Chao Zeh Bai!

This morning, while I was having my lunch at the vegetarian eating place, a thought other than the constant reminder that the handmade noodles taste great came to me - What is the point of having faux meat when you are abstaining from meat?

As explained by Hong You : "The intent is not to harm lives for consumption lor i suppose"

"eating faux meat is to so-called recreate the enjoyment of eating meat without the "harming lives" part"

they ban it altoghter

Would I be wrong to say that by eating faux meat, one is expressing an intent to have a taste of what real meat taste like? And in that, also express an intent to actually eat meat? Wouldn't that mean an intent to harm lives for consumption then?

If one says that he/she ate the faux meat because he chose to, and not because he/she couldn't, why call it faux MEAT then? Let's rename it (following footsteps of Matsumoto, who suggested renaming sweet curry to FLINFON) as er.... Zeh Bai! Zeh is the hokkien word for 斋, or vegetarian. At least that would be better than calling them faux fish, beef, chicken, mutton or pork!

Speaking of pork, I came across an interesting question - Would a muslim, who abstains from pork, eat faux pork?

Of course, this would apply to the Jews as well. I dunno why christians are entitled to babi (malay word for pork) though... Let me point you to Deuteronomy 14:8 of the Bible - "And the swine, because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud, it is unclean unto you: ye shall not eat of their flesh, nor touch their dead carcase. 

And for the islamic stand, Ahmad Saleh says: when pork is not being cooked properly, tapeworm is present in the meat. this tapeworm could cause tapeworm infection whr the larvae actually travels from the intestinal tract and sips to the bloodstream. when this larvae situate themelves in the brain. they evolve and cause faulty neuro signals. this will actually trigger "fits". this infection was very common last time when inproper cooking methods was used. that is y to eliminate such incident, the Arabs( who was mainly Nomads and were greatly affected by it), they ban it altoghter. until now it has not be questioned so its still as its status quo.

If this is the case, modern man know how to cook all meat properly now, does that mean they can eat what they want? Similarly, would you eat something that you know is a representation of something unclean? For non-muslims, lets think of eating er... Chocolate ice cream that bears an uncanny resemblance to this morning's poop.

I shall leave it here, please leave a comment or tag about what your views are. I think it would be an interesting read for all. Personally, if I were to get myself a vegetarian meal, I'd be happy to just get vegetables, mushrooms and rice/noodles.

The Olympic Kopi Soh

"KOPI-O JI BUAY" (source: Reuters Photos)

Congratulations to China on winning Olympic Gold and SILVER! Yes I said Silver as well!

Curse me all you like, I am one of the many Singaporeans who are not exactly proud of that Silver medal. Seriously, why bother calling for foreign talents to compete in your place. Have you forgotten what you wrote in those propaganda books you label as our social studies textbooks? I remember a chapter talking about how Singaporeans learnt that they had to depend on themselves after the British left in WWII, do you? Of course, that is an extreme comparison but I think you know better. Honestly, I would rather a true blue Singaporean, or someone who've at least spent a great deal of time in Singaporean soil, participate and get trashed than let a mercenary claim a medal for us.

And to think that the Singaporean media is trying to make the nationalities of these people seem like it doesn't matter. I'm sorry but it does! Why is it that your voxpop shows people rejoicing for Singapore, and all of a sudden you throw in someone who says "I don't care if they're from China, so long as they're wearing the Singaporean flag on their jerseys. Our ancestors are from China too. Tan Howe Liang (our only silver medalist) was also from Sua Tau (Shantou) what."? Then shortly after that report your journalist gets overcome by the urge to inform the viewers that other countries are hiring foreign sportsmen as well. Look, just because other countries are doing it does not mean that it is the right thing to do.

Come to think of it, while many wonder if they will really sing the National Anthem if we won gold, I prefer to wonder if they even know how the words! Maybe Jiawei has learnt it by now, but I'm pretty sure that's not the case for kopi-soh lookalike Wang Yue Gu and definitely Feng Tianwei, who only joined the Singaporean team this year. (I know Yue Gu's only 28 and it's mean to refer to her matured looks, so shoot me.)

The week has been pretty eventful in China, one of such was the report that the opening ceremony broadcast contained computer generated fireworks and a lip-sync performance. In defence, the committee calls it a necessary point in portraying a perfect image, both vocally and visually. I must say it was quite easy to spot which firework has been computer generated.*cough*footprints*cough* However, I found it disturbing that Lin Miao Ke (lip-synch girl) is the one who's getting a major advertisement deal when all she did was stand there and smile. What about the voice behind it?

Come to think of it, if China justifies their deception with the need for a perfect image, doesn't that justify the actions of people who go online with fake pictures and details of themselves?

Well, I think I should move on to something lighter. I saw on Lianhe Wanbao's headlines stating that a certain female anchor for Channel 5's "Today in Beijing" apparently said the word F*#K on National LIVE Television! How charming... Seriously, why is she even on the show? Shouldn't they know better not to put an inexperienced artiste on such an important show? It's not like the Dancefloor whereby they could cut and cut and cut and cut and cut... Ya'kno?

BAH! I'm just in a Sir Rant-a-lot kind of mood. Laugh along if you may!

Note: Kopi Soh is what Singaporeans refer to as the ladies that work at hawker centers, their jobscope usually revolves around brewing coffee to bringing them to the tables.

The ALPHA Male

Ever since getting my DSLR on August 4, I've been going around pretty often with my camera. It's as if a shutter-bug has taken over me and I find myself snapping at every mundane object. For now, I am shooting with the 17-80mm kit lens, so picture quality is still not as good. However I aim to either get a 50mm prime or at least the minolta 35-70mm within the next month or two.

