adjustment of 2.8%. This is indeed ironic as public transport operators are not allowed to pass on to customers their direct costs according to the Transport Ministry.

Having concluded the general elections with another win (an embarrassing one though), it is highly likely that PAP will approve the applications and continue to rule Singapore without genuinely listening to the concerns of the people.

An increase in prices should mean an increase in terms of service and comfort level. However, do remember that the "S" in SBS and SMRT stands for Singapore. Making empty promises has become the norm especially in the public transport industry.

Since the two public transport operators have "chut pattern liao", it is all down to the PTC to review the fare adjustment formula. In fact, the meaning of "review" here is not whether to approve, reject or even decrease the fares but increasing them by how much without enhancing the service level.

Dog wedding

I think this event is totally stupid.

Not too long ago, the capital of Peru, Lima had a massive dogs' wedding. Multiple doggy couples came dressed for the occasion to officially tie the knot.

The canine couples would be legally married upon stamping their inked paws on the matrimonial documents. Well, of course with the help of their owners.

The organizer of this stupid event, Ingrid Chavarri said "I did it to be representative and to also let the pet participate in the family and also for me to explain what it is to be a responsible pet owner."

Responsible pet owner? The money and resources used to hold this event could have been better utilized. There are still so many people in this world who have problems having three meals a day, let alone getting married.

It is a definitely an insult to human beings, the smartest living thing in the world, that dogs have such unthinkable privileges like having a marriage ceremony.

At every part of this world, there is a group of people urging others to save the earth. However, there will always be another group who do the opposite for silly reasons.

Like the organizers of this event, throwing flower petals on the ground for dogs to walk on and wasting paper to produce matrimonial documents for the animals to put their paw prints on when they don't even know what the hell is it.

Oh, and do the dogs even enjoy wearing wedding dresses?

World's most expensive car

All of a sudden, I was curious to know which is the most expensive road car in the world so I did some research on the Internet and all sources point to the same answer.

The undisputed Bugatti Veyron

 

I am not really a fan this car brand so I thought I will just post a couple of pictures of cars that I like to make this post look pleasant to me.

Lamborghini Reventon and Koenigsegg CCX!

Oh yeah, Scottish midfielder Charlie Adam looks set to join Liverpool after passing a medical. He will be the second person to join the playing staff at Anfield after Jordan Henderson was bought from Sunderland. With two new central midfielders becoming Liverpool players, those like Christian Poulsen and Alberto Aquilani are expected to leave to make way for the newbies.

There are rumours that Raul Meireles, who was voted PFA Fan's Player of the Year last season, will be sold in attempt by the Reds to cash in on his increased valuation after a successful debut season. Honestly, I would prefer Meireles to be the one to go and Aquilani to stay.

Liverpool can easily sell Meireles for at least 20 million euros compared to the 13 million which they paid to purchased him a year ago. Aquilani will retain his No. 4 shirt once again and definitely still has the spark to make it big at Anfield.

Personally, I think Liverpool should take advantage of Korean striker Park Chu-yong's situation and made him another signing of theirs during this transfer window. Park's current club AS Monaco has just been relegated to the second divison of French football and the player has made no secret of his desire to look for another employer.

He has publicly claimed that he would welcome a move to the Reds and the latter's director of football, Damien Comolli, is thought to be interested in landing the South Korean captain. Manchester United and park Ji-sung are the perfect reasons why Liverpool should not hesitate in signing an Asian player.

Manchester United have not only knocked Liverpool off domestically but have since overtaken their rivals in terms of popularity in the East. Countries in the East are more nationalistic where if a Thai player were to play in the Premier League, chances are 90% of the citizens will be watching that match.

So I say, Liverpool should be bold for once and venture out further. If the Park Chu-yong deal cannot be concluded, there is always a guy full of potential from Singapore by the name of Raymond. Well, he likes to sprout nonsense on his blog but do no underestimate him.

Collar Pin

Earlier in the day, I had been surfing websites of companies which manufacture corporate gifts. Do not be mistaken, I am not making a bulk order T-shirts or umbrellas. I am searching for sources where I can place orders for customized collar pins without any minimum order quantity.

Yes, without minimum order quantity which can mean only one item for one customized design. Ok, I admit I am planning to buy for myself, not for some committee or organization. The choices of collar pins I possess at home are quite limited which explains why I am looking for more.

I called quite a few companies but only a couple of them do not have the minimum order quantity policy. One of them gave a quotation of one hundred dollars for a single custom-made badge. My reaction was to immediately say thank you before ending the call.

I guess I shall just have to buy it at pasar malam, cheap, wide variety and most importantly can purchase any amount I like. But there is no pasar malam near my house at the moment!

Thailand elections

 Taken from straitstimes.com

Ok, it's quite obvious as to who will emerge victorious in the 2011 Thailand general elections. Puea Thai Party, whose leader Yingluck Shinawatra is the sister of the country's ousted former premier Thaksin, have secured 249 out of the 500 seats up for grabs.

Thaksin had earlier mentioned that his party will not seek to have a one-party-rules-it-all system. Instead, the Pheu Thai Party will invite other political parties to join and form a coalition if it wins enough seats to form the government.

This would indeed be a very magnanimous move by the Pro-Thaksin party and further signifies that it is keen to uphold democracy and restore peace within the country.

I hope all parties in Thailand can work together to serve the people and make the country the land of a thousand smiles once again.

S R Nathan to retire

If you have yet to hear about it, news has it that Sellapan Ramanathan aka the man whose potrait photo and his wife's are hung in school halls for the past decade or so has decided to retire as president of Singapore.

It has been quite clear that S R Nathan will not seek re-election again as there is bound to be competition in the upcoming presidential elections. With Dr. Tony Tan, who has indirectly been given the approval stamp by the PAP, being the hot favourite to win at the polls, it is inevitable that S R Nathan needs to "give way".

However, unlike the late Ong Teng Cheong whom Mr Nathan succeeded in 1999, the latter will not be missed by many citizens of Singapore. Judging from the responses I got from people that I chatted with, it seems that this second Indian president of the nation will be remembered in history books as "the sixth and just another president of Singapore".

So what is my take on the supposedly three-cornered fight between the tiTANs? Well, I have no comment on it at the moment but do expect to see me mentioning about it when polling day is around the corner.

As for now, let's move up north to Thailand where the land of a thousand smiles (and red shirt protesters) will hold its general elections this Sunday. Yingluck Shinawatra and Pheu Thai Party go go go! Abhisit Vejjajiva out out out! Thailand hardly changed under your governance.