Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

SRK is back to tv shows after his stint on Kaun Banega Crorepati (who wants to be a millionaire). This time he is doing the Indian version of 'Are you smarter than a fifth grader?' show called Kya Aap Panch Pass se tez (KAPPS).

I have enjoyed watching the english version, a large number of their contestants are able to reach till the $500,000 mark, always backing out with the fear of losing the 500k if they fail to answer the 1 million dollar question, and funnily enough, the 1 million dollar question, which is from 5th grade, is usually easier than the other earlier questions.

In the Indian version, the 'badshah' Khan is hosting the show with his usual charming personality (I suspect more people would be tuning in to the show to just watch him, rather than the show), however the contestants are rather disappointing. Most of them treat the show as a talent show, trying to show of dancing skills or rapping skills, perhaps due to which, they are not able to earn big bucks as yet. But well.. it is rather too early to say anything now.. Lets just wait and watch!

Sex and the City

The best thing after the invention of internet? Video streaming!!
The best thing after FRIENDS? Sex and the city!!

I have read the book by Candance Bushnell, believe me, unlike many books out there, this series, is seriously meant to be watched on screen. Ladies out there, try to catch these series if you can, not just they are hilarious, they show many faces of us ladies in the city, and did i mention the manolo blahniks?

I never know of the existence of blahniks before watching SATC, thanks to Carrie Bradshow's obsession, I am secretly hoping to get one!

After their successful, the good news for their fans is that their movie is coming out this summer!! I am expecting the movie to be a disappointment to the series (how much of carrie, samantha, charlotte and miranda's life can you pack in 1.5 hrs?) but I am gonna watch nevertheless!

Review of Race (spoilers)

My analysis on the movie.. i would rate it below 0 if i could
1)For a movie set in Durban, you hardly see any foreigners, all the people are hindustanis who can speak perfect Hindi.

2)Hindi movies have reached such stage of advancement in movie making that they even have fictionised song and dance sequence in a fictionised flashback situation

3)No one is surprised (not even the so-called investigator) that the so-called wife of the deceased Ranvir is not at all bothered that her husband of 2 days has slept with his sister in law

4)By the way, what kind of investigator is RD?

5)Investigators like RD have requirements for their assistants: - strictly only blond Indian babe - dress code of nothing less than cleavage as deep as your assets go

6)The hit-man hired to kill Bipasha had to restart his engine after hitting her car, perhaps his manual car failed at first gear, time to get a real driving license

7)So many twists and turns, the unpredictable plot was very predictable after Ranvir's death

8)This is the most original movie of BW of this year, come on, do u think any other movie/story/director can be as stupid?

9)Despite having a 'gupt' camera at the registry of marriage, they were unable to detect the change of certificate done by Rajiv and Sofia?

10)All govt buildings, offices and even morgue in Durban have exteriors like a mansion, with a tiny signboard to keep us abreast of the venue (becos inside, they all look the same)

11)Why did RD have such a stupid assistant? i have the answer, she was like the narrative voice of the genius analysis of RD, so thru her questions we get to know how advanced is RD with his investigation

12)Woman are still strictly regarded as ornaments in most parts of BW

13)Both brothers were stupid enuf in the end to accept their opponents car for race

14)So where is the actually Race u may ask... it was the Race among the actresses of whose cleavage ran deeper!!

To buy or not to buy..?

Imitation goods come in variety of classes and qualities, you can spend a good one third of the original price on a high quality imitation that puts the real brand to shame.

With the high quality imitation goods hitting our markets (namely petaling street), now anyone can fly, I mean, fly above their actual power of spending to own a piece that is known to be rocket priced. But how effective is it?

In my opinion, owning an expensive and exclusive accessory or clothing gives the owner an instant confidence boost, knowing that she/he has the spending power, drawing enough salary to support their lifestyle.

Of course it is easy to own one of those LV bags or Polo tshirts easily through these pirate markets but, how the owner actually carries themselves with their pirated item really makes a difference to the quality of the item. More often than not, you can spot the fake carriers, from many other aspects. Perhaps, a rich well groomed lady, would easily get off with one of these imitation items.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery? well not if you are holding it or wearing it!

