black rice

Today, I would like to share with you some information regarding food and health or you can say it's a fusion of both of them. In short, I would like to recommend this super food to you.

Once upon a time, you heard how good and nutritious brown rice was and why people are choosing it over the ubiquitous white ones. Now, meet black rice, the cousin of brown rice, which is even more powerful.

Actually, black rice is really just brown rice with a different pigment. The main thing is the bran. When uncooked, it is purplish in colour but looks dark enough to be classified as black.

If you agree that blueberries are costly and want a cheaper alternative as a source for anti-oxidants, why not try some black rice? (Please continue to eat fruits too for more vitamin C)

Black rice has more anti-oxidants, fiber, Vitamin E yet contains less sugar and costs less as well. It is also a good source of iron and amino acids.

If you would like to check it out and cook some, do take note that the rice cooker you utilize for your usual white rice may not work well with these dark-coloured grains. The same applies to brown rice as well.

This is because, unlike white rice, the husks of brown and black rice are intact so it is necessary for them to be cooked for a longer duration. A simple solution to this problem is to soak the rice in water for about one hour before cooking.

Do give it a try and give your health a boost!

tony tan list of nicknames

So two expected events happened over the weekend in an unexpected manner. PAP-endorsed man Tony Tan won the presidential election by a pathetic 0.34% votes while Manchester United humiliated Arsenal 8:2 in a one-sided match.

I will only be talking about the first event since countless of arrogant supporters of the Red Devils have mentioned about their win.

I shall list a number of nicknames and tags for my country's new head of state. See? I am so concerned about him.

1. Most-disliked president in history

2. Unglamorous winner of the 2011 presidential election

3. A president with only 35% of the people supporting him

4. Someone having cosy ties with the ruling party

5. Good friend and watchdog of Harry you-know-who

6. Unifying figure according to himself

7. Dividing up Singaporeans in reality

8. Set to be Nathan No.2

9. The difference only lies in their races, languages and religions.

10. Brings (less) confidence for the future.

11. An agony when seeing and hearing speak Mandarin on TV

12. Speaks Mandarin with random pauses and funny eye expressions

13. Undisputed person do endorse Brylcreem.

14. Reason why thick black spectacles never go out of fashion

15. Supporter of the PAP's ultra-flawed foreign talent policy

16. Makes our CPF money look suspicious with him around

17. Unproven to be clearly independent of the government

18. Doesn't seem likely to prove it during his 6-year term

19. Just a PAP puppet

20. Will only last as a one-term president

Alright, this may sounds weird to you but Libyan rebels who crashed their way into Muammar "most stupid leader of Libya" Gaddafi's residence discovered a photo album containing pictures of former US Secetary of State Condoleeza Rice.

It may not sound surprising to you if you happen to know that Gaddafi used to speak highly of Dr Rice during his reign.

In 2007, during a television interview, Gadaffi said stuff like "I support my darling black African woman" and "Leezza, Leezza, Leezza..I love her very much, I admire her.."

Fast forward to 2008 and Dr Rice made a trip to Libya, a milestone in American history, where she she met her so-called Libyan fan. Gaddafi even invited the US official to his home for a meal.

The Libyan leader also presented gifts to his visitor amounting to more than 200,000 USD although the latter is prohibited from accepting gifts according to rules.

Ironically, it seems that ties between America and Libya started to strain again ever since the US changed governments during the start of 2009. Rice might have been the healing pill had she remained as the in-charge of her country's foreign affairs.

I am planning to join this contest. No, I mean I have decided to join this contest. It is one where participants submit their own stories and compete who has the best one. I already have a few sets of them in my mind which have been floating around for quite some time. The ideas are in my brain just that I never really transformed them into words with my hands.

I do have a problem though. The story which I believe is the best of all is too lengthy to be used for a storywriting competition. The worst part is I haven't penned down the details yet. I think I am more of the type who is better at twisting and turning story lines instead of writing them from scratch.

Anyway, you would need a Twitter account to follow Channel 8 on the microblogging site and I can hardly recall what is my password after isolating it for almost a year (actually it is two but I remember I did login once during last year for fun).

