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31 May 2006

Lost In Translation III - Fuji Japanese Restaurant

Was at this Japanese restaurant just outside my place. I jaw dropped when I read the menu. The English translation was absolutely hilarious!
Enjoy.



- Voxeros

1. heather left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 12:07 am :: http://disenchantedprincess.wordpress.co
my gosh, you make me laugh when I'm eating!! Almost choke on my food reading those!


2. JayWalk left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 12:34 am ::
heather: Glad I made your day!


3. ris left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 12:35 am
hahahaha! talk about literal translation!!


4. JayWalk left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 12:43 am :: 
ris: Vomit blood right? Piangz.


5. sunflower left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 12:45 am
piang oi! i almost fall from my chair.
It is soooooooooo funny!


6. JoMel left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 1:11 am :: http://justmeoonly.blogspot.com
Jaw dropping indeed! BOMB PIGS?!!! HAHAHAHA!!!


7. Zhe Bin left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 1:17 am
Hahahaha! I also think the bomb pigs damn funny.


8. Jaslyn left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 3:07 am :: http://precious-jas.blogspot.com
Hahaha... seriously laugh my head off this! Omfg! How about a BOMB EGG? I will never sit still or even able to order my meal if I'm there!


9. aloe left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 8:43 am
wah raoz!!! Make me laugh out.. later my colleagues think I crazy... :P But in cheena, this always seems to happen....


10. Eddy left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 9:17 am
Wahahaha! I want to look through all their menu!


11. OLLie left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 12:31 pm
Eh. They really cannot make it leh. Want literal translation hor, also must be correct ma.
Eight ClawS Fish ma.
hahahhaha..


12. Jaschocolate left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 12:44 pm
Haha.. so what did you eat?


13. spellbound left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 4:09 pm :: http://verniceloy.blogspot.com
This is so hilarous!!! I think they just use microsoft word to translate word by word.
Maybe you should start doing part time F&B consultancy just to do their menu planning and translation for them. Otherwise you can subcontract out to me!
*spellbound slapped her right palm against her forehead*


14. akk left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 5:53 pm
last time I was in beijing, i saw this sign that says in chinese to 'keep off the grass' and the english translation is hanyu pinyin.


15. The "Arthur" himself left...
Friday, 2 June 2006 5:46 am
Looks like they used BabelFish to translate.
Have a gander at the Lost in Translation web site: http://www.tashian.com/multibabel/


16. JayWalk left...
Friday, 2 June 2006 9:44 am :
Sunflower & Anna: That's Ch1na for ya!

Jomel, Jaslyn & ZheBin: Just when we were just joking about Fried Eggs in English become translated to Bomb Eggs in Ch1nese. Here we have a real life example right in front of you. Talk about getting egg in your face!

Eddy: Nothing much on the rest of the menu, I only took those outrageously translated ones.

OLLie: Perhaps I should teach them the concept of back translation i.e. when you translate something from language A to language B, you need to translate it back from B to A in order to ensure that the translation is done correctly.


17. JayWalk left...
Friday, 2 June 2006 9:51 am ::
Jaschocolate: Well, I did ordered the 8-claw fish to eat definitely. Yum!

Spellbound: Does Microsoft Word have translation function?

Akk: Did you managed to take a picture of that?

Stan M: Welcome to the blog. I doubt if it's the work of Babelfish. Babelfish is something more familiar to the rest of us english-speaking websurfers.


18. Zhe Bin left...
Friday, 2 June 2006 11:50 am
I don't know if Vanna saw this but,
"The pan is burnt dark winter one".
She's on the meunu leh HAHAHA!
And hor which part of then sentence tells anything about 乌冬面?? SO funny! Maciam they are introducing the burnt pan.


19. The "Arthur" himself left...
Friday, 2 June 2006 8:36 pm
The "Lost in Translation" web site is a project someone set up using Babelfish. It's an applet that puts whatever you've input in English through a number of translations using Babelfish, jumping from one language to another (I think it's ten iterations), and then back to English. That site is as addictive as the Internet Anagram Server.

My favorite among weird translations is apocryphal, said to have been seen somewhere in Indonesia: "All water served in this hotel has been personally passed by the manager."

These kinds of malapropisms find their way on to restaurant menus even when there is no need to translate between languages. One that I see frequently is "Maryland half fried chicken."


