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Showing posts from July, 2006

三天不学习, 赶不上刘少奇啊.

最近我老工作比较忙, 周五有空上网溜达, 才发现很多事情啊. 国内现在出了部超火的电影叫'疯狂的石头', 什么时候新加坡有卖, 一定要看. 加拿大的一个清华毕业plus美加双料博士跳高速自杀, 这可不是什么好事儿. 面子薄, 心气高, 人太忠厚, 这样的人活着累啊. 看看这位, 南昌大学的校长吹出来的, 估计上了个小当. "在南昌大学有一位名叫莫亚平的教授,他曾是1985年的TOEFL状元,已在美国斯坦福大学获得计算机、MBA、语言等5个博士学位,现任南昌大学外国语学院院长,其年薪为1元人民币。“他不是来赚钱的,他看重的是学校为他提供能充分施展才华的这个平台。" 5 Stanford University Ph.D degrees? Even MBA PhD? Does this sucker know what MBA stands for?

娘惹文化之结婚礼服

娘惹(NYONYA)文化就是清朝时候下马六甲的华人和当地土著通婚后的所演生出来的文化,所以看起来很象中国的装扮, 但是又有其特色. 娘惹菜就很中国菜大相径庭了, 风味独特.

Long and winding roads

Singaporean sure is not so creative to name the streets. If you enter the NTU, you will find so many streets start with Nanyang - Nanyang Crescent, Nanyang Walk, Nanyang Drive, Nanyang Avenue, Nanyang this, Nanyang that, get you lost in Southern Ocean. Similar to many places, the street names are so similar in nearby area, Jalan this , Bukit that. In downtown area, there is no straight east-west or north-south main street. All the roads are winding. Some streets even change the name after several blocks.

West Coast Park vs East Coast Park

East Coast Park is a big relaxation park all along the Singapore east beach. Sea, wind, sand beach, coconut tree, bikini skaters, kids with sand toys. The parking is usually free. Lots of good restaurants. It almost as good as the Sentosa Island. West Coast Park is a tiny park. It is a shame under such a name. No beach, no sand, all you can see is a wall of cargo containers.

Car

This is my car. So far, I have bought 4 cars - Chevy Celebrity for USD 800 - Mazda 323 for USD 3,000 - Mazda 626 for USD 12,000 - Hyundai Matrix for SGD 52,000 You can roughly tell the year of car in Singapore based on the plate number, unless the driver reuses the old plate. The plate number in Singapore starts with S, stands for Singapore, and F is around 2005, G is around 2006. 3 alphabets - 4 numbers - one more alphabet. Some good numbers can be bid, such as 6,8,9.

新加坡华人的面相

新加坡华人面部有些特别的特征, 一看就知道不是中国人. 女的当然有特色就别有一番地域的风韵了. 大概人在不同的地方一代代下来, 水土气候什么的, 人也会发生一些小小的进化或者退化. 有两种特别显眼的特征, 比例并不高, 但是一看就忘不掉的. 一种是突下巴. 一种是大肉鼻. 按照面相来说, 鼻大有肉是有福气的. 根据我的观察, 很有道理.

Maid in Singapore

Compare to USA, one big advantage in Singapore is cheap maid. Around SGD 300 for maid, another SGD 300 for government. Maids are mostly from poor countries around Singapore, such as Indonesia, Philippine, but not from China. Singapore government doesn't allow maid from China, nor Singapore citizens. This way, it is easy to tell by skin color -a yellow skin Chinese family with a dark color female. Maid helps all kinds of chore but also generates inconvenience even trouble. The latest news about a maid missing together with the toddler. It turned out they stayed in some parking lot overnight. Even more, the drinking water in this family's container was found in light yellow color. The sample was send to police. Result is urine inside. This maid and the family are for sure not in a good relationship.

杜德伟的歌

很喜欢 杜德伟的歌, 用他独特的声音 演绎出来的那种感觉. 这位也算是常青树了, 几十年下来, 不温不火的, 但是一直都活跃着. 记得当年在大学, 港台流行歌曲新鲜的很, 也忘记是几教了, 还搞了个港台歌曲欣赏会之类的, 挤的满满的. 里面有印象的, 就有 杜德伟的'想着你的感觉'.

Best Selling Cars in Singapore

As of first half year of 2006, the rank is TOYOTA 丰田(18,397) NISSAN 日产 (8,993) HONDA 本田(7,017) HYUNDAI 现代(5,447) MITSUBISHI 三菱 (4,585) KIA 起亚(2,834) MAZDA 马自达(2,463) BMW 宝马(1,978) BENZ 奔驰(1,582) SUZUKI 铃木(1,364)

So many type of houses!