Do you have an exceptional story to share? Do take part in this contest too and see if yours can beat mine!

PE 2011 FAQs

Are unsure about what the upcoming presidential election is all about? Or are you unable to explain the differences between it and the general elections? (Darn, they are actually almost alike just that it's a one-man show now)

Fret not because I, as always, have been kind, gentle and helpful to people so I decided to come up with some FAQs about this electoral battle. However, do take note that information on this blog have not always been factual and sometimes ridiculous.

You might need to read this if you want to act like you know a lot to impress your friends.

Why are the surnames of the four candidates all Tan?

Tan is most common family name in Singapore. Therefore, there is a high chance that someone with that surname might contest in an election. It is just a coincidence that the four presidential hopefuls share the same surname.

Moreover, there isn't a single Tan in the Cabinet (current ministers) but there are two powerful Lees in the parliament(although one has stepped down). So maybe the Tans think that it's time for them do make their ancestors be proud of them.

So confident that we can afford to be upside down!

Why is Tony Tan's logo a pair of spectacles? Shouldn't it be a lightning?

Tony Tan has quit the PAP and the election which he is participating now is the presidential one. It is above politics and nonpartisan.

Then why did he choose spectacles?

The Presidential Elections Committee did not allow contact lenses or sunglasses as an election symbol.

The slogan looks more suitable for the general elections

Why did Tan Kin Lian choose hi-5 as his trademark in his campaign?

Shaking hands can be tiring if you do it non-stop for nine straight days. It may also hurt your wrist if you overdo it. Hi-5-ing people is a more practical way to engage voters and you can do it easily with both left and right handed people.

Alright, I know, you know. He might have watched the popular kids show, Hi-5, the night before and came up with this splendid idea.

Don't worry my wife, you're still and always No. 1

How the heck did Tan Cheng Bock get confidential information like our addresses to mail out brochures to every single household in the country?

According to electoral rules, the names and addresses of voters were made available in the form of CDs to the candidates.

However, environmental activists will probably not vote for this guy since they see this as a waste of paper.

What about the liver, kidneys and intestines?

Why is Tan Jee Say so eager to take part in another election after losing one during the general elections in May?

Well, he wants to give Singaporeans a choice and he will be a non-PAP president who has never been affiliated with the ruling party in his entire life.

On second thought, it might be more believable to say that he is an opportunist who is out to seek revenge and making use of this chance to be a rebel against the PAP. Quoting the title of a Lady Gaga song, "Born This Way".






If you type his name in Youtube to search, this is the first video at the top of the results page

Is Tony Tan the man who has the highest chance of winning?

If you are talking about winning over the PAP, some unions, CCIs (Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and a bunch of Teochew clan associations, then he is certainly the undisputed champion.

If you are talking about winning the votes of the people, then I would say it is a 50-50 probability. In my opinion, 3 out of 10 Singaporeans will choose him. It is how the votes are split among the remaining 7 to determine if Tony will be victorious.

A bonus answer to this question for you. The ones who are likely to be the three who will mark a cross beside Tony Tan's face on their ballot slips are an elderly couple and someone who works as a civil servant.





Skip to 1:28 to listen to the Tamil version

Tan Kin Lian spoke about the flaws of his rivals. Does that mean that he is the flawless Tan?

Definitely not! Well, you see, no one is perfect but Kin Lian is really the "least-flawed" candidate. He is multi-lingual as seen on Nomination Day where he used 4 languages in his speech. Damn it, even Lee Hsien Loong only used 3 for his National Day Rally.

He claims that he is truly neutral and independent. He has never contested in a general election hence, can act independently of all political parties.

He forgot to clarify why did he not contest in an election when he was still a PAP member. Maybe because he was not yet "polished" to be sent to the battleground? If one fails to even make the cut to be an MP, how to be President?




I apologize if you are not a Teochew Nang

Does Tan Cheng Bock have adequate financial experience to fulfil the role of safeguarding the reserves?