20. winter left...
Friday, 2 June 2006 11:20 pm
i nearly peng when i see the menu. this type of translation is VERY extreme leh.
and i was hoping no one realise my nick.
zhebin, u just had to mention it lor. thanks hor. hahaha


21. JayWalk left...
Saturday, 3 June 2006 5:42 pm ::
ZheBin & Winter: Don't about you guys but somehow "Burnt Dark Winter" reminds me of the time Vanna face black black.

"Hong tao tao, tow kay ah been chao chao..."

Stan M: Thanks for the link to that interesting website. Lotsa fun there!


22. winter left...
Sunday, 4 June 2006 11:38 am
when vanna face black black huh?
u got see before meh?? lol


23. JayWalk left...
Monday, 5 June 2006 12:41 pm :: 
Winter: Vanna face black black? DON'T HAVE!! WHERE GOT?? WHO SAY ONE?? NEVER!!!
*scared*


24. Mr. Dew left...
Saturday, 10 June 2006 5:48 pm :: http://beconfused.com
I thought that was hilarious. I posted it on my blog and left a trackback. ;)
Don't know if you received it.


25. JayWalk left...
Saturday, 10 June 2006 9:26 pm :: 
Mr Dew: Welcome to the blog! Got your trackback request and approved it already. :)
I left a comment on your side but you being on WordPress means that my comments most likely end up in your spam bin. Will need you to go fish it out.


26. Mr. Dew left...
Sunday, 11 June 2006 1:14 am :: http://beconfused.com
Gosh, you're right! You sure know WordPress well. I'm disappointed that my legitimate comments gets into the spam bin! WordPress' being mean here but deactivating that feature is terrible as I'll have a hard time moderating it. I hope those problems would be ironed out soon.
Thanks for commenting!


27. JayWalk left...
Monday, 12 June 2006 2:30 pm :
Mr Dew: I kena a lot of times from your fellow wordpress users liao.
Sometimes until I give up commenting on wordpress blogs. damn pek chek one.


28. Ahla left...
Thursday, 31 July 2008 7:06 pm
aiyoyo, that bomb makes my stomach tickle,fried to bomb...i won't eat it(definitely)if it's really a bomb equal to 炸弹...


29. Ahla left...
Thursday, 31 July 2008 7:20 pm
Aiyoyo,that "bomb pig" hor,make my stomach tickle,and "eat definitly" extra tickle! For "eat definitly":force people?to eat? For "bomb pig": eat bomb pig?the pig is actually a bomb...


30. JayWalk left...
Friday, 1 August 2008 9:33 pm ::
Ahla: Welcome to the blog. Glad you enjoy this entry. :)


31. Ahla left...
Saturday, 16 August 2008 11:58 am
LOL.if you are gonna ask me what i ate,i ate NOTHING.


32. ahla left...
Saturday, 16 August 2008 1:24 pm
how 'bout 炸蛋?


33. JayWalk left...
Sunday, 17 August 2008 9:32 am :: 
AhLa: Awww... where's your sense of adventure?


34. Ahla left...
Saturday, 23 August 2008 1:18 pm
Lol. The pan is dark winter one,Broken English lol ! And When There is a dark winter? The Pan is dark winter,when do dark pans drop during winter?? and thers not even "one" Dark pan dropping down during winter...


35. JayWalk left...
Saturday, 23 August 2008 2:20 pm :: 
AhLa: I believe it's season. May they switch to light pans in the summer?

30 May 2006

24 Weird JayWalk Things - Part 2

... continuing from the last blog entry.

13. Speaking of NS, everyone thought I was a weirdo in the sense that I was the only one who kept volunteering for duties on Sundays and public holidays while everyone else was avoiding it like the plague. The fact of the matter was that we would get a day off-in-lieu with every Sunday/Holiday duty performed and I had been patiently amassing them to an extent where I spent my last day in camp 60 days ahead of my peers.

14. Speaking of last days in camp. I went to do my very first pair of contact lens during that time. Unfortunately, the RGP lens lasted only 2 hours when the left-side lens fell out at the Far East Plaza taxi stand. No thanks to my itchy hands for rubbing my eye due to initial discomfort. I ended up having to top up an extra $120 to replace the left side. Damn.

