While doing some fact checking as part of my mundane editorial work, I discovered that one of the world's longest dating (albeit fictional) couples, Barbie and Ken, had broken up as of February 12, 2004!
Mattel had even issued a press statement announcing their breakup, saying that the two "have decided to spend some time apart" after 43 years of dating.
Below's an excerpt from this website where you can find all answers to everything you ever wanted to know about Barbie.
"Barbie® and Ken® have always been an extraordinary couple with so much on- and off-screen chemistry," said the pair's business manager, Russell Arons, Vice President Marketing, Mattel. "In fact, they just finished wrapping their fourth movie together, 'Barbie™ as The Princess and the Pauper,' which debuts this fall. And now they feel it's time to spend some quality time – apart."
A Mattel press release ended saying "Although their future is yet to be set in "cement," one thing is for certain - Barbie® and Ken® will always remain the best of friends."
Anyway, I say it's about time they broke up. No one dates for that long!
And another interesting bit of trivia gleaned from the website: Barbie's physical characteristics, if scaled into real life proportions, would lack the requisite 17 to 22 percent of body fat required to menstruate according to research by the University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland.
She's definitely no zaftig beauty, 'cos frankly a 36-18-33 figure is just plain weird!
Apparently there is now a new form of dating called "cook-dating" (note: the website's in French). And who better but to come up with this new phenomenon but the French, the people of ardour?
Go here to read more about it.
And btw, it sounds just like my kinda thing! Somebody bring this to Singapore now! ;p
The Sound of Music is sacred. No one, absolutely NO ONE, should do cover versions of songs from the film or worse, stage musicals, no matter how big a fan.
The Sound of Music musical that's coming to Singapore looks and sounds terrible going by the TV and radio commercials I've seen and heard. Julie Andrews IS Maria and Christopher Plummer IS Captain Von Trapp. No one can take their place. And it's just impossible to recreate the beautiful scenery of Salzburg, mountains, quaint villages and all, in a musical. The film is one of my favourites and I hate to watch it being spoilt by musicals! Argh. I say, musicals should never be made into movies and vice versa.
I've watched the film countless times and I never get sick of it. I first watched it as a wee kid. My sis and I used to pop the VCR in the VCR player ever so often 'cos we just loved the songs. We would sing along to all of them as it came on. There was a time when I would stop short at the scene after the Captain and Maria got married 'cos I couldn't bear the part about the war and all after that. I thought it was so sad they had to leave their lovely home. Crazy me.
So anyway, this rant was brought on really by an absolutely horrendous rendition of the song Climb Every Mountain by one of the American Idol contestants last night. I totally agreed with Simon Cowell's comment that it was "hideous". It was painful to listen to and cringe-worthy. Like WHAT was that contestant thinking when he picked that song??? That pop twist he gave to the song made me want to throw up. Eeewww, just thinking about it gives me the creeps!
Speaking of American Idol, I think this batch of contestants pick terrible songs to sing. I mean, most of the songs that were sung last night were so obscure! It doesn't leave an impression on people, know what I mean? And Paula Abdul irritated the hell out of me as usual. If only I had a lasso--I would put it round her neck and yank her off the set.
So yeah, I hope no one further desecrates The Sound of Music!
For a good newspaper which The Straits Times (ST) proclaims itself to be (at least they think themselves good enough to charge subscription for online access. Come on, even world-class newspapers like The Guardian and The New York Times don’t do that), ST has an extremely dismal book section. Why, it’s practically non-existent. Thursday’s edition of Life! is supposed to have a section on books. But I don’t remember seeing it yesterday!
ST should take a leaf from The Guardian and NYT for their fantastic supplements on books, fashion, dining & wine, etc. They’re absolute joys to read. The editorials and columnists also write great stuff. Anyway, ST is sorely lacking in all those areas. I especially dig books and food sections, but what ST has is a far far cry from what I would call good. Sigh.
I'm not sure why the producers of American Idol haven't already fired Paula Abdul from the show. 'Cos given me, I would have done so long ago. She's neither a top-rate singer nor is she any fantabulous eye-candy. First of all, I don't even know why they bothered to pluck her out of obscurity. I mean, she was such a has-been and her only hit single was only 'Rush Rush' from eons ago. And I actually have the album from which the song is found! Horrors. (But it was a cassette. Yes, THAT long ago.)