Click on the thumbnail for a bigger picture, as well as a quick link to the other pictures in the selection.
This is my flickr set!

C&C welcomed!



Fireworks @ NDP

For this set, I went to the National Day Parade (perimeter) to shoot the supposedly great fireworks~ Thing is, I didn't bring my tripod along. Thus I had to rely on the very impressive Super Steady Shot technology in my Alpha. These were shot on long exposures at f16.





Fengshui Reversal @ Singapore Flyer

This took place a day after National Day, when we decided to meet up to celebrate the end of IAP and IBP. I shall not post pictures of people lest I get threats.







Sometimes I just think people are too caught up in the brand game... Just because you're holding on to a camera-maker's camera doesn't make you a good photographer, you know?

So Long, My Friend...

I just realised that a my neighbour in Thailand, Duri Price, has passed away on the same day that I've reached Singapore. He died from liver failure after two weeks of drinking whiskey non-stop.

He was the first person that I've met when I reached 2nd Home. I remembered trying to sleep by the stairs as I couldn't reach Pink. He came down the stairs and started chatting with me. He told me about how his family passed on one after another, and how he gets nightmares often because of this.

I saw his state of mind go up till weeks before when it started going down once again. From when he came out frequently for chats and such, till the final two weeks when he stayed in his room drinking whiskey.

A big man with a big heart, he would always share his ideas and thoughts about anything and everything while never failing to emphasize one the positives.

Duri, while you had your great share of troubles, and you went at your life's lowest, I hope for you to find peace and resolve in the afterlife. So long...

In Soviet Thailand, Internet Blpcks You!

Over the past few nights I have been experiencing serious internet blockades from the Thai Government. How do I know that it is a blockade from the government and not a simple case of me having a shitty connection? Well guess what? I was unable to access any websites other than those by google and the THAI GOVERNMENT BODY... Well whaddayakno~

I wonder how these people actually thought that blocking access from within would be a good idea...

Was it to make sure that the people can't get information from foreign sources?

Do they even think it would be possible given the complexity of today's technology? Not to mention the fact that it would be impossible to permanently block out lest they wanna fall into the same category as China in the book of human rights.

Maybe they wanna do a sweep of the internet for websites that are deemed offensive and illegal? That can't be true either, Singapore does that all too regularly but we don't get downtimes anyways? Unless you're telling me their ISP's are that bad... In that case I guess that's the other reason why they call it ThaiLANd... hmmm

I've also published another article.

Anyways, 3 days left! Get those red carpets ready now! hehe...

Tetritical Aeroacrophobia

Many may already know how crazy I am about Tetris.

While many of my friends play the game for pure entertainment purposes, I find entertainment in hearing the sound of the blocks clearing.

Something so simple, yet so technical, the game is one of the few that really shows the score difference between a trained professional and a leisure player!

Therefore, I have decided to impart 4 basic pointers to anyone who wishes to attain Tetris Euphoria.

Rule 1: 4-in-1

While many people prefer to clear the blocks one line at a time, which seems like the quickest way of clearing, it would actually be a better option to stack them up and clear them with the long blocks. Reason why doing so and sacrificing the lines per minute and going for big ones is that clearing 4 lines yield a lot more points than single combos. Back-to-Back tetrises(4 liners) also give more scores.

Rule 2: To the Left, To the Left (or right)

The idea of this rule is to push all your blocks to one side of playing field. This is done so for 2 main purposes, to maximize block space for better arrangement as well as to leave the other side for easy access of the long blocks.

Rule 3: Go High!

Tetritical Aeroacrophobia is what I refer to as the fear of speeds at high places in a tetris playing field. Many people tend to panic when the blocks get high, but that is actually a beneficial position for a good player. By having a long column, players can consecutively insert the long blocks for quick scores!

Rule 4: Close the gap

While it might be a good idea to be ambitious, sometimes it would be wiser to just close the pit and start clearing junk. Estimate the situation and bid for time while you wait for the long ones to lower your stacks significantly.

On a side note, today marks the 5-day countdown for my return to Singapore, a countdown marked by me falling off my bed this morning and knocking my knee against a cup! I suppose the Bruce will disappear from Thailand along with the Bruise on his knee...

Buddies at work, Strangers in life?

NO NEED TO THINK ABOUT IT! THIS IS BRUCE'S BLOG ALRIGHT!
Yes it is, I'm just using this template in the meantime while i figure out and learn about how to make my very own template.
Most of you may have noticed that my blogroll has shrunk significantly, that's because i forgot to save before changing to classic... Please leave a tag so that i can link you back thank you.

Anyways, I found out something about my favourite comedy duo a month ago. The group comprises of Hamada Masatoshi and Matsumoto Hitoshi, and calls themselves 'Downtown'. This group masterminded the crazy shows that has been popping up on youtube every now and then, namely silent library and the no laughing punishments, slapstick material for the mindless blokes. But what I really like about the duo is their standup acts. 100% ad-lib, 100% un-scripted.



A little bit of background on the two of them. Matsumoto and Hamada both grew up in the same region of Japan and even went to high school together, so you can pretty much call them childhood friends. You can even see them talking about their childhood in this item.



Now here's what I found out the other day... Apparently, while they appear very close on air, Matsumoto and Hamada never spend time together outside of work. They even made arrangements such that they will never meet each other. Matsumoto doesn't even have Hamada's number! All these despite the great chemistry they have on stage!

I am truly stumped... Would it be that these guys had been best friends before going into the industry, and their personal relationship got bad after? If that's the case, what exactly happened between the two? Now that I know about their relationship, it just makes watching their standups kinda awkward at times...

If you have the chance to go into a successful business with your bestest buddy knowing that you'll lose that relationship, would you still go ahead with it? I prolly wouldn't...