15. Speaking of losing contact lens, it happened again when I was playing badminton at the NTU SRC. The shuttlecock was smashed right into my eye causing the lens to shatter into several pieces. Getting my eyeball forcefully squashed into an alternate shape was excruciatingly painful as I found myself collapsed onto the floor, dazed. I managed to remove the final fragment at around 10.30 pm, 5 hours later. Yup. It was the left-side again.

16. Speaking of left-side lens, I lost it at Ridley’s (again!). In my state of drunken buzz, I must have accidentally rubbed my eye again (RGP lens takes about 6 weeks to get used to it). I knew the lens was gone right away on two counts. 1) My left side vision was instantly blurred and 2) I felt something snapped under my Doctor Martens.

17. Speaking of Doctor Martens, it was perhaps my favourite pair of shoes of all time. It was a suede nubuck shoe and it must have been my good fortune to pick light brown. Puke goes well with light brown.

18. Speaking of puke, I got so drunk one time that I had to open the car door (while it was parked), bend over while seated in the car and puked my guts out. I subsequently tumbled out of the car into the pool of my own fresh barf. Brilliant.

19. Speaking of tumbling out, I woke up the next morning with 4 stabbing pains on my chest. When I opened my eyes, I realised that the dog was standing on my chest, wagging its tail happily.
20. Speaking of pets, I had a cat by the name of Whiskey when I was bunking in NTU Hall 4. We both liked Johnny Walker Black Label.

21. Speaking of Johnny Walker Black Label, I had an optic-measure (see picture right) in my hostel room when I was staying in Hall 1. I had since passed it on to Amy when I got evicted and barred from the hostel.

22. Speaking of Amy, I knew her a week before her Freshmen Orientation Camp, of which she was an applicant that I was going to reject due to overwhelming response. As I was talking to her on the phone in my attempt to inform her of her unsuccessful application, we clicked. It was 1994 and the World Cup was ongoing. Bonus points for she was a hardcore football fan. Long story short, she got a place in the camp after that at the expense of some unfortunate applicant whose application was previously accepted. iKelong.

23. Speaking of Freshmen Orientation Camp, Amy showed up the night before the camp to join the rest of the seniors in a TOGO session. She was probably the only freshman to stumble into the Camp check-in registration the next morning, severely hung-over while the rest of her counterparts were all dressed to impress.

24. Speaking of TOGO sessions, our favourite game was Indian Poker. Will explain the rules of the game if there is enough interest to warrant a blog about it.

Ok, that's it. Phew!

Now comes the fun part. Who do I tag? Let's see...

Sunflower
KampongBabe
Precious-Jas
Ed, Edd & Eddy
Korean Housewife
SpellBound
DisenchantedPrincess

Image Credit: http://www.1ofakindstuff.com

- Voxeros

1. OLLie left...
Monday, 29 May 2006 5:28 pm
wah piang. tumble onto your freshly puked barf. you wanna smell bad also not likett.
oh. wait a min. you were drinking and driving? tsk. hahaha..


2. sunflower left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 8:54 am
You see water coming out from my body?!?!?!?!


3. JayWalk left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 11:19 am :: http://jaywalk.blog-city.com
OLLie: I wasn't driving and yes, I smelled really bad.

Sunflower: Which part of your body? :P


4. koreanhousewife left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 11:42 am
Pop,
Done!


5. aloe left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 12:08 pm
do lasik... no need worry abt contact lens.. hehehe!


6. akk left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 12:35 pm
u are as weird as ollie, if not weirder....:)
if calling u, which number to call ah? BTW, i sick like a dog now....*sniff*


7. babe left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 1:43 pm
you're the 3rd person to tag me, lol. did mine yesterday. and falling into barf isn't quite as bad as my experience of falling into pig poop.


8. Jaslyn left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 6:59 pm :: http://precious-jas.blogspot.com
Wah Pa Eh! I cannot write like that lah! Hahaha...I'll go crazy!


9. JayWalk left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 10:37 pm :: 
KoreanHouseWife: Excellent. You're the first one to check in!

Anna: I've considered that option last year but the thought of having only 7 years of good eyesight before 老花眼 sets in (usually from 40 years old) and screwing it all up again, I decided against it. Not worth the money for something that would cost me $7k at Dr Jerry Tan.
Perhaps later when Lasik can resolve 老花眼 as well.

