Short Subject

My ex-colleague from Pearson Education Asia, Ting Szu Kiong, is both an adept book editor and aspiring filmmaker. I haven't been in touch with him for eons, but came across some of his works on the infobahn - for example, here.

QWERTY

Hey folks, guess what? It's light news day! Hah! This is how I spend my Saturday evenings - sitting in front of my PC and hitting on the keyboard. Hmm...that sounds wrong.

I know I'm such a dork, so sue me!

Scooter

With an unparalleled NT$232 million in the vault, surely CAPE NO. 7's Uncle Mao the yueqin-playing postman can afford to upgrade his transport modality from a musty Vespa scooter to something more, er, 'chopperish'?

MM Lee

"Even from my sick bed, even if you are going to lower me into the grave and I feel something is going wrong, I will get up."
- Lee Kuan Yew, 1988

Shophouses 3

the world's first solar eclipse of 2009 (in a way) that few saw...

Knock, knock! (PG)

Q: Who's there?
A: Lao ye.
Q: Lao ye who?
A: Lao ye your master, you stupid servant. Now open the goddamn door before I make you kneel in the courtyard for three days without food.
Q: If you dare do that I'll complain to fu ren how you always suck my toes after dinner.
A: (Speechless)

Association of Bloggers (Singapore)

Yes, you heard right! The Association of Bloggers (Singapore) is now officially a legal entity listed under the Registry of Societies. (And we thought our school's Interact Club was lame.) Spearheaded by 'EastCoastLife' (President), its pro tem committee members comprise fancy handles like 'DaintyFlair' (Treasurer) and 'Xtralicious' (Events Director). WordPress your way into the local Blogosphere, ABS!

ON/OFF (NC16 for Profanity)

"Oei! Who the silang kia outside keep onning and offing the light when I trying to shower and scrub my ka chng here?! Nabei."

Remnants of War?

'Mementos' left behind in then-Shōnan-tō by admiral and commander-in-chief Isoroku Yamamoto following his Combined Fleet's occupation of Singapore and the Sook Ching Massacre. A little too close for comfort?

Angels

Do you believe in angels and miracles? Many people apparently do. It's been reported that in times of great peril (e.g. near-death experiences) angels often manifest themselves and deliver sufferers from danger. These 'guiding lights' have been seen and felt by receivers from burning apartments to sinking vehicles, and are said to be life affirming. God, indeed, works in mysterious ways.

Bottoms Up!

Drink Erdinger Weißbräu, have a heady Wednesday %

The Agency

The million-dollar question - apart from How's your financial health? - must be why reputable insurer AIA has opted to set base at the mouth of Keong Saik Road, a place formerly infested with illegal sex workers. Gunning for some 'street cred', so to speak?

Who Farted??

Did you know flatulence can ignite a flame? (Cows, with all due respect, come to mind.) That's because the flatus contains, amongst other gases, hydrogen and methane. Try farting over a Bunsen Burner if you're not convinced :-P

Kate Yeung

Not much is known about this newbie, except she's 24, was educated at the Taipei National University of Arts, is fluent in Cantonese and Mandarin, and has appeared alongside Ronald Cheng in IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.

Tong Tong Chiang!

Peking opera blues after being blackballed by CCTV...

Fried Shrimp Rolls

'Heatiness' may be an intangible and inexplicable concept, but we Chinese prefer to adopt an undoubting attitude - y'know, just in case.

Which is why CNY snackies such as Bake Inc's fried shrimp rolls (zha xia juan) should be consumed in moderation. Want one?

BEACH BOYS

Fuji Television's BEACH BOYS was the first idol drama of/from any country that I saw. Set in the breezy summer of '97, this highly rated Japanese series made instant stars out of Yutaka Takenouchi and Takashi Sorimachi, who sang the unforgettable theme song Forever along with Richie Sambora. Miss it much!