Towering underwear ad draws complaints in Hong Kong

HONG KONG (AFP) - A skyscraper-sized underwear ad featuring Blood Diamond star Djimon Hounsou has been cleared by Hong Kong regulators of indecency, a report said Friday. ADVERTISEMENT The towering black-and-white photograph of the actor sporting just a pair of Calvin Klein briefs drew three complaints of indecency to the Television and E ntertainment Licensing Authority, a report in the South China Morning Post said. But the watchdog cleared the ad -- the largest of its size in the region -- of the claims, the report said. The regulator was not immediately available for comment. One reader described the advert as visual pollution, since it was located next to several public parks and historical sites. The ad is on the side of the old Ritz-Carlton hotel, in the Central district of Hong Kong island. It was to be displayed until April 15, soon before the hotel is pulled down.

News Link here

Pray why is this happening? How come we never hear anyone complaining of provocative advertisements of women? This is just an underwear ad, women have been used in all kinds of advertisements where less is advertised on the product but more on the lady's anatomy itself.

The ethic harmony and the lack of it

Once a upon a time, in a not-so-far away lane (yes lane, not a typo), there was a plant (fancy name for a factory) called BNE (not real name). There worked a simple lady, lets call her Ah Soh (not her real name), who worked as the only Pantry Lady in the plant.

She has the best job in the plant, preparing tea/coffee for the management's morning meetings, taking care of the little pantry, and.. umm.. making more tea/coffee. She was dedicated and very possesive of her workspace that she often chased away others who were using pantry for washing and cleaning mugs.

However, she has a rather queer way of choosing the people she'd like to bar from using the pantry, most often, she preferred those who spoke the same language as her, in fact, at times even offering services (washing mugs... dont get ideas) to those of the same skin colour.

I was at first pretty friendly with her, those occasional smile or acknowlegdement at the corridor, because that the most human way to be, but heck, she turned out to be weird at times giving a ridiculous stare even if you are smiling at her, and then a few times of telling me to use the water cooler instead of the pantry, i decided thats it.

What I expected to be ethnic harmony, is definitely not practiced among the locals here, much different from our locals back home... and really, I cant name one particular ethnic group because all of them have certain attitude on others. Is that what they mean by diversed culture in my resident country? People of diversed cultures living divided lives?

Seriously.. that is sad...

Back home I have best friend who is chinese, can converse with Malays in the most local Malay dialect and tamil friends who have taught me the wonderful vocabulary of the language, and that is what we call masyarakat majmuk hidup harmoni (diversed society living in harmony)!!

We are family...

It is amazing how siblings can bear so much resemblance to each other, especially during their baby years. There's been time when even I confuse among the baby pics. Whats been more amazing to me recently is to find out that as we grow up, there are a lot of resemblances even among cousins.

No matter how much of good or bad blood you have among each other, strong resemblances are noticed in a distant by almost everyone, it becomes easy to point out your relatives. On another note, it becomes difficult to disown yourself from your family even if you want to (do not try this at home).

No wonder poor granny always mistakes us for the other, plus we are of almost the same height and built, that doesn't help much. Makes me wonder what the future has in store for us... the future generation too will carry on our good looks (ahemm ahemm)... and bring reminiscence of the past. I cant say I am looking forward to growing old but definitely am looking forward to seeing our progenies, and see how much of motherly resemblance I inherit from my mom!

Levis Lady style

This is not a paid advertisement, just wanted to extend my gratitude to the creators of Levis lady's style... although they cost a (huge) bundle, they are worth it... for the style and uplifting effect.. especially for those of us who are born with genes that does not fill in the jeans.. LOL

It comes with signature heart-shaped pocket designs, and pleasant departure from the common back pocket shapes. The stitching of the legs are also unique, to bring out the best curves in you... So elegant it makes you stand out in the crowd.

The Pride of Malaysia

I know Petronas Twin Towers is a very dated subject to be awed on, but beauty grows better with age, and so should the appreciation.

The twin towers were announced tallest building in the world from 1998, the glory short-lived still 2004 due to other buildings being built all over the world like mushrooms after rain. None of the tallest buildings can reign their thrones for more than 4 years given the technology advancement.