Cheng Bock studies medicine and is a physician by practice. He is also a non-executive chairman of a company and is not directly involved in the management.

Unlike, the other three Tans, Cheng Bock does not possess much experience in finance. Honestly, we can say that he is the one with the least experience. But who knows? He might be a thrifty man who knows what/where to shop for good lobangs. Might have to ask his wife about this.




All you fans of Little Nyonya Nicole, your idol has spoken

Tan Jee Say mentioned that, if elected, he will provide checks and balances on the government. Does that mean that he will be constantly finding fault with PM Lee and co.?

Judging from his political background where he contested in the general elections in May as a Singapore Democratic Party candidate (and failed to win!), there is a high possibility of him clashing with the ruling party.

The heated exchange of him with PAP-endorsed candidate Tony Tan at a forum hosted by The Online Citizen is just a trailer of what we expect to see of him when he becomes president.

PM Lee and his ministers will most probably not vote for this man unless they want to have more headaches in their work.

Special Question

Tony Tan, Tan Kin Lian and Tan Jee Say should eat lots of apples during their campaign.

Why? What about Dr. Tan Cheng Bock?

An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.


One final video to suan all the Tans and make myself look independent and objective

That's the end of my FAQ segment, I hope it quelled some of your doubts and not increased them after reading. Thanks for reading!

Face to face 2

Hey guys, if you have about an hour to spare, why not click the play button and check out this uncut and unedited video about the four presidential hopefuls taking part in a forum organized by The Online Citizen. Part 2 is yet to be released.

PE 2011

So, Nomination Day was yesterday and it is confirmed that the upcoming presidential election will be a four-cornered fight consisting of four men by the surname of Tan. However, other than having the same surname, they differ from each other in a myriad of ways.

Today, I shall give you my own analysis on Singapore's first presidential election in 18 years.

***

Disclaimer: This post was written without doing any research beforehand. It only represents the writer's point of view and impression of the candidates. Hence, readers should not take offence should they find it displeasing. However, the writer would like to assure all that he did exercise caution before penning his thoughts.

***

Below is a humble self-drawn diagram by myself about the ideologies of the four gentlemen vying to be the head of state of my country.

As you can see, the diagram is divided into four parts, liberal/conservative for top/bottom and capitalist/socialist for right/left. However, I have added some extra diagonal ones in between the vertical and horizontal lines for a more detailed approach.

If you are eagle-eyed, you should have, by now, noticed that one name sits in a different region from the rest. That is "JEE SAY" (Tan Jee Say).

I placed Tan Jee Say on the right (capitalist) because of his emphasis on the economy in his campaign. Moreover, he has a rich background in economics having studied and worked in that field.

Tan Jee Say is the only one who should be in the vicinity of the liberal area as he is the only one who is truly independent of the ruling party.

Like Jee Say, Tony Tan opts for a more "glam" approach in his campaign. He also speaks about the economy and portrays more of a capitalist than being interventionist for social reasons.

However, the difference between Jee Say and Tony lies in their political backgrounds. There is still a very conspicuous white shadow wherever Tony Tan is at, if you catch what I mean.

Due to his cosy ties with the ruling party, it is inevitable that Tony will be perceived as biased no matter how independent he proclaims himself to be.

Likewise, Dr. Tan Cheng Bock, situated at the opposite end on the left, is also a conservative after being a PAP member for decades.

However, he differs from being a liberal left-winger (top-left quadrant) as he believes in striving for the greater good or rather interest of the majority. Just like his campaigning where he talks about promoting mulitracialism and bonding Singaporeans together.

Cheng Bock is also not similar to Tony as he is always prepared to "interfere" when there is a need to. Just like the days when he used to be a Member of Parliament before quitting in 2006.

Lastly, it is Tan Kin Lian. Honestly, I do not know much of him except that he used to be the CEO of a life insurance company whose name is also that of Singapore's most popular supermarket.

I decided to label him as communitarian due to him having the moral courage to be the voice of the common man. (He looks too common anyway). He might be popular among the grassroots but winning the pro-establishment votes may seem to be a bit difficult.