I mean, who is she to comment on other people's singing when hers isn't even that good to begin with??? Seriously, weren't there any other better candidates for judges???
So even if you're not that accomplished a singer, you should at least give some decent and interesting comments which any layman can give, right? But no. All she does is annoy me with her non-committal comments which only aims to please the audience. I hate how she's always making stupid unconstructive comments and trying to be Little Miss Nice all the time. Every so often, when it's her turn to speak, she'll go on a spiel about how proud she is of that person and how she's a fan of so-and-so's voice, or how that was a world-class performance (when it obviously wasn't). Like cut the crap ok? I'm just waiting, with bated breath, to hear what Simon Cowell has to say. So can we move along now?
Now Cowell I really like. In fact, he's really the star of the show if you ask me. At least he dares to disagree and he's not afraid of voicing his opinion however unpopular it may be. I would even go as far to say that Cowell is helluva sexy--knows what he wants, totally in control of the situation, witty, acerbic and powerful. And most of the time, I agree with his comments.
I also love the on-going bickering Cowell has with host Ryan Seacrest. The latter's quite a dish as well. Slurp. Those two are like this old bickering couple who have a love-hate relationship with each other. Pretty amusing.
As for the last judge Randy Jackson, all he does is say "Yo man, what's up?" But at least he's not as irritating as Paula. Still I think some of his opinions are a bit off the mark.
Anyway, I think this season of American Idol is quite interesting. My favs are Anwar, Mario and Nadia. Anwar is sssoooo cool. I want him to be my music teacher. His rendition of Moon River and What A Wonderful World was awesome. Such original arrangements! I've never felt the compulsion to vote before, and he's the first I would pick up the phone for if I could!
Mario has this charm about him. His eyes are electrifying and can really melt girls' hearts!
Nadia is just the epitome of cool. Funky, confident, great singer, and plenty of stage presence. She's the only girl that I like. The rest of the girls are just unexciting and boring. There's one highly annoying one, Mikhala, who reminds me of Fran Drescher from this old sitcom "The Nanny". She looks and sounds like Drescher with that nasal drawl of hers! The similarity is so uncanny!
Anyway, that's my mindless Friday musings.
I wished Singapore radio DJs and TV newscasters would get their pronunciation of Spanish names correct. I keep hearing them pronounce England football club Chelsea's manager Jos� Mourinho wrongly. True, it's spelt as 'Jos�' but surely as professional DJs and newcasters, these people should know that in Spanish the 'J' is equivalent to the 'H' sound in English! Argh...it just annoys me how unprofessional these people are!
I've been having fun spotting the various outdoor Botero sculptures around the City Hall area on my way to work. It's all part of Botero's first solo exhibition in Singapore which includes paintings, drawings, and smaller sculptures. Save for the outdoor sculptures, the rest of his works are being exhibited at the Singapore Art Museum. Definitely one exhibition I'm not going to miss!
I can't stand the way the contestants of the Subaru Challenge are being lauded as heroes by the Mediacorp radio stations. Ok fine, so Mediacorp Radio is the organiser but still, the way the contestants, especially the last few, are lauded is just ridiculous. They are described as "brave" and are called "heroes". Like purrrllleeeaassee, don't make me puke. Granted it's quite a feat to stand there and brave the erratic weather for so many hours, but it's not as if they were doing it for charity. There's nothing altruistic going on here for goodness sake!
Speaking of Mediacorp Radio, I hate the blatant promoting of Singapore Idol every Thursday morning by the morning DJs. Just because the programme is broadcasted by Mediacorp TV, the morning DJs talk about who's better and whose performance was better etc. And on Friday morning, they will talk about the previous night's performance and speculate on who gets voted out. And no, I don't follow Singapore Idol. I've had enough of the Idol franchaise.
Anyway, I'm more pissed off by the former issue rather than the latter. It's bizarre how we glorify anyone and everyone these days.
The Japanese can really come up with the wackiest ideas. They've invented The Boyfriend's Arm Pillow meant to give single women the feeling that they're sleeping on a man's torso so that they feel secure and comforted.
One less use for men. Haha!
I felt incredulous after I read a letter in the forum of today's issue of TODAY the free newspaper.