Akk: Take care ok? I will give you my number when I see you online.

Babe: Heh heh... thanks for giving face hor!

Jaslyn: Last time complain I neber tag you. Now tag you, you complain! Wah raoz!!!


10. koreanhousewife left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 11:40 pm
wink*


11. Derrick left...
Wednesday, 31 May 2006 4:15 am
erm, ur contact lens seriously shattered INSIDE your eye?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


12. JayWalk left...
Wednesday, 31 May 2006 12:14 pm ::
KoreanHouseWife: Thank you Ms Black Monday!

Derrick: Yup. Rigid Gas Permeable (RGP) lens are hard plastic lens in contrast to the soft and/or Toric lens. Hence the brittle shattering as the impact of the smash was that great.
We were playing doubles and my side adopted the front-back formation. My stupid partner lob the shot a bit too short resulting in a smash at close range. I was literally blown away.


13. Jaslyn left...
Wednesday, 31 May 2006 4:13 pm :: http://precious-jas.blogspot.com
Cos last time I drama-queen, now I complain-queen lor.. Hahaha


14. Derrick left...
Wednesday, 31 May 2006 11:24 pm
... smash at close range...!!!!!! wow what if the smithereens penetrate your eyeballs or something!


15. JayWalk left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 12:44 am :: 
Jaslyn: Yah lor. You everything also Queen one...
Derrick: I was damn lucky considering the fact that I could have gone blind with a burst eyeball.

29 May 2006

24 Weird JayWalk Things - Part 1

Got tagged by OLLie to do this one and man, this is taking much longer than I thought! As such, I shall be breaking this meme into 2 parts and will try to finish the second half by tomorrow. Siong!



1. I can use the chopsticks with either hand although my right-hand's dexterity is some what rusty after many years of non-practice.

2. Speaking of being left-handed, I may be a south-paw but I play pool and golf right-handed.

3. Speaking of sports, I was a keen footballer in school and everybody thought that I was really good at it when in fact I was not. I just happened to be at the right place, right time for me to put the balls into the back of the nets all these while. I was like the accidental top scorer. There was this particular game when I was in Sec 2. I jumped for the ball in my attempt to try to head it towards the goal but the jump was so badly miscued that I totally missed it. Strangely, I still managed to score the goal when the ball bounced off my backside and into the net past a bewildered goalkeeper.

4. Speaking of secondary school, there were 4 places where you can find me studying for my O-Levels. McDonalds at YMCA and Far East Plaza, Burger King at the basement of Shaw Centre (next to the old Lido cinema) and the canteen at the Ministry of Environment. Anywhere but home.

5. Speaking of Shaw Centre, I got myself into the newspapers and had my 15 minutes of fame as early as 12 years old. I kena food poisoning at the Mayflower Restaurant there on the 5th floor.

6. Speaking of 12 years old, I was run over by a motorbike with 2 people on it when I was a kid. Miraculously, I still managed to get up and walked back to the hotel unscathed.

7. Speaking of hotels, I broke the bed during my last stay at Dusit Thani Hotel (Bangkok) when I was jumping non-stop on it. I was in primary school then when foot of the bed snapped. Dad had to sneak a telephone book underneath the bed to support it, before hastily checking-out.

8. Speaking of primary school, I made it to the school teams for volleyball, basketball and table-tennis. As a result, my grades faltered and I was forced to give up all 3 sports.

9. Speaking of table tennis, I was perhaps the only guy who arranged a football match in the library. Yes, we played a football match in the library! It was the time between after the exams and before the start of the year-end school holidays. I, being the head librarian, had a set of the keys to the library where I sneaked in the whole gang and ONE table-tennis ball. The game lasted only 5 minutes when one of the guys squashed the table tennis ball when he accidentally stepped on it.

10. Speaking of the time between after exams and before holidays, our class would turn into a gambling casino despite warning from the school authorities. I guessed nobody gave a rat's ass.

11. Speaking of gambling in school, our St John storeroom was our mahjong room.

12. Speaking of St John, the tekan sessions during my Leadership Training Course (LTC) of 6 months was so tough that by the time I got to the real thing i.e. NS BMT, it was a cakewalk.