That's all, thank you for your time. Please vote wisely on Polling Day.

napfa test

Oh man, time flies like a spaceship. My Napfa test is finally around the corner. It is either make or break, do or die and pass or fail for me this coming Wednesday morning.

I still have no idea whether am I able to pass the sit and reach exercise since I can't find a place that has that "thing" to practise with. Also, standing broad jump used to my trump card during the days when I wear uniforms to school. Now, it is sort of a hindrance and headache.

Ironically, pull-up and 2.4 km run, the two test items which I used to fail in are now the two which I am quite confident of passing. Sit-up shouldn't be an issue since I practise it frequently.

As for the shuttle run, I believe I just have to sprint like there are ten tigers chasing me from behind when taking the test.

Anyway, the main objective of today's post is to share my thoughts about this physical fitness test.

Firstly, I do not understand why must it commence at 7.30 in the morning? What's more, it is held at Toa Payoh stadium. A thousand and one stone throws away from my home. That means I have got to leave my house by 6.30 am.

I think it should begin one hour later at 8.30 or even 9. This is to provide convenience to participants who do not live near the area.

Secondly, the sit and reach exercise should be scrapped. It is not a test of one's core muscles or the flexibility of our bodies. In fact, it is an unfair test since everyone, regardless of your height, start from the same position.

It is easier for shorter people like erm, myself to pass this station since our legs are not long. Whereas taller people will be at a disadvantage as their knees are further away from their body.

Thirdly, the passing range for pull-up should be lowered as too many people since a long long time ago have difficulties overcoming this obstacle. For D grade, one has to accomplish at least five within half a minute. I reckon that it should be reduced to four.

Lastly, failing one station should not be equivalent to failing the entire fitness assessment. A big and sturdy person may score well in pull-up and sit-up but fail marginally in the shuttle run segment should not be labelled as unfit enough.

He has a high volume of muscle mass which constitutes to him having a low centre of gravity. Since shuttle run is a test of agility, he may have problems as plyometric movements are part of the exercise. So, he doesn't deserve an overall fail just because his body mass, not his muscles or energy system, failed him at one station.

If someone fails only one out of the six stations, he should be allowed to retake it again within a certain period of time, example two weeks. This is to be fair and understand that a person may just need more intensified training to pass a certain exercise.

Get a skinny marathoner from Africa and ask him to lift huge amounts of weights, chances are he will not be able to accomplish the task. However, his cardiovascular fitness cannot be doubted since he beats everyone else in a running competition.

Everyone is different and nobody can be perfect. Perhaps, Mindef can be more liberal in the way they assess the fitness of pre-enlistees?

Presidential election preview

As most of us know, the upcoming Presidential Election will likely be a four-cornered fight. Four men coincidentally by the surname of Tan will battle for the right to be Singapore's head of state in a fortnight.

The four Presidential hopefuls are (clockwise from top left): Tan Kin Lian, effective only at grassroots level but doubful in representing the country on the international front.

Tan Jee Say, former top civil servant who lost in the General Elections in May and wants to take revenge by making a comeback.

Dr Tony Tan, the most famous Tan among the four eligible candidates, who is also closely linked to the men in white and heavily endorsed by the latter.

Dr Tan Cheng Bock, the former MP who constantly disagreed with his party's ministers and policies but shockingly still chose to remain in that party after many years.

The two crossed-out faces are Andrew Kuan and Ooi Boon Ewe. Both of them tried their luck in the previous contest in 2005 but were disqualified. Being naturally thick-skined President wannabes, they decide to try again.

The Presidential Elections Committee is not that dumb to contradict itself by issuing that two monkeys a certificate of eligibility this time. By the way, Mr Ooi is a private tutor and doesn't hold high posts in an organization in his life before. What?

Since people say that the Presidential Election should not be politicized and the President is above politics. I chose not to state any political parties in this entire post.

However, I will do so when I give a more detailed analysis of the four eligible candidates in an upcoming post somewhere near Polling Day which falls on 17 August.

ostrich

Check this out! Watching the first 45 seconds already made me hungry.

