The Little Nyonya

MediaCorp TV had been producing better and better dramas lately. Among the most recent favourite of mine is The Little Nyonya drama, which is aired over MediaCorp's TV8 on weekdays from 9pm onwards. On Monday, it is aired for two hours from 8pm to 10pm.

The show is a drama about the Peranankan families during the prewar and postwar era. It not only has an enduring story but it also encompasses aesthetics and values of the Peranakan folk and beliefs. Food and culture are all part of the educational aspects that I enjoy, plus a very wonderful acting by some of the MediaCorp TVs actors such as Jeanette Aw, Pierre Png, Qu YuWu and Joanne Peh. There are a total of 34 episodes in all and there are about 6 more days before it ends on Jan 5th 2009.

If you want to catch it online, I think there is a fan who uploaded it on YouTube. I prefer to watch it on TV but if you can't wait, you can catch it on MobTV too.

If you don't know what you are missing, perhaps a few episodes here will keep you watching the rest of it..


Episode 1a


Episode 1b


Episode 1c


Episode 1d

Singapore Flyer Passengers Stuck for 6 hours

On Tuesday 23rd December, a what was supposed to be a fun ride at the World's Largest observation wheel - the Singapore Flyer, had it's passengers stranded for as long as 6 hours when a power disruption caused it to stop. Some passengers had to be lowered down to safety using a sling.

Two of the passengers, an old woman and a boy had been taken to the hospital for dizziness and vomitting (in respective order). The problem was isolated quickly when it was jammed to make sure ventillation or air conditioned is in full functioning order. Food and drinks were also supplied whilst the passengers were still stuck in the capsule. Intercoms and surveillance cameras were all working and used to make sure the passengers were alright and provide communication to the control room throughout the course when the problem was being fixed.

Each capsule of the Singapore Flyer can hold up to 28 passengers and has a total of 28 capsules is the biggest in the world, worth about S$240 million Singapore dollars (US$171 million).

As of Wednesday 24th Christmas, the Singapore Flyer will be closed for investigations.

Jennifer Aniston on GQ

Jennifer Aniston is on the cover of GQ! Don't believe it,right? But it's true. For once instead of seeing a man on the cover, you get to see beautiful Jennifer Aniston instead. This cover is oh so hot too. She is naked, except for a tie. But the shot was done very beautifully, not something distasteful. She looked very good in the shot and the angle is just perfect. The photographer should be commended.



I wonder after this, will there be any more female artistes that will grace the cover of GQ? I believe the traffic will be good with Jennifer's publicity shot. What do you think? Hot and Sexy?

You can access the website here: http://men(dot)style(dot)com(slash)gq

Share Mic or Get Stabbed

I read a report about a Malaysian man who was stabbed to death in a karaoke bar recently. Guess what was the reason for this? He had sang too much and he refused to share the microphone!

Witness saw a group of men punch and stab the man with a knife at the karaoke bar, according to reports. This happened in eastern Sandakan town.

Guess this is a lesson for those karaoke singers who refused to share with others in a public karaoke joint. The man, Abdul Sani Doli was hogging the stage then. After this incident, two suspects were detained.

So remember, either get your own karaoke room or allow others to use the microphone. It is just called plain courtesy.

Fathers Who Rape Daughters

The world is unbecoming lately. I read about a horrible father who raped his two daughters and fathered as many as seven children between them. This man, 56 year old had abused and made his daughters pregnant for as many a 19 times in a life span of 25 years.

The law finally caught up with him and jailed him for life at the Sheffield Crown Court. In a court, he admitted to 25 rapes and four indecent assaults.

His elder daughter had been made pregnant for seven occasions and fathered 2 surviving children by her! And the younger daughter was pregnant 12 times and has five surviving children all fathered by this beast.

It was only months back when I read about another abusive father who fathered seven children with his daughter who was kept locked in a basement for 24 years before being discovered in April this year.

How can such acts be allowed? Do these parents have no conscience at all? The role of parents are to protect the children but instead, they took the advantage of their children! A stiffer punishment for such acts are called for!