... to be continued.
- Voxeros

1. OLLie left...
Monday, 29 May 2006 5:20 pm
When you were getting your 15minutes of fame, half of me was still swimming in my dad's testis, the other half in my mom's ovary.
By the way, were you hyperactive as a child? Can jump till the bed bee-cha. Lagi best.


2. Zhe Bin left...
Monday, 29 May 2006 7:31 pm
"jump until the bed bee-cha" Wtf. Act cute sia.
Anyway, volleyball + table-tennis + basketball is freaking pro lor. I can understand the grades part because I was in tennis and basketball. It was hard not to be playing and playing and playing. And the only time I'd be studying is when there's rain. Hahaha.


3. sunflower left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 8:54 am
No wonder ACS cannot improve their ranking!


4. JayWalk left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 11:15 am :: http://jaywalk.blog-city.com
OLLie: Not hyperactive. Just active in sports and games.
BTW, it's not bee-char. It's pichar.

ZheBin: I slipped from 2nd in class to 7th to 12th, which explained my folks' panic.

BTW for me, when raining hor, still can play table tennis. :P

Sunflower: Perhaps you are right with all the nut-cases like us in the classrooms.
BTW, we are darn proud of our lunacy. :)

26 May 2006

Singapore Public Transportation Rates

Sunflower has been exercising my brain quite a bit of late and again after reading her piece, I have something to say.

Public Transport in Singapore is actually something that we can be proud of but, has unfortunately been taken for granted by many. One nagging thought that has been bugging me is that why do people say that it is so wrong that our transport companies are profitable? I hear people complain that if the transport companies are so profitable, then why the need to raise prices? My question is: What is so wrong with being profitable? Look closely at the fares that they are charging now, can you honestly say that they are price gouging? If yes, then I would agree with these folks that being profitable under such circumstances would be wrong.

What worries me is the mentality of some Singaporeans that it is their "birth right" to enjoy FREE (or next to nothing) public transportation. HARLOW!!! Wake up can? Where got such thing as free transport one? You think fuel no need money one issit? Bus stations, MRT stations, employee's salary all fall from the sky one issit? Perhaps I also need to point out that a profit could also serve as a buffer against a loss in the event of unforeseen circumstances? If we were to operate right on the line of P/L throughout, wouldn't the transport companies go into the red at the slightest of mishaps? Then what? The Gahmen will have to take out money to bail them out? Gahmen money is still our money and so at the end of the day still LPPL. Only difference is that one way is we fork out money to make things better. The other is we fork out money to bail our public transport system out of the shithole. Which route would you rather your dollar take?

I don't understand why anybody would have a problem with a public-listed company trying to maximise shareholder's wealth? What is there to stop you from becoming a shareholder yourself? Call your local remiser NOW! Call 1900-iBuyBus.

Actually, it's not the complaining that I am worried about but rather the mindset of these people who think that the Gahmen owes them the public transport system. OK, so there is also the issue of the poor who would have trouble coping with the price increase. Has anyone gone overseas and see what the other countries are charging? Our rates right now is relatively low compared to the other developed countries and I will slap your head if you tell me that there aren't poor people out there.

Granted that there are the genuine hardship cases but I believe that Gahmen would have thought of that and is probably addressing these issues even as we speak. Those who geniunely need help will be assisted eventually.

Bottom line is that Coping with price increases is not a matter of can or cannot. It is more of a matter of want or want not.
 
I seriously do not think that our current public transportation rates are unreasonable. I think people are just complaining for the sake of complaining and nothing further.

 - Voxeros

1. Pam left...
Friday, 26 May 2006 1:07 am
of course people are complaining for the sake of complaining and no other reason. i completely agree with you re why shouldn't public companies make profits - that's a motivation if nothing else. fyi, it's been said that singapore's transport system is perhaps one of the v few in the world that's run on profit (maybe the middle east too, but they don't have taxes so don't count).

what happens when there's no profit is, the government has to plug the hole, pay for upgrading of infrastructure and then eventually, people will have to pay more taxes to plug this hole that the government's covering up!

a colleague just came back from singapore on a work visit and he was saying how great the transportation was (30p for a MRT journey, 4 pounds for a taxi ride from airport to hotel, etcetc). of course, i'll probably get slated for saying that because afterall, the argument will be, wah lao, of course it's cheap lah, you earn in pounds what.

but not so. because i've figured that my brother in singapore probably has more buying power than me. afterall, even though i may earn more (if I convert my pounds to SGD), the cost of living in sg is much much lower than over here, which means he can confidently save more money than me (not even including CPF).

but that's a different story. sorry if i've rambled!!