FunVee

Explore Singapore as you scarcely have by signing up for one of FunVee's guided tour packages to the city (e.g. Civic District) or heritage spots (e.g. Asian Civilisations Museum). Or, if you live here, you can just go to these places by yourselves. Hee!

Pineapple Express

Pining for prosperity: Mom bought this bromeliad with hopes that ong will lai. If that fails, however, we can still make a fruit cocktail out of it.

YoO

MAY THE YEAR OF THE OX BRING FORTH MANY BULLISH PROSPECTS!

P/S: I'LL SO EGGROLL THE NEXT PERSON WHO SAYS "HAPPY NIU YEAR"!

Litter Free

For the next coupla bai nian days, shall we all be dutiful burghers and (try to) keep our environs clean? Turning this fine Garden City into the filthy Semakau Landfill would be really uncalled for.

Rumble in Motown

The road to WrestleMania starts here! You know the rules: 30 participants try to outlast each other in the same ring for over 60 minutes to win the ultimate prize - a main event ticket to The Greatest Show on Earth.
Kinda like our MMI staff fighting over yee sang at lou hei.

Scent of a Stray

Ever wondered why kitties enjoy a good rub/scratch/caress on their cheeks? Well, it's not that they're a sucker for human attention/affection (maybe that too), but the real reason has more to do with glandular secretions and territorial dominion. Ahh.

Sapphired Away

Gone (on a "short trip") to visit Jon and Odie in Muncie, Indiana?

Fishball Soup

Something indispensable for us during LNY eve's reunion dinner. Like dumplings, fishballs symbolize 'fullness' and 'wholeness', says Soft Cabbage Lover. And ya betta believe it!

Perkussion Kids

Aminah and Fatimah rehearsing hard for the premiere of ANUGERAH KIDS, where they'll be performing a percussion piece with chopsticks and railings...

Thunderbird

Okay, I'm usually leery of cryptids that're unique to certain localities. For instance, the thunderbird - a legendary creature (with a wingspan of 15 to 20 feet) in the North American indigenous peoples' history and culture. Why only them? Can't these birds flock outside Tatanka's tribe? Ever heard of or read about the alleged Lawndale sighting and attack in 1977, by the way?

Salonpas

Pray Hisamitsu's FDA approved, non-prescriptive patches can relieve me of my chronic neck pain. Mm koi sai, WH!

Excerpts from President Barack Obama's Inaugural Address

"And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."

"We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."

"We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace."

Vegetarian Hor Fun

Not far from the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple on Waterloo Street is a specialty restaurant serving strictly vegetarian fare. In an attempt to accrue brownie points with the Goddess of Mercy, I settled for a meatless plate of hor fun there. Alackaday, my good intention didn't pay off; if anything, the awful $3.00 concoction made me abdicate my momentary 'monkhood' in a heartbeat! Amitabha.

Lost in Transition

"Gorblimey! So this is how an equatorial skyscraper looks like! Don't mind my Mediterranean manners!"

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

Jamal Malik is one question away from winning 20 million rupees.

How did he do it?

A: He cheated
B: He's lucky
C: He's a genius
D: It is destiny

Every MOMENT of his LIFE

is a CLUE to the ANSWERS

every QUESTION brings him CLOSER

to his ONE TRUE LOVE

Oblivion 3

Never seen this niao in my vicinage before. Not that I can peg every furry face in TBR, but...look, how very peaceful it is. Pity these strays, they're all so under-nourished. Cat feeders not doing enough, apparently.

extra

This Was Just the Appetizer...

For starters (pun may or may not be intended), The Manhattan Fish Market's $9.90 Fried Country Mushrooms more or less lived up to its "must-try" status. Crispy outers with encased juicy inners are attributed to that "special batter" used, but beware of 'blanching your nib' because these steamy shrooms must be enjoyed s-l-o-w-l-y. Shall try their Garlic Butter Mussels next time :-D

extra

Desolation

Singapore is facing a rapidly aging population. There's nothing much we or our concerned ministers can do about it; this is a social problem that stems from education, family planning and - yes - healthcare.

Soon, we'll be seeing more of such desolate old-timers hanging around our HDB estates - some of them sadly abandoned by their families and left to fend for themselves.

Kek sim.

The Streak

Photo Finish's (at least) one-post-per-day continuity can be somewhat comparable to the New York Giants' 26-game winning streak back in 1916.
Unfortunately, everyone knows that all good things must eventually come to an end...

Convertible

Convertibles have been around since the Cadillac epoch and evolved over time, but one thing remains like the Rock of Gibralter: their drivers customarily exude an air of arrogance. We guess it all comes with the territory.

Fake It for CNY!

Artificial efflorescence adorning the entrance of a neighborhood FairPrice supermart ten days prior to Xin Nian. In times of recession, pinchfists may favor these $2.50 bouquets over a $25.00 fortune bamboo, dui ma?

Yani

Mrs. Fariq is a mother of two - can you tell? Same (not-meant-to-be-racist) comment as three years ago: She looks Chinese for a Malay.

Grand Copthorne Waterfront

I was so thoroughly enthralled by the beauty of this building5that I simply had to stop dead in my tracks to take a photo of it - even if it meant garnering gazes of disapproval from languid onlookers -_-"

Favicon

Oops!... Alan the Aper has done it again. This time, he takes an earmarked page out of Enard's How to Make Phlegm and Influence Pimples book and appends an adorable li'l (personalized) icon into his URL bar 'upstairs'. See it?

Mold of a Nation

nation building begins at the plinth; these clay replicas at raffles place tell the story of singapura...about to be engulfed by a tsunami?

Pond-erous

Now, this is something you don't see every day: (1) water lilies without a single bloom of flower (2) water lilies with Kermit the Frog nowhere near in sight (3) a basin passing off as a pond in Bedok Reservoir Park.

Scene from SCREAM 2

Cici the sober sorority sister (Sarah Michelle Gellar): Who're you calling for?
Mysterious Phone Voice: What if I said you?
Cici: What if I said 'goodbye'?
Phone Voice: Why would you wanna do that?
Cici: Why do you always answer a question with a question?
Phone Voice: I'm inquisitive.
Cici: Yeah, and I'm impatient. Look, do you wanna leave a message for somebody?
Phone Voice: Do you wanna DIE tonight, Cici?

More Gargoyles

ROAR! We've been sent from the Jade Emperor's empyrean palace to rouse the shiftless spirits on earth. His Highness wants to wish everyone a prosperous Spring Festival with many happy returns. ROAR!

Palmy Bev

A medium-sized huskless coconut selling for $2.80 along Smith Street (or more popularly Chinatown Food Street). Helpful for prevention of hyperthermia?

Chow Yun-Fat vs Li Nanxing

Both are my most admired actors of all time – one in the world (encompassing Hollywood), the other in homeland Singapore.

Chow Yun-Fat, 53. Nicolas Cage emulated him on the set of FACE/OFF. Quentin Tarantino worships him like a god. The Los Angeles Times in 1989 proclaimed him "the coolest actor in the world" when his sensational GOD OF GAMBLERS rewrote Hong Kong box office history (and in spite of Chow having not made a single American film at that time). Enough said.

Li Nanxing, 44. The 'King of Caldecott Hill' is our answer to CYF. Handsome and charismatic, the star of THE GOLDEN PATH boasts an illustrious television career that spans some 22 years and even paralleled the latter's trajectory by headlining three of MediaCorp's most profitable mega-productions to date (which were, incidentally, based on gambling).

Sweeper

Sometimes, I really question the efficacy of such - if y'all may excuse ma lack of a more suitable substantive - 'road sweepers'. Now, I've seen 'em in action and ain't particularly impressed: leaves and litter get scudded to the side without ever being sucked up. The poor driver, as a result, has to make repeated trips to ensure he doesn't miss a spot before his supervisor decides to dock his meager wage. Or maybe that's the whole point?