Meet MediaCorp's Stars at Car Boot Sale

If you want to see Singapore stars how about going to the Celebrity Car Boot Sale? Car Boot Sale has been ongoing on mostly weekend in the east side My Playground. If you have a car, you can bring your wares and sell it there. The fees are minimal only.

The next car boot sale on the 7th December is one organized that features the Mediacorp's stars. Zoe Tay, Fann Wong, Joanne Peh, Jean Danker, Chen Han Wei, Diana Ser and even Tay Ping Hui! They are all going to be there. Die hard fans will want to buy their stuff, I'm sure. Or how about getting some one to take your picture as you haggle price with them? It will be fun and exciting. This event will be on from 1pm until 7pm. Lots are already fully book but you can be there to show your support to your favourite stars of course!

Fann Wong and Christopher Lee's Wedding Plans

Singapore's Fairy Tale Wedding is on the books. It is none other than the long awaited wait of tying the knot by our MediaCorp actress Fann Wong and good looking Christopher Lee. A big celebrity wedding is in the works with an estimate of 1,000 guests, according to reports.

So guess who is going to be the main wedding planner for the wedding then? None other than our celebrity hairstylist David Gan, who is popular in grooming many MediaCorp actressess such as Zoe Tay, Felicia Tay and off course his 'baby' Fann Wong.

I have not read any reports about how the wedding theme will be like nor what the image for Fann will be but I'm sure it will be something to ooh and ahh about.

Even international movie star Zhang Ziyi had expressed for David Gan to be her stylist for her wedding too according to news report. David, who started off as a hair stylist is now an image consultant who has been involved in the image, stylings of many MediaCorp's actor/actresses' route to stardom.

Let's all wait for more news about Fann and Chris' Wedding. Will it be extravagant and grand? What do you think?

Natalie Imbruglia and will.i.am Locked Lips

Flirt, kiss.

That's what Natalie Imbruglia and will.i.am did on a drunken night in a London nightclub over the weekend. Both of them, a beautiful Australian star and Black Eyed Peas rapper also a hot favourite are both 33 years. Oblivious to onlookers, they locked lips at Monroe's nightclub at Cavendish Square. Did they both left together after that? Natalie Imbruglia had just announced that she and her husband of 5 years are going separate ways. It was rumoured that she was romantically linked to Johnny Borrell.

But of course, there are always so much news from the Paparazzi no matter what. How much truth is there when we read reports like that. Are they true? Were they made up? Was it created for some specific motives? We do not know. But it certainly spices up lives.

Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel and their Lovenest

Superstars have so much money eh. I read in the recent news that Justin Timberlake have just bought a lavish residence in an exclusive district in New York. Wow! It cost him $5.5 million and his living partner is none other than 26 year old Jessica Biel.

Just when we are all scraping to make ends meet and paying mortgage, they really live a luxurious life. This year, there was news reported that Justin Timberlake was going to pop the question to Jessica as he had spent on a beautiful vintage ring when they were having a romantic holiday in Rome, Italy. Besides a ring a diamond bracelet was also picked up in Rome's most exclusive shopping street.

Wang Lee=hom Meets Stefanie Sun

If you are a fan of Wang Lee-hom, I'm sure you went to his concert which was held in Singapore recently. In support of their idol, fans were screaming and looked love-struck of course. And did you know that Singapore's Stefanie Sun is also a fan of Wan Lee-Hom?

Lucky her, she got to meet Wang Lee-hom at the back stage personally! Wow, stars to get special requests, eh. Anyway, she was also attending the concert along with her friends and her father, as reports say.

Is Stefanie going to join the record company - Sony BMG that Wang Lee-hom is in? Hmm I do wonder... A pretty singer and a good looking one. Wow, what if they pair up and sang a duet? Fans will be screaming!!!

Verdict of Singapore's White Tigers

So the white tigers recently mauled a worker in the zoo. What is the verdict for the tigers then. Tigers are wild animals. They have a natural instinct to kill. If we have tigers in the zoo, surely we should expect them to kill a life creature if it is being thrown into its' enclosure. The zoo designed it's tiger enclosure safe enough for visitors to visit and view these animals.