Malaysia has also risen to the occasion with several other achievements, earning recognition at the international front. Be it Visit Malaysia or not, tourists flock in every year for our F1 match, which also gives them the chance to see the city and spend money on shopping, which is relatively cheaper compared to our close neighbour.

Speaking of which, our neighbour seems to be on a close race with us, with the F1 circuit opening in Sept 2008, Casino in Sentosa coming up soon, and yea, the recently opened Singapore Flyer. When the city and HDB development areas are so densed and congested with people, and continuously growing, I hope the goverment is also working towards handling the problem.

The Caste System

The indian civilization had ages back created the caste system to segregate their people according to their occupations, and the tradition has been passed down to generations, and has evolved in many ways ever since.

One of the most prominent signs of the caste system is when you are on a holiday or dining at a place with tonnes of ang mohs (caucasians), the locals seem to get second class treatment. However, at times being a local is an advantage, if you can make your way through with your local dialect, getting better deals and loopholes the angmohs may not know.

Ultimately, I believe that the secret to a good and pleasant service is one thats obtained with a sincere smile.

TGIF!

Fridays are always very pleasant, be it at work or outside - well of course not really in Singapore, because it is super crowded everywhere, but there are some exceptions, if you like being in a crowded place.

People in the office appear more friendly, work more efficiently and they actually give attention to your requests or tasks no matter how small or big it is. But, it only gets better if the following weekend is a long weekend. People are super jolly during this joyful hours, especially when it is nearer to the end of the office hours, making jokes, and closing action items.

Is that what it takes for us to be more efficient and pleasant at the office? Won't we all be performing better and happier if every other day was a long weekend?

Monday, undoubtfully, are the worst day at work, but as they say, look out for the silver lining.. and for every Monday, there is a Friday lurking in the corner for our delight!

Goodbye bug!!

After being down with flu and cold for almost a month, I have finally quarantined myself away from it. I have always been the healthy kind of person who rarely falls sick (thanks for my immune system) but recently the cold, consist of sore throat and running nose is refusing to let me go. I have never been careful of not getting wet in the rain or avoiding cold drinks for the worry of catching the cold, but hey, this time round, I have been very obedient of the advise (more like warnings) mom has given me, and voila.. the healthier me!! Believe me, although the sick leaves are fun to cash in when you are sick, its never fun to have running nose and irritating sore throat that makes swallowing a chore!

Review of Jodha Akbar

The most awaited film of the year, Jodha Akbar brings many surprises and brickbats, despite disclaimers clearly stated at the beginning of the film. And the endorsement on the animal rights is impressive, given the fact so many animals were used the making of the movie, the producer left no leaf unturned to ensure the best for the film.

Director Ashutosh is well known for this oscar nominted Lagaan and critically acclaimed Swades. His latest efforts in bringing magnificence and grandeur to the mughal king's life story is impressive, shows how versatile Ashutosh is in potraying different lifestyles and emotions to the camera. The lavish costumes and sets are hardly a typical Ashutosh material, but he's pulled it off with pinache.

In most areas JA is very well done, Hritik looked and acted fabulously, and most believable as a King. One can hardly imagine it is the same mentally challenged guy from Koi mil gaya... Aishwarya's naturally wooden worked to her advantage acting as princess who was forced to get married to a muslim King.

Character actor Ila Arun shines among the rest, Sonu Sood is a close second.
Music is at it's minimal, and best, although the background score was recycled from the songs very often. 'Azeem-o-Shaan Shahenshah' is the best song ever made in the praise of a King.

JA is not flawless, due to the nature of the story inherited the lengthiness and various subplots and due to that the pace was so fast in some scenes that its hard to catch up. And thanks to the english subtitles, i was able to understand the bombastic urdu and hindi throughout the film...

Disney Idols

Move aside American Idols, there is a new breed of Idols in town, and that is the Disney Idols! While American Idol conducts auditions all over America to tap talents, Disney Idols has loaded of talent in their own home.

Remember how Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake started off their singing careers and got attention through the Mickey show? And you'd have thought that was history... The new teen pops like Hillary Duff and Lindsay Lohan have made it to the center of attention through the acting in Disney produced shows, and now they are among Hollywood's most famous stars.

