Fads in August 06

I shall include fads that had occured... during every month-ends in my blog. To kick off with.....

1. Swallowing has suddenly been termed as "vulgar".

2. "Hum" are the rage in local hawker fare.

3. Pluto is no longer a planet.

4. There were sightings of "Two Moon Junction" past midnight on 27 August 2006.

5. Paris Hilton actually sounded quite nice. My ears are blind.

6. Carrick is a bit darn too expensive.

7. Arsenal did not really open the Emirates Stadium with a bang. Had a drab 1-1 draw with Villa. What gall, Villains!

8. Real Madrid didn't really look like the Real Deal on their season opener against the Yellow Submarines.

9. Talking Cock is funny.... while Mr Brown is serious.

10. Bergkamp, Campbell, Pires left...Cole and Reyes, pretty soon. Who the Gunners replaced with? Rosicky. I am actually quite worried. But I always trust Wenger to pull off a master stroke. Latest news is Tevez might be coming....

11. There were crashing of glass panel at Plaza Singapura and scaffold collapse at Vivocity.

12. No more tunnel to Wisma Atria via Orchard MRT soon. At least, temporary.

13. GAP is finally coming to Singapore....December!

14. I hope the O' Neill bubble will burst soon....

15. Makelele is a slave.

16. Theo Walcott finally debuted.

17. Twins got exposed. Sensationalism journalism...again.

18. Princess Siti’s got a grand wedding.

19. Keano is managing the Black Cats. Hair Dryer Part II cometh.

20. Singapore Idol is down to the final 5. Even a drunk Pete Doherty might sound better than them.

21. Today is the late Princess Diana's 9th anniversary.

Baan Rim Pa, my Thai food haven

Thai food is exquisite. I love the sour and spice. Baan Rim Pa is probably the best Thai restaurant in the world. On top of that, it is the most romantic of places to wine and dine. Fantastic food, excellent service and an ocean view to die for.

Wonderfully located on top of a cliff in Phuket, this restaurant is a real trend-setter in standards. The stylish teak house ambience sure augurs well for Thai dining setting.

After all that is said, it is a must-go place for dining whenever one is in Phuket. Imagine dining, enjoying the sea breeze and viewing the magnificent sunset. What else can we ask for?

Summing it all up, mouth watering Thai food, excellent service, spectacular sea view, chic décor….Five-star and more! This restaurant is Heaven sent.

Location: 223, Kalim Beach Road, Patong, Phuket 83150, Thailand.

Kor kor @Balestier

I grew up in Balestier….spent a good part of my life there. This long stretch of road is interesting. It is the only road in Singapore with the most number of freaking traffic lights. In the past, there used to be lots of lar sup bars. I remember the old Hoover, President and Ruby cinemas. There was this Oriental emporium where the present Shaw Plaza is. President cinema was home to restricted movies. I recall many ah peks were hanging around there all the time. Hoover was first a movie cinema, live theater, church, Hindi movie cinema and eventually got pulled down.

Balestier is the place for bak kut teh, lighting shops, tau sar piahs, visiting the squeaky newly retrofitted Sun Yat Sun villa, Tua Pek Kong and Kuan Yin temples. Of late, budget hotels are springing up in quick succession. There can only be two ways. For lodging or a quickie.

I see this change revolving, shops selling bathroom fixtures are fast replacing the lighting shops over there. There are also the two great chicken rice shops in Boon Tong Kee and Loy Kee. I love the noodle stall at Jalan Datoh. That stall is the best institution of its kind. There is also this terrific hardware shop, Yiap Heng Cheong. For durian lovers, the line of stalls near Tua Pek Kong temple. To all bird lovers, there's the gold-haired owner of this corner bird shop near the former Pegu dental clinic. Talking about birds...there's the Golden Roast & 933 duck shops.

