(I guess the Japs are really, really interesting people/& some of them really have too much spare time)
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Regular readers of this blog should have known by now, that i seldom disclose my personal life in this blog. Instead, i prefer to make comments about what's happening around us, as well as give my 5 cents worth to display any forms of displeasure on certain issues.
Well, since i have been having a mental block of late, i will be out to source for new ideas and controversial topics.
As such, the content of this blog will be rather dry or pathetic for next couple of weeks. Meantime, i will post some interesting pictures now and then as space fillers.
Enjoy.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Guys out there, we should be thankful that, compared to our female counterparts, we have a less torrid time in deciding what to wear, how to mix and match our clothes on a day-to-day basis. While the ladies have to choose the right shoes and accessories to go with a particular top and bottom, we simply put on a shirt with jeans. Simple.
However, at times, we should pay a little more attention to our dressing. A pair of killer shoes doesn’t hurt, neither is a great pair of watches. Avoid anything that comes close to '3 for $10' or 'Buy 1 Get 1 Free'. Yes, stay comfortable, be “easy-going”, but put in a little more effort.
Personally, I do put in some attempts to dress well, though financial constraints have prevented me from “Completing the Look”. Anyway, the following are some suggestions to improve our dressing, though I myself am guilty at times of wearing some of these clothing.
1. Reduce the frequency of wearing old, Secondary School/JC/Poly/Army shirts. The key here is cutting down, not totally discarding them away. The occasion is also to be considered, i.e. certain gatherings makes wearing these clothes appropriate.
2. Shirts bearing the logos/names of Rock bands such as 'Guns N Roses'/'Queen' / 'Rolling Stones'/ 'Nirvana' are too 90’s. What’s worse, those shirts available at Bugis Village, with large prints of the images and photographs of the band members or anything to do with the WWE and wrestling, in an assortment of poses. Never, never wear those.
3. Wearing soccer jersey once every 2 weeks to a month is fine, especially during a Sunday morning kick-about, or a makan session during weekend. However, if you make it a habit to wear one every single week without fail, then you should really get some new clothes. Jerseys are meant for sports, not for displaying your favourite team, week-in week-out. Still, if you wear a very obvious pirated/imitation jersey, it gets to my nerves…
4. Street wear is becoming more and more popular these days, with the influx of the American Hip-hop culture. Most of us will look good in graphic print tees, but to wear an over-sized top with XXXL pants that looks like it is going to drop any moment, is a No-no. Excessive amount of chains and ridiculous looking caps should be wore with discretion.
5. As for bottoms, being comfortable is the key. Because once you ignore the comfort factor, you will end up with pants that are too tight, too loose, or some materials that make you feeling awkward and uncomfortable.
6. Footwear-wise, I am not too concerned. As a nation that embraces slippers, I am going with the flow. The only turn-offs I have, are shoes that looks like they have damages as though they have gone through WWII, and also the Brooks/New Balance Army track shoes, that we so conveniently choose to wear, despite us having ORD/ROD already.
7. Finally, following certain trends is perfectly fine, such as Hip-hop, Jap and Korean. However, we should always exercise a little more caution to avoid over-dressing. This occurs when you tend to follow whole-heartedly a certain celebrity’s dressing, or something off a magazine. Once you fail to pull off the look, you will look like a complete idiot.
On a more personal note, I myself cannot claim to be some fashion expert or guru, but at least I am seldom criticized for how I dress. Pay more attention to grooming as well, and at the very least, personal hygiene is as important as looking good.
Adapted from Ron Tan’s “The ‘Not-In’ Wear for Guys “ - Funkygrad.com
Thursday, April 20, 2006
In the concluding "episode" of Important News, i bring u the remaining 2 articles
News 1: News 2:
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
News 1: News 2:
Sunday, April 16, 2006
News 1:
News 2:
Friday, April 14, 2006
News 1: News 2:
Thursday, April 13, 2006
After a 6 months research period, the author of this blog has made some findings. Depending on the response from the audience (namely: comments & tags), the lifespan of the series will either be lengthen or shorten.
Without further a do, i bring you the following reports.