Some excerpts:
In the beginning, my impression of TODAY was that it would be merely another tabloid in the mould of The New Paper. The past four years have proven how wrong I had been...what sets TODAY apart are the thought-provoking commentaries and news comments.
Err, this guy has obviously not read papers like The Guardian and The New York Times. The commentaries and editorials there are what one would call excellent writing.
Letters that might have been rejected by other papers are published by TODAY, which epitomises what the media industry should strive to do--provide a platform for non-conformist or even radical ideas and discussions to emerge.
Excuse me, but does this guy even realise what 'non-conformist' and 'radical' actually mean? Like hello? How non-conformist and radical have ANY papers or publication in Singapore ever gotten? I say he should take a look at the media scene in the West to get an idea of what 'non-conformist' and 'radical' actually mean.
Nonetheless, I remain hopeful that the widespread speculation about SPH [Singapore Press Holdings] eventually gaining control of TODAY will prove to be unfounded.
This frog in the well or otherwise very deluded individual obviously hasn't realised that all along there has only been ONE controller of both corporations, i.e. the government. Like where have you been??? Or are you so naive as not to see beyond the surface?
Meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy reading TODAY--which, in my view, is the best thing to have come along since the liberalisation of the media.
I wonder how much he was paid to write this.
All these talk is in the wake of the impending merger between SPH and Mediacorp. So SPH, the publisher of the local newspapers and many magazines will now have a stake in Mediacorp (the incumbent free-to-air broadcaster) and vice versa. The step has been taken to stem the losses for both corporations in their TV arm and newspaper arm respectively.
To me, it's like playing merry-go-round. Ultimately, everything goes back to the Singapore government. All these talk about competition and stuff is crap. All along it has been a pseudo-competition. There has never been media liberalisation in the true sense of the word. So all these commentaries and editorials in the newspapers and on TV ever since the announcement of the merger, are to me, just nonsense.
Anyway, just thought the reader who wrote the letter should wake up from his slumber. He thinks he's some left-winger by supporting what he thinks is a left-wing paper. But unbeknownst to him, he's just a marionette whose strings have all along been pulled by a masterful puppeteer who has just loosened the strings but not let go of it all together.
Sorry, it's the cynic speaking here, but it's true!
Ok, much as I don’t like Oprah Winfrey talkshows (I just think they’re too soppy) I must say that I would GRAB the chance to be part of the studio audience if offered. This is especially so if that particular episode offers a CAR as a studio gift!!!! Like faint and die now. It’s a freaking Pontiac G6 sponsored by General Motors! The giftaway’s meant to celebrate the premiere of her 19th season and Oprah said that her lucky viewers were chosen because their friends or loved ones had told the show about their need for a new car.
So where were my friends and loved ones when I needed them? Heh.
Anyways, when I first watched an episode of Oprah, at the start of the show I wondered why the women were going ga-ga over just being in the studio audience. It was as if they were put under a spell—they were cheering and clapping in wide-eyed wonder at everything Oprah said. And there I was thinking that these women are insane!
However, I soon realised why these women become like that. As Oprah introduces the stuff that sponsors are giving away, each item is being distributed to every member of the audience and these women lap it all up like hungry hyenas being all gleeful at a sudden treat. Frankly it’s an infomercial disguised as a talkshow. It’s no wonder consumerism drives the US economy. Even I found myself sucked into the whole going-ga-ga-over-the-cool-stuff thing.
I must say that the sponsors in the US are one helluva generous. I don’t think it happens in any other part of the world. I mean, the prizes that are being offered on American gameshows like Wheel of Fortune feature hard cash that go into US$25,000 and more, cars, luxurious holiday packages etc.
Speaking of Wheel of Fortune, sometimes the puzzle’s such a no-brainer and the answer’s staring at you right in the face, yet the contestants can still get it wrong! At those times, I’m convinced they’ve got peas for brains. AND Vanna White’s the most overpaid person in this entire world. All she does is turn blocks of letters around…hell, it’s an activity one does in the playground (turning those naughts and crosses)! Actually, she isn’t even needed on the show considering the fact that they use TV screens now. Previously, at least she had to exert a little arm strength to turn those letters, but now all she does is touch the screens. That said, the letter can turn up on its own without even her touching the screen! So she has become a bigger wallflower. Ooh I’m so happy that she has spread her petals!