Back in late 86, I was playing football with my friends in the empty space behind Hoover theatre. It was in the late afternoon and guess who ran over and join us for the kickabout. It was kor kor, Leslie Cheung. He was there for a series of concerts for his then new album, Stand Up. Boy, were we surprised. I remember he was puffing away with his cigarettes after the short kickabout. How time flies…this Hong Kong superstar pop idol leapt to his death on 1 April 2003.

That football moment….with kor kor would be etched in my memories forever.

M L M - Those "be your own boss" claims

Ever been bothered by friends turned MLMers. No joke. Those guys are real hard-core sellers who wouldn’t settle "NO" for an answer.

I am personally not against it but I don’t believe it can work here. It’s a rather neat concept towards the democratisation of business. However, i am not sure about the "Be your own boss" claim.

Here’s an analogy I draw as compared to the serving of National Service. If National Service can be converted into a MLM, then there would not be any compulsory thing such as NS for males. What we have would be a wholly volunteered force who are paid well selling patriotism.

Health products seems to be the hottest thing to sell right now with MLM companies because everyone knows that health is wealth. But at what kind of price are we willing to pay for these kind of “magic” pills when we can just eat right in our daily life and we won't even need such products to enhance our lives.

Few things to ponder. How many downlines can I have? Let's say three (3). How many layers? Let's take it as twelve (12). Forming this structure is a GP of 265,720 people. It means that if you are on top, you have 265,719 people under you. If the company charge $40 for registration or whatever number they called it, a pyramid of 12 layers x 3 will bring $10 million for the company. The products might not really matter. It can go at cost or small margin to payout as commission. Just estimate from the “layer” position, is there enough people on this small island to sustain the business? My take is that if we are the few early ones, you'd probably make some money but that will slowly dwindle as more competition emerge.

I guess when a biz involves lotta people, you can never have a windfall of good. Then how bad could it be? One probably got to get involved with MLM in order to know it, I guess.

Gays - From Sentosa to Phuket

Gay. A three-letter word fraught with so much meaning. It can mean gleeful, jovial, glad, joyous, happy, cheerful, sprightly, blithe, airy, light-hearted; vivacious, frolicsome, sportive and hilarious. On the flip side, it may also be applied openly to homosexuals.

There are probably many in Singapore, open or closet types. For the record, I am straight and I don’t give a hoot about their right to exist and movement for acceptance to mainstream society or whatever. They can party from Sentosa to Phuket and can jammed up the pubs along Tanjong Pagar.

The bottomline is …. I can be your friend but, don't cross the boundaries. I will raise my protectionist walls and fight you with sticks and stones. There is this incident….years ago. I was working at a nearby construction site and was washing myself at a shopping complex tucked near Thomson. This man, in his late forties was calling out for help at the last toilet cubicle. Any Samaritan would have got to take a look, alas, this guy was in his naked glory, looking at me gleefully and requesting some ridiculous “Specials” from me. With one mighty kick to his groin and the Royal Flush, I lay him down grasping in pain and breathing hard for air. I left the toilet an angry man. What if the victim was a young and timid schoolboy. Would he be able to fend for himself?

To all parents of children or adolescents, do accompany your child to the toilet…may it be in the shopping malls, swimming pools or gyms. One cannot rest on our laurels and put our guard down, such dangers does lurk in those quiet corners. As in any modern cities where murders, rapes, car jackings, knifing, kidnappings, hits and runs are rife….. the dangerous mix of gays and pedophiles are out there too.

All I know is that my trusty PCK yellow boots came in handy that day.

Spammed me to death...

Email was perhaps one of life’s better inventions. Of late, spamming is really making me sick. Every morning as I turn on the computer. I get loads of emails from ang-moish names wanting to help me lengthen my shaft, last longer, be the longest…. all well meaning intentions to improve my libido. Thanks a lot, spammers.

If spamming could stop, that should be something to celebrate. At least for me.

Blade Runner

A collaboration between Sir Ridley Scott and Harrison Ford can’t go wrong. It was the birth of one of movie’s finest, “Blade Runner” in 1982.