With the success of High School Musical, it seems that we are gonna have more teen pop stars cutting albums and making hollywood movies. But of course, if you are a celebrity you can never runa way from controversies... HSM star Vanessa Hudgen was in a big soup recently, which probably worked for HSM2's advantage.

However, the pioneer Disney Idol, Britney's screwed up personal life is all over the news, and before you can say 'Disney', we also have Lindsay Lohan making trips to the rehab like entering shops in the mall... is there another Disney Idol screw up in the pipeline? I sure hope not, because teens nowdays have enough bad influence around them.

Why is JB/SG better than KL

The last weekend I spent in Klang Valley made me realise something really important. The weather there is so hot, and if you are outdoors it is like a oven turned on to the max. While being in Singapore or JB, early morning walks can be such a pleasant journey because most often the sun is shining, and there is cool breeze blowing... and usually the weather follows till afternoon.. it could get more sunny, but the wind is very cooling and makes walking under the sun a pleasure. Definitely this weather has not always been here, perhaps it is the global warming causing such conditions here, whatever it is, at the risk of sounding selfish, I'm loving it!

10 reasons

10 reasons why Malaysian transportation system is below world standard:

1) Untimely schedules, it seems like the trains and buses operate on their own schedule as they like
2) No standardization on taxi charges, regardless of peak hour or non peak hour
3) Lack of maintenance on trains and buses, they appear so old and rusty, you dread to even touch the bar, but you got to choice in order to survive the turnings they make... even the air conditioning sometimes dont work, and if you are in a bus then you can still have some ventilation by opening the windows, but if you are stuck in a train, you will come out steamed
4) Bad station facilities, they are as dirty and old as the vehicles themselves, eg Puduraya...
5) Lack of funding, dont know where is the profits being channeled to, they could earn extra bucks by advertisement spaces inside or outside the bus/trains
6) Ineffective communication to the commuters in the case of cancellation or delays (which happens very often) leaves commuters curious and furious all the way
7) Irresponsible drivers, some smoke in the closed bus, bring their personal problems to work by shouting and scolding the passengers for small problems
8) No prepaid access system, you gotta pay as you ride, except for the commuter trains that allow touch and go cards. Hence the long queue at Putra and Star Lrt stations...
9) Insufficient coverage, the train system in KL only covers within a small vicinity, likewise the buses have systems that are not efficient in covering all the areas
10)Too many foreign workers travelling... oh wait... thats not their fault

The return of Paris Hilton

While serving her sentence in jail, Paris Hilton made news all over media on her enlightenment, spirituality and the plan to involve herself into more social causes, which you may recall in one of my previous posts.

Upon her release, Paris did uncover her enlightenment to fans and critics all over, but not on spiritual being but on fashion statement right from the first step she took out of prison. Soon after Miss Hilton came back to her notorious life, and now making news with her new sexuality, that is, lesbianism.

Here were are, (at least me) thinking that this lady in her mid 20s would turn over a new leaf and do something good in her life that would earn her the true respect she deserved, but I guess people dont change, especially if you are a Hilton.

I only hope that she does not end up psychologically disturbed like Britney Spears, cos I do like Paris tad a little more than Britney... oh well... what would we do without these hollywood stars, there would be no gossips or headlines to talk about.

Astro Ad, Pathetic Attempt

I only managed to catch the new astro ad in bits and pieces, thanks to channel Zee, my mom hardly gives me any time to watch anything that I like. It was only recently i actually caught the whole ad in one piece.. and it make me wonder.. what were the makers of the video thinking, taking the audience for a ride?

A couple with their daugther arrive at KLIA, driving somewhere through the highway to a kampung (village). Dad tells daughter not to talk english to Tok Wan (i supposed thats referring to grandma) cos she wont understand... girl gets scared at the sight of a little lizard thinking it is a dinosaur, and surprised at Tok Wan's malay song skills... i mean like.. what the fish?

Is the ad trying to associate KLIA with some kampong? or is it just showing that city kids have never seen lizards before? Or simply, city folks are so ignorant of their origin that they remember to teach the word 'tok wan'to their kids but forget to teach them their native language? Even still, lets assume that this city grown girl is ignorant to her own culture, language and family, but which century is she still living in thinking that dinosaurs are still alive? I think i know why, Tok wan was lucky to have Astro for general knowledge but little girl was deprived of this facility, perhaps cos she was living outside Malaysia.. pray, why?

We know Astro provides a lot of exposure and education through the discovery channels, but hey, i think i prefer the other ad better where the young couple is constantly bugged by their young cute chubby boy, at least that did not challenge my intelligence and lifestyle living in a metropolitan city.

Ladies and Handbags

We ladies are gifted, we have the penchant for good things in life. We have shoes clothes and handbags for all occasions and all needs.

Our handbags contain the most essential things in our lives, such as housekeys, handphone, charger (in case our battery is dying due to the nice conversation with your girlfriend about the manicure you had or the cute guy you bumped into in the bus), tissue paper, sugar free breath refreshener, sugar free gums (a girl can never have enough of sugar-frees), pen, notebook, powder for touch ups, lip gloss for lippy touch ups, eye drops to curb that nasty air con causing dryness to our eyes, and... really.. the list goes on!

Ladies have often proved to be great rescuers of emergency situations when you realise that you need a safety pin, or a facial blotter for that emergency oily face or even a simple pen for a friend who needs to jot down some important info. More often than not, the male species are the ones who are rescued from emergencies, and yet they complain that we buy too many bags, or our bags are too huge. Now with so many important things that we are able to store in our handbags, how can shopping for a handbag be harmless? My ideal handbag is huge enough to take in my laptop, and yeah I am using one of it now, and its nothing like the pic.. this is purely for decoration purposes :-p

American Idol

Its the time of the year again with many surprises, disappointments as well as amazements. No, I am not talking about your annual profit sharing bonus, the American Idol show is back, for the Nth time, terrorizing televisions near you.

Well of course the first ever season of American Idol was like a revolution to the talent time reality tv, bringing the talented faces of America to the world (at least we get a break from promiscuous pop talents like Britney Spears and hair gone crazy Christina Aguilera). But only from the second season onwards, the popularity of William Hung actually brought the auditioners into the public attention, and I do remember being more excited about watching the audition episodes rather than the real singing contest.

It makes you wonder, and be amazed at the amount of confidence the auditioners have to present themselves as the next American Idol but sing worse than ever imaginable. The authenticity of these self profound singers are very much questionable. Perhaps AI producers are spending a lof money on setting up the auditioners.

And now, after uncountable amounts of AI series and winners, its apparent that it is easier to remember the the auditioners who come with outstanding antiques rather than the winners themselves. But then again, how is the audience (or even the judges themselves) to complain on the lack of real talent, when we have singer like Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton churning albums like picking up another pink top. As Simon says, 'Its amazing, amazingly ghastly'.

My new maroon love

Hello Blog World... I have got myself a new love, and it is maroon in color and it connects me to the beautiful world of internet...!

Practical sayings

Man who run in front of car get 'tired'
Man who run behind car get 'exhausted'
Man with one chopstick go hungry
Man who eat many prunes get good run for money
War does not determine who is right, war determine who is left
Wife who put husband in dog-house soon find him in cat-house
Fortune may not knock on your door but may send her daughter instead....... missfortune
Man who drive like hell, bound to get there
Man who lives in glass house should change clothes in basement
Man with luncheon voucher runs the fastest
Man with mom knows what babes want, she tells him
Man who slaps someone with mouth full gets a face pack
Man who beat & curse village ground with stick is a witch doctor.......he who does that in city is a golfer
Man who has headache should follow other inscription on bottle too "keep away from children"
Man should be nice to their kids.........they will choose the nursing home
Man who scrimps on postage gets letter bomb returned to sender
Man who is poor do not believe in miracles......he relies on them
Man with closed mind always opens his mouth
Man has right to remain silent, so he should SHUT UP
Man make ends meet but woman undoes it by moving the ends
Man does not live to see his boomerang come back if he faces wrong direction
Man learns from others mistake, he cant live long enough to make them all himself
Man's punishment for bigamy is 2 mothers-in-law
Man's wife is an angel.......only when she is in heaven
Man's good reason for coming home the morning after.....breakfast
Man's reason for 2 wives........2 pails balance evenly
Man is a dog on some days, the hydrant on some other...