But this man, not sure what is he up to, jumped into the tigers' territory. He was asking for it. Does he have any mental problem? Or was he in some financial difficulties? After all, lately living costs are all going up and not going down. I wonder if he had been caught in a corner that this is the only way to end his sorrows?

I know of friends who are Malaysians who have decided to pack up and go back to Malaysia because it is expensive to rent rooms and still fork out living expenses now. What about this worker? Did he face any difficulty?

The tigers should not be punished, frankly. After all, man designed such an exhibit as an entertainment for men. It's like the circus fella who puts his head into the Lion's mouth. Would you punish the man if the lion snapped his mouth and ate him up? The man moved into the territory. And man moved the animal from the land of the wild to the zoo. Don't punish the animals.

Citigroup to Cut 50,000 jobs worldwide

It was only last week when everyone who worked in DBS bank got the jitters with the decision to cut 900 jobs in Singapore and Hong Kong, today's news had Citibank's decision to slash 50,000 jobs worldwide, as a move to tighten it's belt. Citibank is one of the largest banking in US and cutting jobs will mean more jobs will be lost in Singapore alone, after the recent DBS axing..

Following all these, in Singapore news recently, there was something about news that people were defaulting on their loans and mortgages. And if they lose their jobs and cannot pay up for their loans like car loans and homes, what is going to happen? Will that drive many people to seek other ways to get money then? And since Banks will also tighten the loans given out, some people might resort to loan sharks? In fact there is already an increase of business in Pawn Shops!

I've seen two neighbours who moved out too and said money was tight. Gosh, is the worst over yet?

Loving Food Recipes by MediaCorp's Personalities

Singaporeans will be able to cook and taste recipes cooked by MediaCorp's loved ones like their moms and grandmother's heirloom recipes.

Heirloom Recipes is a new cookbook that features 17 personalities from MediaCorp's Channel 8, their stories, secret recipes that have been cooked with love to them. This book is published by MediaCorp itself and is launched recently at the Popular BookFest event on 13 November.

So, if you want to taste what they are eating, get the book and read and learn everything you want from your favourite MediaCorp personality!

This book is printed in bilingual version.

Congratulations Gong Li

43 year old Gong Li, the popular chinese actress who starred in many award winning chinese movies such as Farewell My Concubine had apparently just collected her Singaporean Citizenship, according to local news in Singapore. There was no news about why did she pick Singapore as her new home but we do know that she had married Singaporean businessman Ooi Hoe Seong since 1996.

Singapore is a country with 4 main ethnic, Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian with Chinese as the majority ethnic, among the 4.Singapore is one of the favourite country that many movie stars and other artiste from China who have chosen as home and being a citizen, eventually for the past decade.

Gay Marriage Banned in California

Ellen DeGeneres has spoken out that she is "saddened beyond belief" by a passage of a constitutional amendment in California. This constitution bans gay marriage.

Ellen DeGeneres is a popular talk show host who contributed $100,000 to fight the amendment. She had wed Alley McBeal's cast actress - Portia de Rossi in August, following a May Supreme Court decision legalizing same sex marriage in California.

So what have you got to say about this? Ellen insists that she will "continue to speak out for equality for all of us."

DBS to cut 900 Jobs

A round of worry for Singapore's job sector as they look on unemployment rate. Why? That is because we have just read that Singapore's DBS is going to cut 900 jobs primarily in Singapore and Hong Kong. That is a worry factore. A large establish local bank in Singapore for years, I've never thought this will happen. I've always thought that DBS, that also owns POSB is something that is totally backed up by Singapore's goventment.

Reading about how the jobs that will be cut send shivers.. According to the reports on media, DBS did this to streamline their organisation as we are entering into a difficult economy phase. DBS had reported the net profit down too.

Will that create a domino effect with other banks and too, in terms of these retrenchments?

Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)

Did you watch Madagascar, the first? I did and enjoyed it thoroughly. And of course the movie song "Move it" was something that stayed with me for a while. It was very addictive and each time I see any of the characters of the show, can't help it if the song is played in my mind..