It wasn’t a movie critic’s darling back then. Somehow, I like it a lot and this movie had achieved cult status envisioning the Nightmare of the Future. The portrayal of life in 2019 showcases Japanese influences, urban city decadences, darkness, morbidity and pollution in our environment.

Set in LA, the scenic shots produces an America that looks like a ghastly dark Asia. Environmentally sense, it is nightmarish. Acid rain throughout and the film is eternally nightfall. A world so, so cold….

This film in her cyberpunk best could have shaped MTV, films and night entertainment. Can’t help but see that dark films such as Terminator, Black Rain amongst others are like indirect offshoot spawns of Blade Runner.

I wonder how many in blogosphere loves “Blade Runner”.

Singapore Idol: 2006

I am no authority in the local music scene, but I think the singing in Singapore Idol: 2006 really sucks. It is really bad singing. I know…their fans may disagree…. the contestants are like say… celebrities or maybe, phenoms to them. But then, their singing and showmanship, really teeters on the hideousness.

I guess singers of the past…a half-baked Mah Choon Hong or Bani Farook, may not sound that bad. This competition could probably be staged once every ten years. Let a generation grow.

Anyway, what’s in for the Singapore Idol? Personally, Taufik was great. I think he have two albums under his belt, a commemorative stamp and… what else? These days…I cast my myopic glance and all I see is our idol selling Big Gulp. How sad. Ya. He quitted smoking too.

Singapore vs Malaysia - Not water, it's football!

Football matches between Singapore and Malaysia are intense and passionate affairs. I agree with the legendary Bill Shankly. It is more important than life and death.

I used to love Singapore soccer. Back then, the likes of Dollah Kassim, Samad Allapitchay, Quah Kim Song, Mat Nor, Crazy Horse, Edmund Wee…. to Fandi, Sundram, David Lee, Malek Awab, the late Borhan, Abaas, Edwards, Vana, Foster, Spink. Those were the good old days. Singapore taking on Malaysian state teams. Matches between Kedah, Selangor, Pahang, KL was a must-go thingie at Kallang. Going for Malaysia Cup matches across the Causeway is always a dangerous incursion. I remember it rained stones one night at the Larkin Stadium.

I was nuts over local football back then…. Then came the S-League. I stopped watching local football completely. I could rattle names of our soccer players from the past quite easily. I can’t even name one single player in our national team right now. Why, the complete lack of interest in our local football scene? I wonder…

Remember the Ovaltine Cup, Merlion Cup back then? There was this particular match between Singapore and Malaysia during the Aiwa Merlion Cup days in December 1992. Boy, it was a memorable match. Singapore beat Malaysia 3-0. The scoreline wasn’t flattering. It was the manner in which the Malaysians were outplayed and totally outclassed. Lim Tong Hai aka Mr Own Goals was in his element that night. Playing like Baresi, he even scored! Hasnim Haron covered every blade of grass at Kallang that night. He probably outsprinted everyone. His goal was a real gem, running two-thirds of the pitch and shooting past goalie Khairul. The final goal for that night….fittingly was by Singapore’s favourite son, Fandi. It was like winning the Malaysia Cup.

Despite all the football rivalry, I love the late Mokhtar Dahari and Towkay Soh Chin Aun. They are simply the best!

Axemen

I like monster chops and licks. My musical preferences are extreme, can be from John Williams to Blackie Lawless. I worship my axemen. Not madmen wielding axes. Erh… sort of. I mean, rock guitarists wielding their mean guitars and engaging themselves in never ending guitar solos. Of course, they must look the part. Wild long hair like Dee Snider, sporting tattoos like Tommy Lee and X’Ho, painted faces like KISS and air-tight spandex pants. Those with no ballroom types.

The breakthrough song that introduces the world of rock and heavy metal to me was “Jump” by Van Halen. Fantastic song, with Alex’s power drumming, Mike Anthony’s thunder bass, Eddie’s superb solo with his Kramer and Roth’s prancing like a wild ballerina. Till today, this song still endears to me.