In USA term, house, in Singapore terms, there are Bungalow - Free standing house with no shared wall with others except the fence. Semi Detached - Semi Detached House. A pair of houses, two houses joint side by side. Inter Terrace - Intermediate Terrace House. A row of houses joint side by side. Corner Terrace - Corner Terrace House. The last house of the row of houses. In USA terms, condo or apt, in Singapore terms there are Condo - Condominiums. Apartment with facilities. Duplex - Apartment divided into two living residences, having separate entrances. Hi-Rise - High rise Apartment. Usually with no facilities. Lo-Rise - Low rise Apartment. Usually with no facilities. Mansionette - Apartment with two levels, double storey. Penthouse - Penthouse. Biggest unit in a condo or apartment block. Usually on top floor & two levels. TownHouse - Townhouse. Strata Landed house that shares the same compound or facilities (if any). Walk-Up - Walkup Apartment. Low rise apartment without

Chinese accompanying moms for studying kids in Singapore

For whatever reason, some Chinese send their kids to study here. Mom can also stay here as accompanying. The only advantage I can see is the English education environment, but the big disadvantages overshadow this tiny advantage. This is up on the table, there maybe many other reasons to send kids here. This is a very small group, just about 3000. Some of them work in massage shop, very little are selling body for money. Somehow, the media is really good at demonizing this small group. The whole group is labeled as lawbreakers, trouble-makers, and prostitutes, very sad. The new law effective this July bans foreigners to work in massage shop. Only Singapore, Malaysia, and SPR can work in massage professionals. The new law followed by a fatal case - a Chinese accompany mom working in massage business is dead within the same room as her "lover" - an old Singapore man. Her husband came from FuJian to collect the sorrow, humiliation if there is any.

Prostitutes in Singapore

Singapore is very realistic about this issue. Prostitution is legal. The famous red light zone is Geylang area. I heard Hong Kong officials are considering to legalize this business in HK also. Singaporeans are not allow to work as prostitute. Maybe also SPR. The prostitutes are mainly foreign workers from poor countries in SEA area, such as Indonesia, Thailand, India, Malaysia, not from China. They come under special 2-year working pass, and must pass the health exam, yes, to prevent STD such as HIV, AIDS and so on. The brothels are mixed with normal resident houses. The brothel's house number is red lighted. The price is ranged from SGD 50 to SGD 200. Illegal sex workers are also around, and in some massage clinics. A very recent fatal case and newly effective government policy make a special social group - Chinese accompanying mom for studying kids a hot media buzz again.

Elders in Singapore

A recent survey lists Singapore as one of most unpolited countries. There are some arguments, but one thing is about respect to elders. What can you expect from ordinary people if the government and society doesn't show respect to elders? Singapore government encourages elders to work. You see some 70-years-old collect plates in food court, clean up the floor, even drive taxi with the shaking hands! I don't think people in this age should work anymore. Another one is subtle. Singapore has very clear classification, money is the rule. Janitor is janitor, boss is boss, they don't talk. Not like in US, at least there is some sort of chitchat. Put them together, no respect to elders is there. Now you know, these elders are not respected because they are not rich. Nevertheless, the situation is not that bad. Chinese has the traditions to respect at least own parents.

Girly man, hot in Asia

Take an example, Lee Joon Ki, he looks really like a she.

Sponge Bob drawn by MS Paint

First try Second try

Two hot sexual criminal cases in China

Two cases both involve young female death. One case is about a young female teacher found dead on the bed. Her boyfriend was suspect. The reason is told as the girl wants to keep her virgin membrane for marriage, so they played special sexual activity, something like SM, which causes the girl's suffocation. Because of the bruise on the body, is it a rape case, accidental murder or not? The first judge settlement is the man is free of charge. Another case is a waitress in hotel drops dead. Because of the bruise, sperm leftover, messy clothes, and huge amount of local official involvement, it was told as a suicide case, but not everyone believes. Is her pushed out of the windows, or accidental drop or jump by herself because of harassment? Anyway, they are sad story. One thing good is the cases are allowed to be discussed in Chinese website, such as sina.com.cn.

Don't buy CD in Sim Lim Square

At the lobby of Sim Lim Square, I bought some CD cheap - SGD 10 for 3. Wow, all kinds of pop singers - Norah Jones, Eminem, Britney, Black Eye Pea, Usher, you name it, they have it. After I play them back, I faint to death. The cover, the songs are there, but the real singers are actually some karaoke level trash replica. Some white teenagers tourists bought quite a few, sucker, haha. No wonder words of street are true - DO NOT BUY STUFF AT SIM LIM SQAURE FIRST FLOOR.

Met an old cab driver

After I bought something at Sim Lim Square, I get in a cab. The driver is an old chap. He said he is helping his friends temporarily, and doesn't know how to get Millenia Walk. Actually he knows the street very well from how he drives through. After arrived, I said receipt several times, he just pretended not heard it, and reset the meter. Funny trick. I paid SGD 3.2 to go there, and paid SGD 4.9 back on this cab. But I got some interesting info - the cab driver needs to pay the taxi company SGD 7,700 a year.