But hey, if anyone wants to hire you for such a mindless job and you get paid millions for it, why not???
So the curtain was brought down on Friends last night. It was kinda nostalgic watching it. I mean, it was all the rage when it first came out 10 years ago, and I was what? 16 then? Yes, so now everyone knows how old I am. But I'm still 25...going on 26 in Nov. Heh.
Anyway, I remember being crazy about the show during the first three seasons or so, then after that I lost interest in it. In the first season, I was crazy over Ross 'cos he was so sweet. Then I decided that Ross was too much of a wimp, and then decided that Joey was my favourite 'cos he's cuter and so goofy. But his goofiness soon wore off, and after that I decided that Chandler was my favourite 'cos I liked his wise cracks. As for the girls, of course everyone loved Rachel's hair and ditsy Phoebe's silly but funny songs, the most famous being the tuneless "Smelly Cat". I never really liked Monica 'cos she was just way too neurotic.
For old times' sake, I only watched the last four episodes of the final season just to see how it all ends. Nothing fantastic or anything, but everyone loves a good and happy ending. So hey.
In a way, it's like bidding goodbye to a long but forgotten friend, so it didn't really 'hurt'. It's not like I'm suffering from withdrawal symptoms or anything like that. Frankly, these days I hardly watch TV. There's nothing much that's worth watching anyway. I guess if I had cable it would be a different matter. I think my home's one of the few households in Singapore which doesn't have cable.
Thing is, I don't see any need for it. If we do subscribe to it, my family members will metamorphise into couch potatoes after awhile 'cos I'll be taping the movies, my mum, sis and I will be watching the Cantonese drama serials and Taiwanese variety shows, and my Dad will be watching the English Premiere League matches. With all that distraction, I'll definitely find myself glued to the TV...so better to not have it otherwise I'll end up as a big piece of lard (I am a small piece already).
So it's byebye to Friends and hello to nothing else, which is, I suppose, a good thing.
I had wanted to write that I was feeling all chirpy and happy when I left home and was walking towards the bus stop. I mean, I really was feeling on top of the world. Morning was just beginning to break, the air was still quite fresh and the roads hadn't gotten too busy yet and it's Friday after all! Plus I'm wearing a new top I bought two weeks ago! But as I listened to the radio, the day's news put a dampener on my spirits. Another bombing--this time in Jakarta, outside the Australian embassy. Just a week ago, the world was still reeling in shock over the horrific bombing of the school in Beslan, Russia. It's just appalling....all these violence and senseless killing of innocent civilians.
Go here for a report by The Guardian.
Go here to read today's editorial column of The Straits Times. There are also links to related articles that appear in today's papers. They're worth a read.
Oh, did I forget to mention that I thought the article in last Sunday's papers about American-born Chinese men in Singapore was absolute crap?
I mean fluff is ok, but fluff of such nature is silly especially in a national newspaper. I wouldn't have minded so much if it had appeared in a tabloid. It made Singaporean women seem so desperate for these ABCs.
My guess is that in a couple of weeks' time there'll prob be different write-ups on the Australian-born Chinese, the British-born Chinese and the Canadian-born Chinese.
To be fair to this group of men, the article was somewhat biased. Only five men who have all appeared in ads and TV shows before were featured. You would think that all the ABCs who make their way here only work in the entertainment industry. And one or two of them were rather smug when asked how they compared to Singaporean men. Said something like they are more interesting to the local men blah blah blah. Yah, like whatever lah! They can go and live in that illusion if that makes them feel better.
Anyway, I'm not impressed by these ABCs featured.
It's this group of Ugly Singaporeans who make the rest of us Singaporeans look so bad! Argh, this is embarrassing. I mean, what's wrong with these people???
I'm sick of all the baby talk that's going on in Singapore. The cover of the lifestyle section of The Sunday Times is filled with babies! And inside it are nine pages of all things related to having babies.
Examples of articles:
- Pros & Cons of being a younger mum and older mum
- Information on fertility treatments
- Adoption
- Aphrodisiacs (apparently asparagus, garlic, ginger, celery, onions, pine nuts and walnuts are the lesser-known ones)
- Couples talking about how wonderful it is to have children
While I have nothing against babies, I think all these baby talk is ttooooo in-your-face if you know what I mean. I'm amazed at how the newspapers can find so much to write about it. After all these months of baby talk, I would have thought everything there is to be talked about would have been talked about already. But no, it seems they still have more baby propaganda stashed somewhere. I'll bet there is a constant supply of baby propaganda from the government's spin-doctors.