From then on, I became fascinated with rock guitarists. A long line of them, my own hall of famers. I love my axemen to be technically proficient guitarists and the never ending repertoire of two-handed tapping, sweep picking, giant volume swells, harmonics and whammy bar effects.

Eddie Van Halen was my guitar God in 1984. From there on, I went back the years and I discover earlier wildmen of rock in Jimi Hendrix and Randy Rhoads.

Then, I grew to love the sound of speed guitar. Joe Satriani and Steve Vai became my favourites. I still hail “Passion and Warfare” as the greatest instrumental album of all time.

Other must mention guitarists include The Edge, who can forget those ringing, siren-like, blazing in the mountains guitarwork. Great special effects by the likes of Mick Mars and Steve Stevens. Also, AC/DC’s Angus Young’s razor edge. I thought I saw a sort of bald pate that he was sporting during a concert gig in the Stones’ concluded 40 Licks tour. Slash’s solo on November Rain and Aerosmith’s Joe Perry’s muscular solos are equally awesome. The list goes on…The Human Riff, Ronnie Wood, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page to…. Jake E Lee, Zakk Wylde, Johnny Marr or Yngwie Malmsteen. Prince will be always cool and erotic... but i hate his James Brown leg spilt. Ah...who can forget James Honeyman-Scott's simple melodic and charming riffs.

I love David Lee Roth’s album, Skyscraper. It is an album with one hotter than hell Superband. Can’t go wrong with an incredible line-up of Billy Sheehan, Steve Vai and Greg Bissonette.

For bassist, Billy Sheehan is still the best. For lighter moments, give me James Taylor, Lee Ritenour, Pat Metheney and John Williams anytime.

Kaya at Katong

Katong is a place for laksa, twa kwa pau, soon kuehs and other great food. I like my kaya buns and coffee at Chin Mee Chin Confectionary. It is the place to drop by during those lazy weekend afternoons.

The hot buns with dripping kaya, tarts, pastries and the coffee. Uhmm… I just love that place to death!

Ming Chung Restaurant

I love this eatery selling Heng Hwa food at Maude Road. The lor mee, fried mee swa and fried prawn balls are awesome. I got to know this food joint through a TV snippet during the recent World Cup.

Been going there for dinners on most weekends. I love old coffeeshops. Get transported back to time. The service is really no frills, no GEMS, they shout orders across tables. Real old world rustic charm.

The lor mee is in white gravy, plus veggies, clams, pork, prawns and fried bean curd. Add some vinegar and viola, their signature dish. Their la la are also a must-try. Very tasty and cook to near perfection in spicy gravy. Looks like an exquisite Italian dish. The fried prawn balls goes well with the fried fish slices. This are simple and yummy dishes. Fried to the perfect level of crispiness.

They opens from 3 pm till midnite and are closed on Mondays. The chopsticks, bowls and teacups comes in a small basin of hot water. For cleansing purposes, i guess.

Writing about this place… I am drooling already.

To catch a glimpse of their food, let's go and view some photos!

Wrestling

I came from a family of wrestlers. No lah, watching wrestling on telly. It is a family tradition. A time-honoured tradition. My late Grandpa and Papa are avid wrestling fans. I hate to admit it. So am I.

Before WWF or later WWE became our staple feed, there was this show, “On the Mat” on our local telly. Hey, I fell in love with wrestling since that show came on. The usual good guys were Steve Rickard and Mark Lewin. The bad guys then were Ox “Heart Punch” Baker and our lousy firestarter, the Sheikh.

Then on, I grew to love Randy “Macho Man” Savage. Of course, I like George “The Animal” Steele too. Their brutal feud really borders on the ridiculous, centering on Miss Elizabeth.

Loads and loads of wrestlers came and went. Some even died. I still prefer my wrestlers from the 80s. I don’t really watch much wrestling nowadays. Largely stemming from my wife’s protests…. she claims it’s sheer and mindless violence.