News A:
News B:
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Are poly students “stupid, childish and mindless kids?” Are poly students “plain sad”, because they “can’t even meet the minimum cut-off points to enter a JC?” Are poly students incapable, and don’t have the “learning ability” compared to the JC student, who “will definitely master HTML in less than half the time poly people take?”
The above, are insensitive comments made by an online player with the nickname Redpony, in the MapleStory forum. It came into light as The New Paper reported this incident on 10 April 2006.
Naturally, a cyberspace war was ignited, as poly students reacted strongly to the Redpony’s opinions. It is never nice to make such comments, but what Redpony has not realized, is the fact that many ‘O’ Level holders has a renew impression of the polytechnic education. With the recent revision of the JC syllabus, where students has to be more “diverse” and “all-rounded”, they need to have a mix of both Science subject and Humanities subjects for their subject combination. Meaning…students end up with combinations like Chemistry, Maths and History, or Literature, Economics and Biology, possibly impractical but all in the effort to achieve an all-rounded education.
This new change has resulted in an estimated 1000 to 2000 students switching from JC to poly, possibly the largest number to date. Cut-off points for numerous subjects in the poly, has reduced drastically, some are on par with JC cut-offs. It seems that there is an increasing number of students who feels that the JC system may not be their preferred route, choosing to go to poly instead.
If you are wondering how drastic things have become, the cut-off points for Diploma in Business, has reduced from 16pts to 12pts. In other words, a L1R4 12-pointer, with a likely L1R5 of less than 20, qualifies for the JC cut-off.
As someone who has not only experienced both type of education ( I am fortunate / unfortunate enough, and I am one who seeks adventure, and I like to take the journey less travelled ), the verdict is actually very clear. A poly student is trained to be more practical, hands-on approach in his/her occupation path, while the JC student still has to specialize in university, revolving around the theory aspect of things.
It’s been almost a year since I last don the greens of the Singapore Army number 4 uniform. It’s the clothes that every Singaporean males has to wear some day, the same uniform that never fails to repel everyone else on a MRT train every weekday evening.
Well, I still effectively owe Mindef 4 months of service liability, while my younger brother has just been enlisted this very day. Though there is nothing much to fear about doing NS in this new millennium, with all the safety precautions taken, my mum is still seriously worried about my bro.
As an older brother, I should have given him some advice, or at least some words of wisdom to “Slack” his way through. However, I’ve decided not to dispense any instructions, as Ibelieve he should experience this whole thing himself.
Anyway, below is an interesting clip on serving NS. Enjoy yourself, although the language may be a barrier to some, sincethere is Hokkien in the video.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
It’s that time of the year again, where “25 of the nation’s top drop dead gorgeous beauties”, well make it 18 now, come together to compete for the crown of Miss Singapore Universe 2006.
Before we go any further, let me just get this off my chest, no pun intended here, that sometimes, I get really irritated by the video arrangements of the show. Why do the main sponsor of the show, CANON, has to make the Preview Show look like some kind of commercial, showcasing their range of products, together with “25 of the nation’s top drop dead gorgeous beauties” parading in bikinis and carrying cameras with the beaches of Sentosa in the backdrop? Is this some kind of marketing campaign or tourism promotion advertisement?
Why? Why? Why?
Next point, is the fact that whether there is some kind of pre-requisite, that the contestants needs to have respectable occupations / received university education / come from a variety of racial background, before being allowed to compete in the contest? If you take a closer look, you will find that a large of them are undergrads, post grads, or work in reputable jobs like auditor and accountants. There is also a “mixture” of Malays, Indians and Eurasians amongst the many Chinese contestants. So much for racial harmony and equality.
Girls in the competition are also highly trained in their PR skills, EQ and IQ, with well-versed and “well-rehearsed” comments like: “I'm very proud of Singapore, and I joined so that I could be an ambassador of Singapore, to show the world on a global platform what our country has to offer. I think I'm quite a good embodiment of the Singapore woman. I am strong, independent, and pretty modern, yet I have many Asian values. It's a nice marriage of the two…” Wow, Cheeminology!
Another comment I have, is the hosts of the preview show, MTV VJs, twin sisters May & Choy, whom I my opinion, are really getting on my nerves. They are appearing everywhere, like bees to honey, media hungry for constant spotlight. Please, get the hell out of my vision. Enough already. Give my sore eye some rest.