Yours truly is a perfect example of the government's source of headache - Single female in her 20s whose uterus is not contributing to the production line. The latest update is that the uterus will remain at its status quo for quite awhile and the government will just have to live with that!
In a bid to boost the number of babies in Singapore, the Singapore government announced some, in my opinion, long-overdue changes.
First, the Constitution will be amended to give babies born to Singaporean women abroad an equal claim to citizenship as babies of Singaporean men abroad.
While I don't think this measure will help increase the population a great deal, at the very least it tells Singaporean women that they are just as valued as citizens as Singaporean men. Seriously, that former ruling is so biased and it sent the message that children born to Singaporean women abroad are not worth as much as those born to Singaporean men. Naturally, these women would stay away from Singapore and never return.
Second, female civil servants will finally be able to receive equal work benefits as their male counterparts. Under the old ruling, medical benefits are granted to the spouse and children of male civil servants (frankly I hate the term "civil servants". It's so darn archaic!) but not to the women.
I always thought those two rules were ridiculous. It's as if to say that Singaporean women are not as good as the men and that we should be penalised because of our gender. And frankly, I don't feel valued as a citizen with such silly rulings.
Finally the government has awoken from its slumber, and realised that such patriarchal rules would only do Singapore in in the long run.
Go here to read more.
Australia might as well be the 51st state of America judging by the rate it is copying what America does. And we won't even talk about the Iraq war which John Howard & Tony Blair blindly followed America into.
I just read in the Sydney Morning Herald that there's going to be an Australian version of "queer Eye for the Straight Guy". The original American version is now showing on TV to test the waters with audiences here. I just think it's such a copycat.
There's also "Australian Idol" which is currently on, which is based on the exact format of "American Idol". There are three judges, two male and one female. Ian Dickson aka "Dicko" is the equivalent of Simon Cowell with his biting and scathing comments. But I love those caustic comments - that's half of the entertainment of the programme. He was so mean that he got called a dickhead by some of the very deluded auditionees (I think that deserved it really!). There's even a contest to vote on Dicko's most memorable comment. He once told an auditionee that her voice's a weapon of mass destruction. Haha.
I rather enjoy watching "Australian Idol" 'cos there's something very spine-tingling when you listen to a good singer giving a heartfelt rendition of a song. At this point in time, it's down to the final 8 contestants. They all sing very well, and I always enjoy listening to good singing. The human voice is one of the best musical instruments.
Anyhow, it's like a pseudo-America with all these Australian versions of American shows. But I believe that Australia has plenty of creative talent of its own and does not need to rely on American show formats to draw audiences.
Watched the new American hit series "queer Eye for the Straight Guy" last night on TV. It was pretty entertaining seeing how these 5 gay men transform, according to the show's website, "a style-deficient and culture-deprived straight man from drab to fab in each of their respective categories: fashion, food and wine, interior design, grooming and culture."
So the Fab Five, as they call themselves, make a complete overhaul of this straight guy's life. In last night's episode, they made over this guy, Butch, who's an artist and who was going to have a showing of his works at a gallery that very night.
Here's what happened last night:
There's Kyan Douglas the Grooming Guru who's the one who whisks Butch off to a hairstylist and advises on how to style hair. Kyan's quite a looker. Pity he's gay! My conclusion is that all the good men around are all gay, dead or married. Anyway, he got the hairstylist to cut off the guy's long locks (a very good move 'cos he looked gross!) and shave off some facial hair. He looked heaps better after that.
Next up is Ted Allen the Food & Wine Connoiseur who gives Butch advice on foods to cook, what ingredients are good etcetc. He's the wining & dining expert. Ted taught Butch how to make some yummy authentic Italian pizzas as finger food for his showing at the gallery.
Then there's Carson Kressely the Fashion Savant. He picks out the clothes and teaches the very clueless-about-fashion straight guy how to dress in style. Carson's so in tuned with fashion that many men AND women would do well to take a tip or two from him.