Well the sequel to this entertaining cartoon is back with a second show, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. I read the reviews that the song is still in there and is now done as a remix. I also googled for the trailer video in YouTube and found this. I think this one is just going to be great, if not Better!

Release date in Singapore is on 13th November, just in time when schools are on their last week and holidays approaching. Running time for this show is about 89 minutes. Bring your children, family, everyone!

Quantum of Solace - James Bond

If you have been fans of James Bond, 007 makes a comeback with Daniel Craig as the next James Bond in CASINO ROYALE. This one is a fight of which 007 pursued to uncover the truth about Vesper, the woman who betrayed him. In fact, Vesper had been blackmailed by the organisation, that is complex and dangerous.

Watch this one if you love all that adventure and thrilling moments.

The show runs for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Rating is PG-13. Release date is today, 5th of December 2008.

Watch the trailer of this show here:

More Bacterial in Women's Hands

Wierd as it may seemed, there is a study that shows that hands of a woman has more bacteria than the hands of a man. Researchers who did this study weren't sure what is the real reason to it but Noah Fierer, an assistant professor in Colorado's department of ecology and evolutionary biology, suggested that it may have to do with the acidity of the skin. In general, men have more acidic skin than women. Other possibilities pointed out were sweat and oil gland production and the frequent usage of moisturizer or cosmetic applications, thickness of the skin as well as productions of hormones by different genders.

So, there you have it. If you are courting a woman and holding hands, make sure you wash your hands!

Max Payne

Just when I thought that the cute Beverly Hills Chihuahua was making it's debut number one, the recent news was that Max Payne is now moving up to Number One! I had not read the review nor watch any trailer of this movie yet but I am going to do it soon. Is it really a great movie? The third place in its debut went to The Secret Life of Bees.

Here is an amatuer YouTube trailer of Max Payne.. This is not the real Max Payne but a school project for an English Language at the Francisco of Vitoria University. The effects of this trailer is great! They did a wonderful job, really and deserve the credits!




The Real Max Payne Trailer

Looks Can Kill

A fight broke out in front of Plaza Singapura between some youths. This caused two teenagers who were badly stabbed, according to recent reports. This reminds me of a time when I was waiting for a bus just outside the Macdonal House in the early 90s. While waiting for that bus, suddenly there were few boys that ran towards the bus stop and some who ran away. It was some group fight that had broken out. Some of those that ran away, headed towards the Bras Basah and one boy wasn't that lucky. He was caught up by another bigger and bullier sized and that boy had a helmet and he kept crashing it on the head of the victim. What was scary for me was that the victim tried to find cover near to the bus stop where I was standing.

I walked the other direction hoping to avoid being hit, but the boy was just moving about.. I managed to step aside but I was totally frozen with shock. Then after a while, the one that bashed the victim ran away and the victim was curled up on the floor with blood on his head. Some one came to his aid, and myself and another lady provided some tissues to try to stop the bleeding. It was something really shocking.. The police came after a short while. The passers by were asked to disperse and I got on the bus, still shocked from the incident.

I wondered what happened. Did it get started off like the one that had been reported? Just because they couldn't stand it when someone else stared or looked at another group? Why start a quarrel and fight over something silly like that. Hope the school will include some moral teachings into kids' education about how silly and dangerous to fight over something like that.

Britney Spears Womanizer Video

I used to think that Britney Spears was just a pop icon for the teens. When I read her name, I register Cheerleading girls, short skirts and her earliest videos..

This one is a new video showing her in a different light. Perhaps you may enjoy it or perhaps you might not.. This video is called Womanizer.

Sing To The Dawn

I didn't know that Sing to the Dawn is a Made in Singapore animated feature film. It is the first and will come on the big screen on October 30. This movie took over 4 years and about S$7.5 million. That is a lot of money, don't you think so.

Can it win the hearts of Singaporeans and globally too? It is classified as a family movie. The Director of the movie, was reported saying that they were trying to achieve a "non photo realisitc look" with a particular look and feel. But will it work? There are many non photo realistic cartoons in the market by major cartoon productions already. Will Sing to the Dawn make its debut as popular?