Well, to end of, here’s some pictures taken off the official website, and also my bold predictions and favourites for the competition.
The Top 3 should consist of any 3 of the 5 contestants below, either due largely on their “Beauty and Brains Ratio”, or a decision to be “Diplomatic”. The likely winner, Miss “going to get her PHD”, you know who she is anyway…my personal favourite – miss wang yifei, the one with the short hair, with a killer smile and full of attitude and personality.
Apologies, that’s if you are offended…...
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
(As published in the Newpaper - 4 April 2006)
Hot water lands Premiership footballer in lap of trouble
Sunderland star Kevin Kyle had to miss a Premiership match after he suffered a rather embarrassing injury last week. The Scotland striker had boiling water poured onto his private parts while feeding his eight-month-old son Max. The Mirror reported that Kyle was holding a jug of hit water to warm up a bottle of milk as Max sat on his knee. But Max slipped and kicked the jug, splashing the water onto his father’s lap. Kyle, who believed to have suffered burns on his testicles and inner thigh, went to the hospital and was kept there overnight for observation. While Max was not hurt, his father’s burns were so severe that the 24-year-old star was forced to miss Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Everton. He also skipped the team’s “warm down” training session on Sunday and was given the day off on Monday. Kyle resume training yesterday but could not be reached for comment. But sources told the Mirror that he seemed to be smarting from the injury. “He is walking a bit like John Wayne at the moment” said a club insider.“He was struggling to move without pain, let alone run. But he is very embarrassed about this coming out.”
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
As a follow up to the previous post, we are concerned with the recent incidents of soccer cheats in the game today.
Before we go further into the discussion, lets view a video
Well, as you can see, even the professionals "practice" their drills in their training, what more can we say?
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Reality Check – All footballers are paid well. The average player for instance, who ply his trade with a relatively famous team (be it Singapore-based or European-based), earns a good $2500 approximately. That is considered a slightly above average wages amount for all working adults.
Unbelievable Truth – For the above-average player, he earns at least $5000 per month, as a result of his international experience/good skills and techniques/status at the club which he plays for.
A more Ridiculous Fact – For the Good / Very Good player, he commands a basic salary of at least $15000. How he justifies this income, comes with the fact that he commands a certain level of respect amongst players and clubs. He would also need to possess a high skill level to prove that he’s worth this amount.
Out-of-the-World Revelation – In this bracket, we are talking about the Superstars, the Galacticos. . . David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, Steven Gerrard, international stars, media darlings. They earn in the region of between £ 80000 to £ 125000 approximately. Basically, they become millionaires after every 3 months or so.
However, footballers’ salaries have been under plenty of scrutiny in recent weeks, where a couple of football club chairmen expressed their opinions about the fact that they feel that footballers are overpaid.
Milan Mandaric (Portsmouth chairman), David Sullivan (Birmingham co-owner) are among some of those, who felt that their under-performing players “aren’t earning their money”. The clubs feel that that they “don't get value for money from the players” at the club.
They feel that it is “not right that they (footballers) play for 90 minutes and train four or five times a week and then pick up a big salary at the end of it. The worst ones are the players who sign fat contracts and then sit on the treatment table for four years.”
Chairmen and owners alike, are getting their “fingers really burnt” as a result of such an “EPIDEMIC”. They are getting “as frustrated as anyone when things go wrong because it's usually their own money that's involved. If you don't do it right, you can make some very expensive mistakes. They earn far too much money, but it's not their fault. We are the ones stupid enough to pay them, but they are overpaid for what they contribute.’
So….basically, to sum it all up, the clubs were willing to pay players ridiculous amount of money to play for them, to get the right results. But in the end, some felt that their investments are not worth it, and are exceptionally unhappy with the financial state of their football clubs…
Personally, I do not have any problems with the wages some of these players earn. The only things they have to do, is to at least entertain us with their skills. In the case that they do not represent value-for-money, there should be no hesitation in terminating their contracts, especially if they are not performing. As for the injured players, there probably should be some kind of agreement between the club and the player, since the player would not be contributing to the club during the course of his recovery.
News 2:
