Rants & Ravings

Labels: humour, mas selamat, stupid policies

Just started a spin-off blog called "Smoke & Mirrors". Website is http://liasing.blogspot.com. It's a blog with more PR related posts.

This day comes once in 4 years so I thought I'll just put up videos of nice songs to commemorate this day. This duet is quite good actually. Ah Youtube, my fount of free entertainment.

How Deep Is Your Love



Boogie Wonderland



Midnight at the Oasis



How Deep Is Your Love



Through The Fire



You're the Inspiration

Manhunt continues to track down JI detainee
SINGAPORE: A massive manhunt has been underway since Wednesday evening to track down escaped JI detainee Mas Selamat Kastari. Soldiers and police are focusing on the area near the Internal Security Department Detention Centre off Whitley Road.

Apart from schools, there are bungalows and other residential properties in this area. The Detention Centre – near the old Police Academy – is a high-security facility not known to many. The search area is bounded by Whitley Road, Dunearn Road and Goldhill Avenue. Schools in the area have kept their students informed of the incident.

Jerome Teo, a student, said: "Last evening, there were special commandos running around. Our teachers in the school told us not to move around and stay in the canteen and evacuate the classes as soon as possible. This morning, there were policemen every ten metres from the bus stop to the school, so we felt very safe."

"There was a friend of mine who was afraid to come to school today," said another student, Wong Jiayang. Student Christopher Tan said: "I trust the capabilities of our police but it can be somewhat worrying when you find out that things like this can happen in Singapore."

At the Singapore Chinese Girls' School, letters were given to parents to inform them of the situation. The school has also increased the frequency of its guard patrols.

With the tight security presence, Singaporeans are generally confident this crisis will soon be resolved. - CNA/so

Are people really that dumb? Maybe I give people (enforcers and criminals alike) too much credit. How does a "tight security presence" resolve a problem like this? It only works if the person is still around the area that the aforementioned "tight security presence", which given an ounce of common sense and 4 hr headstart, the said criminal should have been on his merry way to somewhere else. And wow, the general population sure is bright. I guess the SAF was right after all. People just want to see the wayang-ing. Doesn't matter if it produces results. Home team indeed. I wonder if this will affect our Youth Olympics Bid..

Labels: bewildered, law enforcement, singaporeans

Can't remember if I posted the video for this song before, but it's a nice song with rather interesting lyrics. Describing love as something akin to an ultimate train wreck. Anyway posting 2 videos. 1 is the original and the other is a really impressive rendition of it. Which if I might say so, blows away the original (musically that is).

Original




New arrangement

Labels: impressive bass chops, music video

JI detainee escaped while being escorted to meet family
SINGAPORE: Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng has cited a lapse in security at the Whitley Detention Centre on Wednesday as the cause for the escape of Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) member Mas Selamat Kastari. He told MPs, who had raised the matter in Parliament, that Mas Selamat had been taken from his cell to another part of the detention centre for a visit from his family.

He then asked to be allowed to visit the toilet, where he escaped. "This should have never have happened. I am sorry that it has," said Mr Wong in an update to the House, adding that an independent investigation is underway.

The Home Affairs Minister went on to say that security at the centre has been stepped up and there should not be any speculation on what and how the escape happened. Mr Wong described Mas Selamat as a security threat, which is why he was placed under preventive detention. But he added that officials are not taking any chances even though there is no information that Mas Selamat has any plans that threaten public security. As to why the public was informed of the escape only some four hours after it happened, Mr Wong said the focus was to lock down the detention centre before starting a systematic operation to search for the fugitive and arrest him.

That was because the security assessment was that the escape posed no imminent danger to the public. Mr Wong said the arrest of Mas Selamat remains a priority and there will be no effort spared in tracking him down. Security at all land, sea and air checkpoints has been tightened, including areas where there is a possibility of Mas Selamat slipping out of Singapore. In the meantime, Mr Wong has urged the public to stay calm and to report any suspicious sighting to the police, reminding that any help given to Mas Selamat is a serious crime. - CNA/sf

Man.. what kind of new fangled double speak is that? Is he or isn't he? As for the parts in red, please refer to my previous post. If he didn't pose imminent danger, why all the police blocks and mobilization of hundreds of ppl? Does the Minister even read his material before going up there? Pillock...

Labels: bewildered, law enforcement

Labels: law enforcement, screw-ups

The future of handheld devices.

Labels: gadgets, tech

I believe I'm currently stuck in sort of a catch-22 situation. It's very annoying. There are jobs that I want to apply, but I don't qualify because I don't have enough work experience. They are looking at something like 2-5 years work experience. So the logical step would be to find a job that asks for job which require less experience so that I can get the said experience. However, there aren't many jobs (in the areas I'm looking at) that require little or no prior experience.

Therein lies the problem. Spoke to Suwardy and he said just apply lor. They may hire if they're really really desperate. (Which isn't very often).

How do companies realistically expect to find people with experience if nobody is hiring people with little/no experience to begin with?

Labels: catch-22

Khaiyang made an interesting observation. I haven't done any original posts in awhile. Well partly cause I haven't been going out and seeing the world, so nothing really much to write. But this weekend was particularly interesting. Realised that my circle of friends are growing up quite fast (mainly due to circumstances and stuff) through our sharing this weekend. Lots of grown-up issues. Which is quite funny/ironic/odd because I'm the oldest in the group and I'm just slacking away. And all that talk just makes me... "depressed" (not the clinical one). I know it's one of those things that I'll probably have to deal with sooner or later and... Because it makes me realise that I dun really have firm plans. I have plans in my mind and all but it's all.. in theory. Like in theory if I get accepted into NUS masters program. In theory if I find a job that doesn't suck. I guess things will be better when I have a bit more structure in my life which I'm hoping post grad studies will provide.





Anyway, some less depressing stuff to look at.





Highly sexist and possibly insensitive and inaccurate. But no less hilarious.

Labels: introspective

For the very reasons stated in this blog post that I got from http://www.insanepoly.com/blog/


Life, Basketball and A Tub of Haagen Dazs.

I was at the supermarket yesterday- considering buying a tub of chocolate Haagen Dazs for dessert. After much thought I decided to forgo that, as well as the fried prawn paste chicken I was thinking of having for lunch. In the end I opted for rice and a healthy bowl of herbal soup. The days of eating what I want when I want however I want is a thing of the past. As you grow older, you can’t just party like its 1999.

The older you get, the more your body changes. I can’t eat like a horse and not expect to put on some pounds. Its not like before when I can shovel an unlimited amount of food into my body and have it all magically disappear into an alternate dimension. My metabolism is just not what it used to be.

Last thursday I was playing full court basketball- the first full court I’ve played in 6 years. Its strange to see the young guys running effortlessly up and down the court while I seem to run with a parachute attached to my back. I remembered that was how I used to be. But like everything else, speed and quickness has also become a thing of the past. Fitness and stamina can be maintained indefinitely through regular exercise, but speed and quickness are strictly the domain of the young.

Sometimes this is just how it is. No matter how hard you try, there just some things in life that you can’t hold on to.

I am not some health freak, but I do think that as one gets older, its probably a smart thing to start putting some consideration into your your diet and lifestyle. Last year, singapore experienced the biggest inflation in quite a long while. Prices went on this crazy spiral no thanks to the 2% increase in GST. Lost in numbers is that healthcare accounted for a huge part of that increase. And even with the budget surplus that the government is having, they are not budging from the means testing they are planning to implement on public healthcare and the CPF Life/ compulsory annuity/ whateverthefuckyouwannacallit scheme. Bullshit by any other name still stinks like bullshit.

Looking at these developments, the only conclusions I can draw is-
1. Healthcare cost will continue to spiral upwards. The government aspires to be the medical hub of asia- a development which I think will only lead to more expensive healthcare.
2. The government knows healthcare is going to spiral upwards and they are taking action to shift that part of the burden from them to us.
3. Government would prefer to spend billions bailing ailing foreign companies than spend millions bailing ailing citizens.
In other words, singaporeans are once again left on their own to deal with this shit while the government continues to pay themselves millions to watch everyone suffer. Unless the MIWs lose a couple of GRCs the next election, I do not think they will change the way they do things in singapore.
So in light of the following revelations, the only logical thing to do is do your best to live a healthy lifestyle, exercise regularly and watch what you put in your mouth and try your damnest not to fall sick. As they say in singapore, it is better to die than to fall sick.

Labels: cost of living, health, inflation

Inflation is everywhere these days. From rice, to soya bean products. Even exam grades according to this blog.

Inflation in School

I still remember during my student days when a Big Mac meal cost me only $4.50. Now, the same Big Mac meal sells for $6.35. There was also a time I relished eating at Burger King because of the big burgers they serve. Now, the burgers themselves look pretty malnourished. Maybe my eyesight is failing me. Or is inflation really starting to sting?

My workday today began at 635 am, when Joanna, one of my graduating students from last year, called me. The allocation results for Junior College had just been released. Joanna was crying into the phone, and she was trying to say three sentences at once. It took me a while to make sense of what she was moaning about. Joanna, with an L1B5 score of 14, had just been rejected from Average Junior College. It was a shock to me that with her L1B5 of 14, she had been banished to Below Average Junior College.

Still crying, Joanna was asking, pleading and at the same time, demanding for a testimonial to help her in her appeal to go to a better Junior College.Is an L1B5 score of 14 considered to be a pathetic score these days? I studied in Average Junior College during my student days. And with my L1B5 score of around 10 points, I was considered to be amongst the elite club. I just checked with my alma mater, and found out to my horror, that if I were to reapply again for Junior College admission based on my O-level results years ago, I would not even be considered for the Science stream, let alone be allowed to even join their elite club.Are students these days getting smarter? Or are their O-level results inflated?

This thought struck me because for most Junior Colleges, their reputations over the years had not changed much. Elite Junior College is still hogging the top three places. Average Junior College is still in Division 1 (you watch soccer?) and Below Average Junior College is still producing below average results.I compared Joanna's L1B5 of 14 points against my peers who had roughly the same score. Somehow, I always felt that Joanna was the inferior student. Her Math foundation seems way more shaky than my peers who had similar scores in their O-levels years ago.

It is also the same for her other subjects. I had given tuition to Junior College students for their H2 math before, and was appalled by their inability to reall their foundational math that they learnt in secondary school Additional Math. I couldn't recall myself struggling to apply my Additional Math basics for my 'C' Math (the old name for H2 Math).

Maybe my Junior College tuition students were not the best examples. Or are they reflective of the average Junior College students these days?Maybe I am mistaken. Maybe an A1 in O-Level Math today is still as valuable today as an A1 ten years ago. Or is an A1 today only comparable to a B3 back then?An L1B5 of 14 points would comfortably get you into the Science Stream of Average Junior College during my Junior College days. Now, a similar score may see you spending your two years at Below Average Junior College. It seems that the average student's O-level results won't carry her as far as it did ten years ago.

Are students generally scoring better grades, or is this the effect of inflation?

Labels: education, food for thought

No NS please, we're Indonesian PRs

Indonesia has asked Singapore to exempt Indonesian citizens who are permanent residents from performing National Service.
Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said that such an exemption was necessary as Indonesian citizens doing military service in another country risk losing their citizenship.
'For our citizens, whatever the reason, undertaking foreign military training would mean losing their citizenship under the citizenship law,' Mr Hassan was quoted as saying by the Republika daily on Friday.
He said that the issue of national service for Indonesian citizens with permanent resident status had been around since the Singapore government started requiring foreign citizens with such status to be enlisted.
'In our communication with the Singapore government, we have requested that Indonesian citizens, including those with permanent resident status, to be exempted from doing national service,' he said.
He did not disclose when the Indonesian government had made the request.
He also said the government could only remind Indonesians that under the law, their citizenship could be revoked if they agreed to be enlisted.

Well, if Singapore gives in on this, then will they give in to other countries? People online are now unhappy because it means Singaporeans get more crap for being citizens. I'm guessing it means 2nd generation PRs because 1st gen are excused. I guess I feel the same way if every other country starts demanding that..

Could the writing on the wall be true?

Labels: national service, Politics

Article from TalkingCock.com

by K.K. Cheow
Singaporeans were filled with a strange sense of optimism after Cuba’s longtime leader Fidel Castro announced his retirement on health grounds.

“I don’t know why,” said Mr. Tay Hew Leow, 44, “but the news of Castro finally stepping down from everything really cheers me up.”

“I also say,” said Mdm. Lee Tai Er, 52. “I can’t quite put my finger on why I’m feeling so positive about an elderly dictator finally relinquishing his control over a tiny communist island.”

“True,” agreed Mr. Quah Kin Chao, 38. “And for some inexplicable reason, I’m feeling totally upbeat about the rumours that Cubans might even decide not to hand power over to Castro’s relatives.”

“I just can’t explain it,” Mr. Tay repeated, with everyone’s concurrence. “Cuba has absolutely nothing in common with Singapore, yet somehow this news has really brightened up my day.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Castro is said to have approached the Singapore Gahmen for some help in setting up a new mentorship position and also in writing his memoirs, tentatively titled, “From Third World to Uh....”

I also dunno why... maybe it's something we all ate.

Labels: humour, Politics

Came across a post on some v'day candies and chocs that are sold in Japan. Amusing names.

http://anenglishmaninosaka.blogspot.com/2008/02/choco-messaging.html

Labels: Food, humour

I know I'm really really slow on this, but Ah Meng was a girl? I always thought Ah Meng was a guy... I mean from the name. It's close sounding to Ah Beng (which is male). Who named her anyway? Man do I feel foolish for that. Anyway, it seems (according to wikipedia) that the next orang utan will be named Ah Meng Junior (regardless of the sex?) So the name is somehow unisex.

Labels: bewildered

Interesting image no?

Labels: Interesting picture

Another food post. Just a snack this time. Something that isn't too popular over here but really big overseas in countries like America. It's a popular snack food.

Pork Rinds. And I just found a place in Singapore which sells it.

Labels: Food, snacks, unhealthy

Labels: Movies, Trailers

Came across this link while moving along the interweb. It's interesting. Just food for thought. I don't really think it's true and it's more of a generalization. But, hey it's an interesting read anyway.

http://www.intellectualwhores.com/masterladder.html

P.s Slightly coarse language within link.

Labels: boy meets girl and vice versa, humour

Came across this interesting website.

http://uncyclopedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Armed_Forces

It's mainly for guys or people who have had experiences with the SAF. You may think it's really funny, but u'll cry when you realise that it's all true.

Labels: humour, SAF

Low jack being a sci fi phrase to mean to implant someone with a homing device so as to keep track of them etc etc. Very Mission Impossible/Alias/Get Smart (ok.. the last one never had it)

http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_204214.html

Ok, firstly, I came up with this idea years ago. But for a completely different purpose. Mine involved controlling all cars with a central computer. By doing this, the computer would be able to calculate an optimal driving speed for every vehicle. There would be no accidents. It would even be possible to calculate exactly how long you'd take to get from one place to another. But even I at the age of 15 realised one inherent flaw in this idea. People don't want their actions monitored. Be it real life or on cyberspace.

Anyway, the computer that will monitor all our actions will be called Skynet. Built by the coporation called Cyberdyne. Yep.. nothing can go wrong. Stupid scholars.

Labels: scholars, stupid policies, traffic

Pizza..



Bacon.. ah.. droolz..

Labels: Food

Dark Knight Trailer Done With Legos - Watch more free videos

An excerpt from a Parliament session last year.

Some numbers to chew on before reading this. From NMP Siew Kum Hong's Blog http://siewkumhong.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-many-portions-of-help-sir.html

Currently, 3000 Households are on this Public Assitance Scheme. Dr Lily Neo wanted to increase this amount to $400. For those interested, please look at http://www.parliament.gov.sg/parlweb/get_highlighted_content.jsp?docID=672106&hlLevel=Terms&links=PUBLIC,ASSIST,LILI,NEO&hlWords=%20public%20assistance%20&hlTitle=&queryOption=1&ref=http://www.parliament.gov.sg:80/reports/public/hansard/title/20070309/20070309_S0004_T0001.html#1

For the transcript.

Dr Lily Neo: Sir, I want to check with the Minister again when he said on the strict criteria on the entitlement for PA recipients. May I ask him what is his definition of "subsistence living"? Am I correct to say that, out of $260 per month for PA recipients, $100 goes to rental, power supply and S&C and leaving them with only $5 a day to live on? Am I correct to say that any basic meal in any hawker centre is already $2.50 to $3.00 per meal? Therefore, is it too much to ask for just three meals a day as an entitlement for the PA recipients?

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: How much do you want? Do you want three meals in a hawker centre, food court or restaurant?

The amount has now been increased to $290.

Quick Maths Time:

3000 Households x $260 x 12 mths = $9.36 million (Previous)

3000 Households x $400 x 12 mths = $14.4 million (Proposed)

3000 Households x $290 x 12 mths = $10.44 million (Revised)

Proposed amount of increase = $14.4 - $9.36 = $5.04 million

Actual amount of increase = $10.44-$9.36= $1.08 million.

We can't give an extra $5.04 million to 3000 people but we can give millions to a small handful.

Why am I bringing this old article up? See below:

Mon, Feb 11, 2008
The New Paper

SHE is 48, wheelchair-bound, and sings a cheerful jingle to make a living. Madam Neo Geok Tho's signature '$1tissue song' usually inspires sympathy and admiration. But not among some Singapore youths. At least five groups of them have made video clips making fun of her and the song, and put them on the Internet. The videos all feature youths making their own parodies of Madam Neo's song, a familiar tune to many Singaporeans who have seen her at various MRT stations in recent years.

In one video, three youths with bright T-shirts over their faces dance around and play the guitar while singing the familiar words: 'One dollar, one dollar... Uncle, aunty help me buy tissue paper.' In the spoof, a teen acting as Madam Neo says to a potential 'customer' in a tragic tone: 'Oh! $1... Give me!' before letting out a scream. In another clip, a group of boys in school uniform are similarly seen dancing around and laughing while singing the song.

The clips have attracted furious responses from other netizens. 'You guys are heartless, please be ashamed of yourselves,' went one comment by netizen GQDS on YouTube, the video-sharing website where the clips have been posted. Another, by the name of tanyimei, wrote: 'Fancy you people making a joke out of people who are merely being there to make a living.'

CRUEL MOCKERY
Friends of Madam Neo, like housewife Tan Kok Eng, 44, thought the videos were cruel. 'They are mocking her,' she said. 'What if she were their own family member?' But Madam Neo brushed off these imitators. She told Lianhe Wanbao: 'I believe the teens made the videos in a moment of fun. 'I'm happy they can have some fun out of this. If there's a chance, I hope to be able to hear their versions.' She declined further interviews about the matter. Madam Neo even came up with modified lyrics of the song for Chinese New Year. The positive response is typical of MadamNeo, who was hit by polio when she was just an infant. She has been selling tissue paper at stations like Tampines, Bishan, Woodlands, Tiong Bahru, Jurong and Raffles Place for more than five years. She lives with her husband, MrLim Swee Yong, 52, in a rented one-room flat in Tampines. Mr Lim is also wheelchair-bound. He was born with a spinal abnormality and has never been able to walk.

The couple receive $290 a month from government agencies each month, but it's not enough to cover their living expenses. So both go out to work to support themselves. Mr Lim earns $400 a month selling newspapers in the morning and evening in their neighbourhood, while MadamNeo earns about $10 a day from selling tissue paper. But despite their difficulties, the couple, who have been married for 20years and have no children, remain happy. Mr Lim told The New Paper in Mandarin: 'I didn't dare think I'd get married. It was a miraculous thing. I'm lucky to marry such a beautiful wife.' He showed us pictures of their wedding day showing them, on their wheelchairs and in their finery, performing the tea ceremony, followed by a photo session at the Singapore Zoo.

A typical day in Madam Neo's life starts with her friend Madam Tan, who helps them to buy groceries every morning. She then pushes Madam Neo on her wheelchair to a nearby coffeeshop to have breakfast. Madam Neo cooks for herself and her husband. Another friend, a retiree, wheels Madam Neo to Tampines MRT station in the afternoon so that she can get to work.

LONG DAYS
She sings till about 8pm every day, and gets home at 9pm if she is at a nearby station, 10pm if she is further away from home. Said Madam Tan: 'She takes note of which MRT station she goes to each day, so people won't think, 'You again, I just saw you yesterday.' Madam Neo told Lianhe Wanbao that it was actually her older sister who gave her the idea for the $1 tissue song. She said: 'When I started selling tissue paper, I found it difficult. 'My older sister used to sell bedding at a department store, and she told me that after she came up with a song, business was good. So she encouraged me to come up with a song too.'

And that's how the $1 tissue song came about. She said: 'It's easier to attract attention with singing. Also, I won't be so bored by myself.' Her job isn't easy though. Said Madam Tan: 'Sometimes, she sings until her throat is hoarse. But to earn a living, what to do? 'Also, if it rains, she cannot go out to work because she cannot carry an umbrella and go around. It's dangerous for her.' Madam Neo also told Lianhe Wanbao that sometimes, some teens would squat beside her and imitate her singing the $1 tissue song.

Some use their handphones to record her. The maker of one of the spoof videos on YouTube, called punkd1, wrote this on his blog in response to criticism of the video: 'The crew would like to stress its stand that this video was made for entertainment purposes and it harbours no form of ill intent... 'With due respect, this idea was greatly inspired by the innovative singing efforts of the elderly lady who displays an incredible amount of enthusiasm. 'In summary, the gist of this motion was all about the song and never about mocking anyone. 'Having said all that, we do hope that with this publicity... Aunty one-dollar will see new progress in her tissue paper sales.' As for the other spoof videos, Madam Neo prefers to let the matter rest. She said: 'I don't pursue it because I don't want to make a scene in public. As long as they don't go too far, I let them be.' Her hopes for Chinese New Year are simple: Better sales. It looks like nothing can dampen her spirit. '(Her) song was a gift from God,' said her husband, Mr Lim. 'That's why my wife is so cheerful.'

I could comment on the heartlessness of the youths, but they are morons and they aren't running the country (yet, and hopefully never)

Labels: Politics

A few of us went down to KSB (Kuishinbo) today and gorged ourselves silly. We basically divided the food into 2 groups. SWF and HQF. SWF is Space Wasting Food and HQF is High Quality Food. Foods that fall into the category of SWF to me are Tempura (flour is starchy), cakes, soba, udon, soft drinks. Foods that fall into the category of HQF are Wagyu Teppenyaki Beef, Sashimi, Scallops, Crabs, Prawns.

Anyway, on to the pics.




Snow crab (HQF), Unagi (HQF) , Salmon Sashimi (HQF) and.. some misc sushi (SWF).


Artistic shot of the prawns (HQF) with rock/honey melon (SWF?)

Clockwise from Top left: Wagyu beef (HQF) and Prawn (HQF)
Prawn Tempura (SWF), Soba (SWF), Wagyu beef (HQF) and Dory (HQF)



The remnants of the crabs and prawns.



Misc dessert items. There was a chocolate fountain.

More misc dessert items. The ball ball stuff is actually chocolate coated with raspberry powder. The cake is cheesecake.. some sort of anyway.

More misc desserts


More misc desserts. Center is unique Kuishinbo special. Water melon ice cream. I'd like to direct your attention to bottom left. The nice looking choclate on the green tea ice cream.. very very hard.

Artistic Arrangement Courtesy of S.Low.

For a parallel post, please go to S.Low's blog. www.pigging-out.blogspot.com

Labels: Food

New World Order: Rise of the Coporations, Fall of the Governments

Came across an interesting article in the papers today. The article was mainly talking about Malaysia having too many holidays a year ~16 days a year (not including individual state holidays) and as such businesses were suffering. Examples would be manufacturing industries which function 24/7. Being previously from a manufacturing environment, I know this to be very true. During such extended holidays, companies have to pay quite a lot of OT to the workers who come back to work.

Now from a company's point of view, profit is king. And hence productivity should be kept high and costs kept low. Areas like manufacturing are constantly sourcing for cheaper labour. If countries like Malaysia or even Singapore don't give these companies incentives, they can uproot themselves to other countries like China, India or even North Korea where labour laws are either non-existent or useless. Coporations can make their workers work long hours at low wages. They can probably even convince the governments to take away the holidays. Coporations will continue to become more and more powerful and exert a greater sphere of influence on governments and government policies. I wouldn't be surprised if corporations replaced governments in the future. Similar to OCP in the Robocop movies.

Back to the article. Will Malaysia cave in? Probably not. Not in the near future at least. They can sustain themselve fairly well given that they have a fairly large domestic market. Will Singapore? Well, I would say more likely than Malaysia.

Labels: Big Business

Majorly Old School

So the first day of CNY came and went. Started out slow. As usual. Highlight came at night when the whole family (extended and all) sat down for a game of guess what.. Bingo. Yes.. somehow we have the bingo machine with the balls and all. So the stakes were $1 per card. I watched since I don't like to lose money. Then my cousin and I took turns to roll the giant.. hamster wheel thingy. It seems like the younger generation was mainly the ones winning. The adults seem to be just throwing money away. Haha.. was telling my 2nd cousin, maybe in the years to come, that's how we get our ang pow money. Just win it off them.

What's in a name?

A lot apparently. Well specifically with regards to food in terms of the name of the ingredient, the name of the animal the ingredient is derived from or even the name of the dish the animal is made into. During this season, usually rational people have the ability to become highly irrational. Such as attributing their fortunes to certain rites and rituals like eating certain foods because they have auspicious sounding names.

First up, fish. Or anything with the chinese word for fish in it "鱼"<--- for reference. Heck, it doesn't even need to be the chinese word for fish. Can just sound like the chinese word for fish. Hence we have people spending oodles eating Abalone, Shark's Fin, Yu Sheng. It must suck to have a name that grants you instant death near this season. Thankfully, fish is the only animal that I could think of even after consulting wikipedia. But here's a list of other foods which are supposed to magically grant you wealth etc etc.

2) 年糕 because its pronunciation is a homophone for "a more prosperous year".

3) Bakkwa: I seriously have no idea what is the significance of this. It's a nice treat and all. But in both chinese and hokkien I can't find out what is the auspicious thing it's supposed to sound like.

All I need to do now is to come up with some cool name for something really cheap and easy to make. Something like "Makeyourichinstantlywhenyoueatthis".. but catchier.

Labels: Food, superstition, tradition

Conspiracy Theorists Assemble!


Original Article________Published Article



True or not I'm not sure. Decide for yourself.