I would want to catch it because I only saw the trailer. I hope this niche look may change my views because I caught a bit of the trailer and my first reaction was that it felt a little stiff. And that was before I heard the news reported him saying about wanting to have that "non photo realistic look." But viewers who view it may not actually see it in his artistic point of view about it being different.

But we really do not know how it may turn out. There has been too many good animation movies/cartoons lately. As long as it doesn't give the feel that it has not reach the standard, it should be fine. The trailers remind me of those anime cartoon a little which I don't really take a fancy but there are many fans globally.

But Singapore certainly deserves the recognition and encouragement to start off somewhere. Of course the people that made this movie include many international experts and animators from Singapore and Indonesia.

More Jobs Coming

During the weekend, there was an advertisement on the recruitment drive by The Marina Sands Resort. I believe this comes at the right time when everyone is now worried about the gloomy outlook of economy since the market crashed recently. Many had lost their savings, especially those who had placed money in investment related to Lehman Bros. Some of them happen to be retirees who were hoping to reap a higher interest compared with the traditional fixed deposits or savings accounts.

The jobs offered in this recruitment drive will mean that as many as 10,000 jobs will be created to the locals (priority) before foreigners are being considered. This followed a recent report that many Singaporean had hoped to work for as long as possible even to their retirement age.

The jobs will vary from F&B staff, security officers, hotel positions and more, when Integrated Resort opens its doors for business at the end of next year. Will we see a big shift of employees from other organisations much like the musical chairs then? Will people move about or will those with their current employers stay put?

A Wife for $8,000 in 12 hours

I knew that many Singaporean men have been looking abroad for wives but I didn't know much about the package. It was a curious thing but I had no friends who had married one so I didn't get answers from my acquaintance. I only read about the cost of the package only recently in the news reporting that due to the financial crisis, many Singaporeans are putting off marriage and taking a little longer to choose their wives such as those they source through agencies.

Reports say that the men usually take about a week to two weeks to pick and confirm their chosen ladies. Now it is either they took as long as a month or they rather forgo the deposit and forget about the idea of a marriage. Many of the men had feared of losing jobs and financial pressures.

And the price they were paying... about S$8,000 including doctor's fees, registration of marriage within 12 hours if the lady he had chosen has accepted the offer. This is based on the shop's selection, or pay additional $2,000 to fly to Ho Chi Minh and meet as many as 50 - 100 in a hotel...

Marriages do come in packages, huh.

Kangaroo Meat Saves The World

Perhaps if you think about global warming, do you part by eating Kangaroo meat. In Australia's history of 60,000 years, Kangaroo was the main source of meat. Kangaroo meat is low in fat. It is also high in protein and compared to other farm animals that belches and farts gases that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, Kangaroo emits Methane. Currently many health conscious people are already eathing Kangaroo meat.

Methane is a natural gas that is colourless, odourless and oxidises into CO2 and water.

7 Year Old Fed Zoo Croc with Zoo Live Exhibits

Did you read about the news where a 7 year old boy fed an 11 foot crocodile in the zoo with the other zoo animals? He was caught on the zoo's CCTV where he broke into the Alice Springs Reptile Centre in Central Australia.

Children who are under 10 years of age cannot be held as a criminal as they are mentally not able to comphrehend life's rights and wrongs. As he is only 7 year old, he will be cautioned and released. I'm sure his mother must be really stressed out by his behaviour. He is still very young and do not know between the black, white and grey areas.

Good Luck, Kid. I'm sure one day when you look back and remember this incident, your family will be 'entertained' by all this! It is global news, you know?!

Retirees Burnt By Investment Risks

On Saturday at Singapore's Speakers' Corner, I saw so many people, mostly them angry and worried. These were made up of many elderly investors who had invested their life savings in some financial products that were linked to the US investment financial institutions that collapsed recently. Among these, the unexpected Lehman Brothers. Some of these investers had invested a lot of money buying credit linked securities.