孽海花

话说'老残游记'是一本未完成的小说, 结果'孽海花'又是一个没写完. 不过'孽海花'写到35回, 也没什么悬念了. 整个一个话说清末历史. 而且简直就是个跑题万里的代表作. 什么孽海花. 倒底是什么意思? 难道是里面的那位彩云? 这个可是有来头, 一个鸡, 竟然嫁了个状元, 而且出国转了一大圈, 后来又成了上海的交际花. WIKI一下历史上的这位人物, "赛金花(未详-1936年)是一个生活在19世纪末20世纪初叶,具有传奇色彩的中国女子。曾作为公使夫人出使欧洲四国,也作为妓女而知名上海,还在八国联军入侵北京后,起到了劝说联军统帅,保护北京市民的作用。赛金花曾经三度嫁作人妇。". 也可以算鸡中的凤凰了.

One Traffic Mess Spot at Suntec

Every morning during peak hour, the red circled spot is a mess. Two lanes of cars enter after the ERP gate, waiting to turn left to enter the round about. At the same time, some taxis are coming from right of round about, and planning to drop off passengers at the red spot. Now 2 traffic flows are all tangled, sometimes the taxis are waiting in a line, and several lanes are blocked. You have to swing through all the cars. Luckily, drivers know the situation and most of them are cautious.

老残游记

说到黑妞和白妞, 一定会想到刘鹗的[老残游记]. 因为当初的中学课本就选了老残观黑妞和白妞说书的一段.这本小说的语言真的是很赞,在当时就可以应用白话文如此的灵活. 小说讲了一个江湖郎中老残在山东治病救人,因此结识了官场中不少的达人,并且颇受赏识,因此他也籍此,替民陈情,帮人洗冤. 被鲁迅评点为什么四大谴责小说, 扯! 我看小说描述的官场也并不灰暗, 沉冤得雪,重视人才,半夜小店失火, 县官亲自出马, 还替两个妓女赎了身. 小说里对济南, 齐河, 泰山, 黄河等的描述, 也让人身临其境. 现在不是据说济南要照着老残游记的描述, 来恢复一下四大名泉吗? 不过小说本身主线跳跃比较大, 说游记并不贴切, 先写了20回, 老残和另一位一人赎了个妓女做了妾. 后来有续了9回, 就有点神神倒倒的了. 老残的小妾在一个似庙似观似妓院的地方出了家, 老残则跑到阴间去玩, 没写完, 就结束了.

黑妞和白妞

狐仙鬼怪,武侠小说读的多了,看见的景色就会产生一些有趣的联想.这两位如果半夜在树林里看见,是会很吓人的,...

Anywhere, Anytime, it is non-sense

Saw these 2 big words on a bus body advertisement. We see these 2 words on many media ads, especially for those networking or mobile products. Unfortunately, it is just the vendors' own fantasy. It is non-sense. It is useless. We don't need some gadgerts can do anytime anywhere, or do we - when we are in bed, in toilet, or in any monkey business?

Chery QQ - the cheapest car in Singapore

It is sold at SGD 32900 since this July. Talk about the dollar to dollar value, it is certainly not the worst. Hooray for Chinese carmaker.

Taxi fare to increase in Singapore

Several days ago, I heard the largest taxi company proposed fare increase, now it is finalized. The new fare will be effective on 15 July. It is the first notable increase after 12 years. The words about taxi in Singapore is somehow true - When you need it, you can't find one or even book one. When you don't need them, you see the taxis all over the streets. No matter how fare increases, people need it will still take it. Taxi drivers' should be happier. I heard a lot of complains from taxi drivers that there are too many taxis nowadays. The taxi drivers in Singapore are polite, fair, and disciplined in general. You pay what you see in the meter, no more.

Chewing Gum in Singapore

Not long ago, you can't buy/sell chewing gum in Singapore. Some people does get some gums from Malaysia, but just for personal consumption. This prohibition is among many other rules which make Singapore such a strict country for foreigners. This ban is lifted recently. You can buy chewing gum in pharmacy, but you need leave your personal info (Name, ID and how many you bought). Happy chewing!

Longest Continuous Musical Concert

With the ringing of the handbell, Minister George Yeo kicked off Paya Lebar Methodist Girls’ School (Secondary) record-breaking 90-hr music marathon at the Great Hall, Millenia Walk on 29 June. This is to commemorate the school's 90th anniversary. The concert lasts till 1pm on Monday, 3 July. The girls are gathered up, performing group by group. Great efforts!

Escape Theme Park

We went to Wild Wild Wet water park before. The Escape Theme Park is just beside it. Adult ticket is SGD 16.5. Child is SGD 8.5. The first time I heard about this park is on the news - 2 kids were threw out of the roller coaster and sent to ICU. The park has about half games for kids, such as Choo Choo Train, Bumper Boats, Ferries Wheel, Family Coaster, and some thrill rides too. Like many things in Singapore, don't expect it is too big. Think another way, it is better than nothing, at least you got a place to kill time and have some fun.