Let me rattle on this past fav…. The Ultimate Warrior, the possessed one. This chap runs around like a moron, i remember how he finishes off the Honky Tonk Man in seconds during a title match. Like what Mike Tyson did to the other boxers back then. However, it was before Buster Douglas shatter that aura of invincibility at the Egg Dome.

Okay, I shan’t harp too much on this "violent" topic any longer. Sid Justice or Psycho Sid, Scott “Booty Daddy” Steiner, Steve "Stone Cold 3:16" Austin, Mankind and the Road Warriors aka Legion of Doom are my absolute favourites. I love my wrestlers…to be big, badder than the rest, great Herculean physique and the God-given ability to beat up their opponents mindlessly to a pulp, like jackhammers on the construction sites. Gives me the feel good factor all the time.

Beezy

Stumble on this lady's photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/beezy/

Man, she must have whip a cool camera around to churn out such wonderful & colourful photos. The Khong Guan gem cookies caught my eye. Brought back memories of my kindergarten days.

Great photos, once again... Thanks!

L O T R

Yes, i thought that LOTR meant Lord of the Rings by acclaimed J.R.R. Tolkein. It may had taken a new twist in our local context. Kudos to David R. and C.Y. Tan, LOTR can also mean Lawyers On The Run.

Dennis Bergkamp, Arsenal's No. 10

10 May 1969 was a good day for Holland. In footballing terms, I mean. Dennis Bergkamp was born. I am an ardent lifetime supporter of the Gunners. Quite simply to most gooners, Dennis is God. God is Dennis. God wears the No. 10 at North London from 1995 to 2006. He is the definitive classic, one of a kind No. 10.When the then manager of Arsenal, Bruce Rioch splashed 7.5 million pounds for Bergkamp in the summer of 1995, it was a coup that was so out-of-the-world for most gooners. Personally, I felt that the club was finally showing ambitions.

He took awhile to settle and once those goals got underway against Southampton. It was …..uhmm.. wonderful! How can one forget that hat-trick at Filbert Street, that turn against Dabizas from the Toon Army, the World Cup goal against Argentina. Look at Ayala. His final competitive goal, so fittingly, was on Dennis Bergkamp Day against WBA. These are real moments to savour for fans of the Iceman.

For all these past 10-odd seasons, I feel so blessed to witness the Iceman. The One who operates behind the main strikers. The link between the midfield and striking line. He is The Shadow Striker, The Lurker and the Great Passer, all rolled into one. The Total Package. The foundation back at Wilskracht was laid well.

His skill element? Astounding, the least. The greatest of deft first touch and the radar-like awareness of where to pass or shoot the ball. Season 2006/07 is starting next week…. will I get to see so much skill and vision in one player again? I doubt we may see the likes of such a player again. He is a Comet in the Sky. Many can lay claim that Henry is the epitome of Arsenal greatness. True in every sense. For me, Dennis Bergkamp is my football colossus.

Bergkamp was the pivotal man in the transformation of Boring Arsenal to the birth of one the most cosmopolitan and exciting sides in the Premiership. So sad that Wenger’s side fail to capture Europe’s biggest trophy and conquer the continent in Paris few months back. It would have been the best sending-off present for a great Arsenal servant. Even though the Dutch master did not take on the pitch that night against Barcelona, his goal against FC Thun was the decisive moment in their European campaign.

In retrospect, I’ve seen so many great players like Samson, Talbot, Jensen, Sunderland, Caton, Chapman, Quinn, Davis, Lukic, Seaman, Winterburn, Groves, Smith, Thomas, Keown, Linighan, Rocky, O’Leary, Champagne Charlie, Bould, Adams, Wright, Dixon, Limpar, Campbell, Rix, Suker, Woodcock, Mariner, Jennings, Parlour, Schwarz, Hartson, Platt, Helder, Vieira, Merson, Anelka, Petit, Cole come and go. Bergkamp will last the longest in my memories.

Farewell….the Artist and the Genius.