LFC greets singapore

Wow, this is so cool. The official Liverpool FC fan page actually wished Singaporean supporters happy national day! Needlessly, those who commented were mostly Singaporeans who seemed to be super elated by this greeting. I wonder if Liverpool is hinting that they are planning to employ some Singaporean staff for the club.

Allow me to do some recommendations. How about Izwan Mahbud as your reserve goalkeeper and understudy to Jose Reina? Oh, and a certain young gentleman named Raymond can be understudy to Kenny Dalglish as well.

Singapore boring?

For this year's National Day special post, I shall drift away from being historical and political. Instead, I find it imperative to inject some fun into this post to celebrate my country's 46th birthday.

Singapore has come a long way and still has a long way to go. From a fresh and innocent girl to an auntie now, many things about her has changed. These include the infrastructure, environment, economy and even the amount of foreigners living here.

However, one the few things that has not changed is the "boring" tag used to describe the Lion City. Is Singapore really that bloody boring or is that just a myth started by Westerners and some bored Singaporeans?

Let's analyse to see which are genuine boring stuff and which are stuff worth wasting your time to do in this small little city-state.

Going to the Istana: Boring

Oh come on, should be a cool thing right? Neh, the gates are only open to the public on some public holidays. Otherwise, on any other day, you would see two guards immobilized in a rusok-senja-ta position facing each other while walking past the gates.

The only thing that people can legally do there is photographing. Chances are you might get arrested for wearing an opposition party outfit even if you are just strolling on your own in the Istana.

Going to Sentosa: Not Boring

Sentosa used to stand for So Expensive and Nothing TO See Actually. As for now, we can add an "Almost" in front of the "Nothing". It's still the Siloso, Palawan and Tanjong beaches and none of them look like a world-class beach.

But with the launch of Resorts World Sentosa, there seems to be a glimmer of hope for the Singapore Tourism Board after all. I shall go straight to the main point and point out the iFly Singapore.

This indoor skydiving wind tunnel lets cowards like you fulfil your dreams of parachuting minus the clouds. Anyone who is seven years of age and above are eligible to take the plunge. Man, even George Yeo tried it out to kill time after losing the General Elections!

Take the Singapore Flyer: Boring

The biggest observation wheel on earth doesn't equate to giving you the biggest satisfaction in the world after paying almost thirty bucks for a ride.

It encountered at least four breakdowns since its launch in 2008 with the most notable one in December that year where 173 passengers had to hold their bladders for six hours.

What do get to enjoy for thirty bucks? I have not checked it out yet but with my geographical knowledge about the Marina Bay area, you would most likely be seeing cars on expressways, blocks of flats and some greenery.

Nightlife: Not Boring, hell no

Like fellow Asian cities, Hong Kong, Seoul and Bangkok, Singapore has a vibrant nightlife with a myriad of nightspots to choose from.

Although you tend to hear your friends mention clubbing at St. James, Zouk, Butter Factory or shisha at Arab Street, there are still outrageous amounts of places which ask you the question "Why sleep?". If everywhere else is full house, there's still the Night Safari.

And can you believe it? None of the places mentioned above have been visited by me before. I am really a boring person.

Reading newspapers: Boring, except for the entertainment section

With only one printed media company which is closely linked to the government, you can easily predict what sort of news would appear in the front pages and what will be censored completely.

In fact, reading newspapers is more like reading newsletters in Singapore. No wonder, Gen X and Y have turned to the Internet for good during their spare time.

Speaker's Corner: Boring ring...

This free speech area does not differ from your void deck other than standing on grass instead of cement. It falls other three legislative acts, Public Order 2009, Public Entertainments and Meetings and Parks and Trees Regulations.

The first one bans the making of demonstrations publicly anywhere in the country even if it is only one damn person. The second states that only "approved" places can be used for "speaking".

As for the last one, I do not study law so I do not comprehend why must trees get involved in this.