A retiree, about 60 year old woman, said that she could lose as much as S$125,000 of life savings thinking that some of the product she bought could promise her a higher interest than fixed deposits. Another woman, lost S$400,000 and that money was meant for the retirement for herself and her husband. She was introduced to Lehman Brothers Minibonds and was promised low risks.

In the next few decades, we really have to see some tightening of our belts and thrifty spending plus more savings.

Skinny Dip Near Japan Palace

Can you believe that a man was caught for skinny dipping in the moat that surrounds a Japan palace? Well, it happened on Tuesday, October 7 recently and he was caught after he tried to get away from the officials and police who went after him!

He was caught by the local TV and was in the water for about an hour. He was believed to be of Western although they could not reveal the name nor the country he is from. Police chased after him on a boat and they had a long stick with them. During the chase, the man threw stones at the policemen and after an hour in the water, he got out and climbed on a stone wall to get away. There was no news if he was arrested or charged but he was eventually caught by police for questioning.

I wondered if he knew that the moat surrounds the palace has an Emperor in it?

Jaime Lynn Spears

Would you believe it? News reported that Jaime Lynn Spears, younger sis of Britney Spears, is pregnant again. If you were to raise your eyebrow at her age for being only 17, this is her second pregnancy and her first one was when she was only 16 years of age. At that time the spotlight really was on her.

This pregnancy report comes at only about 3 months after her first delivery to her first baby, Maddie Briann. For now, perhaps some counselling would be good for her as only 3 months after Maddie was born, one should thread carefully so that she will not fall into post natal blues. But would she?

An Affair that ends in Death

A marital dispute of a man and his wife caused the man to kill himself and his wife with explosives, recently. This happened in Malaysia. The man, a Filipino refugee and his wife now leaves his 11 children orphaned. Their children are aged from 3 to 20 years. This happened in the city of East Malaysia - Kota Kinabalu on Monday. The Filipino man is a fishmonger and used the explosives usually used in fishing but is illegal. It was belived that the wife have asked for divorce as the husband was suspected of having an affair.

Marital disputes can get quite heated for husband and wife. It is hard to believe that one will actually succumbed to killing but humans being humans react to many things emotionally. Killings between married couples, lovers and those with infidelity had been happening all over the world. There is only so much one can do, like counselling trouble families and promoting it. The ones who are victims to these are actually the children. They learn so much and by seeing adults argue, quarrel and killing, some day these children learn that in order to get what they want, they may follow the same route.

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

Love Dogs? Then you must watch this one. Titled Beverly Hills Chihuahua, it is about a dog who had been living a pampered and luxurious life in Beverly Hills. While on a vacation in Mexico, this chihuahua breed, by the name of Chloe got herself lost. Watch the adventures of Chloe in this move. The cast voice for Chloe is none other than Drew Barrymore. This movie made its debut with $29.3 million and is at the top of the box office now. Must Watch!

Qantas' Unknown Mid Air Accident

An unknown mid air accident had occured while it was making it's way to Perth, flying from Singapore, recently. This mid air accident then forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in Exmouth, the western side of Australia. Up to 40 passengers on board were believed to have sustained injuries such as broken bones, fractures and lacterations.

Do you realised that lately there has been many accidents concerning aircrafts and flights? Had safety towards flying been relaxed lately? I hope the airlines will conduct a thorough safety checks before future flights to avoid any problems.

China Milk Scandal

If you had been purchasing milk products, better check to see if they contain any milk or dairy product that is based from China. It may be hard to know for some as we do not know where their source of dairy products are from. But one thing we can do is, to look and scrutinize all future food products with care.

Dump them away or bring those items back to the shop that you have bought. China is doing a major/global recal on all affected goods. I bought quite a few of those Dutch Lady Milk at home. Although the retailers have said that the tetra packs are safe for consumption, I am not taking any chances!

I have also thrown out the Kit Kats, Mars Bars that the children brought home in goodie bags. I have seen the shops in supermarket selling Oreo biscuits but I am not sure if the sources are safe or not. They are made in Indonesia, but where do their souce of milk come from?