Qi:nobe, the Celestial Band

In the recently concluded “Superband” competition held on 5 Aug 06, saccharine sweet church going guys, Milubing won and was touted as Singapore’s first “Celestial Band”. Big title. No malice intended, I felt the rap rock group, Qi:nobe was the BAND to beat throughout the entire competition.

Perhaps, I am taking sides because I grew up listening to a wide staple of rock and metal diet. Van Halen, Motley Crue, Twisted Sister, Marc Bolan, AC/DC, Poison, Cinderalla, Ratt, Kiss, Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Steve Vai, Aerosmith, Yes, James Taylor, Wu Bai, David Bowie, Prince, Supertramp, Pink Floyd….. and of course, the Rolling Stones.

Hey, this band could really work the crowd to....erh... orgasmic highs, every performance they held was done with a likeness to a flamethrower. I thought the audiences connected through the loud and raw sound and the element of danger and seemingly streak of violence within the group. Who can forget their repertoire of painted faces, head banging and crowd surfing. As a rap rock band, they do look the part. Their angst, street wear, painted faces and war attitudes seemed culminated from mean street. The total anti-establishment look.

As observed throughout the competition, they grew and the band’s playing improved and tightened. Samuel (lead vocals) was great in both rapping and singing. Moo-Z developed a signature growl, I thought it was quite a la James Hetfield growl. Yanto’s bass and Jeffrey’s guitarwork were great sounding and… ambitious. DJ N’dy was a master with the turntables and Azizul, the hard hitting drummer. Bringing me to Tommyland everytime.

Initially, they were quite the judges’ favourite. They heaped praises upon praises with wonderful critiques after each of their performances. However, during the later stages of the competition…. they became the “scorn” of the judges. Their comments turn on them. Scores plummeted…and soon they were booted out of the competition via lack of phone and SMS votes.

I guess many would be infatuated with the look of Qi:nobe. Decked out in their painted faces, Chinese wayang costume, gas mask, etc. The combination of their look and music, probably fired the imagination of many.

I am not too familiar with our local music scene. However, I etched them high in the echelons of local music pantheon. Given time, their amalgam of street beats, hip hop and metal riffs may surge past the likes of Opposition Party, Zircon Lounge, Lizard’s Convention, Sweet Charity, Gingerbread, Tokyo Square amongst others in time to come. Sorry to compare with this bands of the past.... also different genre of music. To side track a bit, everytime I hear Max Surin croons, "wo ai ni, i love u,......" Just give me the creeps, man.

Do hope this band, with their depth and width of potential, could become a cultural phenomenon in Singapore. Can we have some sort of Lollapalooza or Ozzfest to kickstart such bands and also to the birth of more of such high powered bands, please?

May their potent mix of anthemic rap and fist pounding rock come to the fore…. and me, hoping Qi:nobe would gain a cult following and foothold in the local music scene.

The first concert I ever attended - 29 Oct 1991

I stepped into the Singapore Indoor Stadium to attend my first ever concert. It was by Hall & Oates. Boy, was it memorable.

At the end of the 2-hour odd concert, Daryl Hall yelled and exulted,"Acoustic Power"! It was an unplugged concert. This proclamation may seemed rehearsed. But, good music is great music by this Yankee duo.

I remembered.... instead of the usual arsenal of sequencers, synthesisers and sonic drums, this white soul duo had used accordion, mandolin, cello, violin and even a baby grand piano.

Guitarist T-Bone Wolk and saxophonist Charlie Dechant was there that night. What a great jam session. The harmonies never sounded better and the melodies, so damn catchy.

The duo were about 42 back then. Time warps....

The best song, at least for me, was "Wait for Me". How lovely. The la, la, la....

The very last song for the encore was the 1966 classic by Sam Moore / Dave Pratar, "Something is wrong with my baby". I think that night, it was a Tuesday, me and my army pals, James, Chris, Daniel and Chung all gave the duo a well-deserved standing ovation.

9 August 2006

Today is Singapore's 41st birthday. Just another public holiday. Another 2 more working days before the weekend comes knocking again. Even the extensive fireworks doesn't excite me.