Counting the number of PRCs you saw when outside: Not Boring

If you take the MRT, shop in the heartlands or go to Chinatown, you will most probably be counting one more every thirty seconds.
This is bound to keep you entertained throughout your train ride in case the battery of your smartphone runs low or there's nothing worth buying at the shops.

If that fails to prevent you from being bored, why not calculate the number of Filipinos, Burmese or Vietnamese you encountered to see who is the champion? That is provided if you can differentiate their li-an-goo-eech first.

Lunch at the hawker centre: Boring

This may sound debatable but hang on, let me state my reasons for labelling it as boring first.

It's lunch time, your stomach is protesting and all the tables are occupied by either plates of food or tissue papers. Your colleagues try to look for an empty table to no avail. Your mind starts telling you to go somewhere else when a hand waves at you.

An auntie from a drink stall signals for you and your colleagues to approach her while gesturing that there's an available spot. The moment your butt touches the seat, the auntie will be asking what drinks would you people like.

Then slowly but reluctantly, one by one, each of you will say the name of a beverage and most of times, you will have to repeat it as the auntie is erm, an auntie.

In the end, you would either settle for vegetarian bee hoon (and console yourself that it's good not to eat meat) or the chicken rice stall which hardly attracts more than two customers at a time.

That's what makes it boring to dine in hawker centres when the sun is at its highest.

Reading this blog: Not at all

I hope this post wasn't that boring after all. How can a blog written by me be considered boring? Ok maybe it is, but if so, then why are you still reading it?

Fair increase

Without a single doubt, the Public Transport Council (PTC) has granted approval a 1 percent increase to bus and train fares.

The good news of this bad news is that the amount of the raise is less than half of the 2.8 percent proposed by SBS Transit and SMRT. The 1 percent increase is equivalent to an additional two cents per trip for adults.

Those who opt to pay via cash will need to fork out an extra ten cents per journey. That is definitely a whole lot more.

It is reported in the news that 85 percent of commuters are affected by this fare increase. Well, they can put the blame on the 60.1 percent who marked a cross beside a lightning during the May elections.

Fares keep going up and up while service standards continue to deteriorate, Does this sound logical at all?

Please vote wisely for the upcoming Presidential Election (provided if there is more than one eligible candidate). It is our final chance to save ourselves and this country

IE low iq

According to a research by consulting firm AptiQuant, users of Microsoft  Internet Explorer browser have an average IQ lower than those who use Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome and even Apple's Safari.

Aptiquant apparently gave free online IQ tests to 100000 people before plotting the scores against the browser on which the tests were taken.

Firefox, Chrome and Safari users achieved a slightly higher than average result of over 100. It is pleasantly surprising to know that the smartest lot (over 120) were those who surfed with the old-school Opera and unknown Camino browsers.

Since the report was published, Internet Explorer fans have made no secret of their anger at it. Some have even threatened to pursue legal action.

Within the group of Internet Explorer users, those using version six attained the lowest scores while users of version 8 fared better according to BBC News.

Well, this test is somehow true in the sense that IE 6 users are too dumb to upgrade. Or you can say too dumb to switch to using a different browser.

On the fringe

On  will be the first Mediacorp Channel 8 drama which I will be following this year. Yes, I have not watched one for like for than half a year. So much so for being a patriotic fan of local productions. The last drama which disciplined me to sit in front of the television every night was Breakout - the show which had a number of erratic and abnormal characters.

None of the Channel 8 serials aired this year caught my attention or managed to made me continue watching it after having viewing half of the first episode. I almost wanted to watch CLIF but after watching the debut episode, I knew that it's gonna be a Fail show. The police don't even wear gloves when searching a suspect's house?

The main reason why I decided to watch On The Fringe is to show my support for Li Nanxing. He has been my favourite local actor ever since my primary school days. Furthermore, with arguably the most successful Singapore-born actress Fann Wong and reigning Best Actress award winner Rui En in the cast, this show should be worth watching.

It would have been a perfect production if I were the one to play the role of Li Nanxing's son. Haha, just kidding, my image how can act as gangster? I look more like some wealthy boy from the social class right?