Next comes Jai Rodriguez the Culture Vulture. He instructed Butch on how to work the room in a party - how to make small talk and then waltz to the next person and make more small talk, how to give the perfect handshake, etc.
Lastly, there's Thom Filicia the Design Doctor who redesigned Butch's bachelor pad. His apartment looked a lot better after that. It's amazing what an interior designer can do.
Anyhow, I thought the show was pretty entertaining but it's also a show which kind of reinforces the stereotype of gay men. But I'm not going to start arguing on that point. I'm just going to watch the show for some mindless entertainment.
Hmm.....i wonder if it'll be shown or if it's showing in the straight-laced Singapore media.
Ever since I first tuned into "Antiques Roadshow" which is shown on the Lifestyle Channel, I have become a fan of the programme.
It's shown on weekday afternoons (1:30 - 2:30pm) on cable TV here in Sydney and I catch it if I happen to be at home. The programme features people bringing their antiques to have them valued by experts. The roadshows are normally held interesting locations like castles, well-established schools, or some manor built by some rich duke or lord, or the hometown of well-known Britons such as Isaac Newton, Beatrix Potter, Shakespeare etc. All these locations are packed with history which are centuries old.
The show first begins with the host giving a short history of the location. Then the audience gets to see the different things people bring. Anecdotes of the item's history are told and audiences take delight in guessing the value of the item. When revealed by the expert, disbelief, shock and delight are often seen in the owners' faces.
All sorts of items are brought in. Antique toys, books, furniture, paintings, vases, pottery, medals, clothes, crockery, ceramics, glassware, etcetc. It's very fascinating. One can get smarter by watching this programme as you hear the experts talk about the history of each item.
To give an idea of how the show goes, I took this anecdote off the website (unfortunately I didn't get to watch this episode).
The £100,000 dog walk
Along with the bits and bobs that have turned up on the tables over the years, have been a staggering assortment of unforgettable finds, priceless antiques and historic treasures that have changed the lives of their owners. Many of the experts can recall the story of the couple from Barnstable who only came along to the show back in 1986 because their dog, Fido, needed a walk. At the last minute they decided to bring along a painting neither of them particularly liked, that they'd kept in their attic. To their surprise it turned out to be a long lost painting by the Victorian artist Richard Dadd. After being valued on the show, it was later sold to the British Museum for £100,000.
Seeing how popular the show is, the Americans (those copycats!) decided to have their own spinoff and it's known as the "American Antiques Roadshow". It's shown in Sydney as well, but I much prefer the British version. This is because the things that people bring in the British version are usually older and of greater variety. By this I mean that the antiques are usually from Britain and different parts of Europe. The antiques in the American version are usually not as old and are mostly from America, hence it has more value to American history. Not quite as fascinating in my opinion, and I'm not that interested in the Yanks anyway. Also, the American roadshows are usually held in uninteresting venues such as some boring exhibition hall.
Right, so that's just a bit of trivia for the day. :)
The Guardian, one of Britain's and possibly the world's leading newspapers, has officially started charging for the use of their online crossword puzzles. I played the very last free crossword puzzle yesterday. I am a little sad now as it's one of the things I do everyday. I know, it might seem weird to some people, but I really enjoy crossword puzzles and in the process of doing it, learn new words.
The Guardian now charges an annual subscription fee of �25 which will grant a subscriber access to several things. Check it out here. I suppose the sales team at The Guardian must have discovered that there are millions of people like myself, and thus decided to try to get some revenue from it. I hope their sales strategy fails, and then maybe I will be able to get my free daily dose of crossword puzzles. Haha.
But for the moment, there goes my daily dose of crossword puzzles. I am not very willing to spend �25 on it. I guess I will just find some other website. Though I must say that the people who set the crossword puzzles at The Guardian are really smart and set really good puzzles! I usually only do the Quick puzzles because the Cryptic puzzles are just ttooooo difficult.
The Guardian online was first introduced to me by Vanessa when I went to visit her in Bristol three years ago. She was studying there at that time. If I'm not wrong, my friend May is also a huge fan of the paper.
Despite not being able to access the crossword puzzles, I remain a huge fan of the paper. The editorials are very insightful and there are many well-written articles. In addition, the news is very up-to-date. The website's also user-friendly and filled with lots of information. I love the sections on books and films. The website has something for just about everyone.
Highly recommended!