2. sunflower left...
Friday, 26 May 2006 1:10 am
Is this a check on me??? _""


3. JayWalk left...
Friday, 26 May 2006 2:24 am :: 
Pam: No rambling there. Just another person who echoed my sentiments exactly.

sunflower: I supposed it is. Just an alternative perspective to balance things up.


4. winter left...
Friday, 26 May 2006 2:13 pm
the fuel costs are increasing and it is eating into the profits of transport companies.
i am not surprised that bus companies will increase the fares again.
i guess the main concern for those who complains is when the living costs has went up but the earning power for lower income has not went up.


5. akk left...
Friday, 26 May 2006 3:34 pm
actually hor, i absolutely have no problems with our public transport. in fact, i love taking the mrt and buses, it's actually pretty relaxing for me looking out the window or having ears plugged with music or reading, esp during their downtime.

The only thing i am absolutely pissed about is TVMobile in the buses. I think it's a real waste of resource, money, causes bad eyesight and even in some cases, makes the elderly feel nauseous. When reception is bad, the pictures jump and the sound screeches, i don't think anyone can honestly say they think it's an absolutley fantastically great idea. However, you really cant help but look at it, becos the windows have been covered by advertisements fronted by the buses.

Perhaps there is a need to create more ave of profits by increasing advertising space, but the TVmobile is and will be a mistake from start to end. that hike in prices would most likely factor in TVmobile. now, actually, half the buses I take don't even switch it on or is broken down....really a complete waste of money.

anything else is extremely hunky dory and peachy, esp the MRT.


6. JayWalk left...
Friday, 26 May 2006 10:25 pm :: 
winter: I think you are right in the sense that the real problem is not the transport costs running away from the person's income but rather the person's income not catching up with the rising transport costs.
So rather than harping on the rising transport costs, how about focusing on getting a person's income up?

Akk: TV Mobile is not a bad idea. It's just badly implemented. Hong Kong has the same thing and so does Atlanta's MARTA system. No skips, no fuzz, no static snow and working fine.


7. akk left...
Monday, 29 May 2006 10:04 am
Having it on the BUS destroys a person's eyesight and causes headaches and nausea because of the juddering; that makes it a bad idea, regardless. on MRT, it's great if the transmission is good, and my gripe is only with buses having them and covering their windows at the same time, not the mrt, where reading is possible.


8. Robin left...
Monday, 29 May 2006 11:37 am :: http://robin33.blogspot.com
Previously internal bus is 15 cents.. now 90 cents.
Do u take bus? if u do, I am sure your cost of transportation must have doubled.
Imagine, those taking home below S$1000 (which constitute to 46 percent of the population), if one day need to pay S$4 on transport alone..
how can they survive?


9. winter left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 9:17 am
my points exactly.
I always thought we should look at the bigger picture about the income level. Besides transport costs going up, living costs are going up too.
If our income level is going up together with our living costs, the problem is not that big though


10. JayWalk left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 11:23 am ::
Winter: Let me do this with a parable.

A man goes to the doctor and complained that whenever he drinks coffee, his left eye damn painful.

The doctor asked him next time, to remove the spoon from the cup first, before drinking the coffee.
 
What the parable is trying to tell us is that rising transport costs here isn't the real problem. Income not keeping up with inflation is. We should be looking at way to tackle the latter instead of harping and whining on the prior.
 

25 May 2006

Raining On The Party


Sunflower brought this article, from TodayOnline dated 24 May 2006, to my attention and as I was reading it, I can't help but rolled my eyes over and over again.

PAP Ms Denise Phua was wondering how come the sentiments on the internet are slanted against the PAP.

Duh....

It's like a blind man asking how come the room is so dark.

The good thing about the internet realm is that it is self-governing with its own sets of checks and balances. Whenever somebody say something stupidly irresponsible on the net, someone else out there would be sure to take him/her to task for his/her words. A bit like our ministers filing defamation suits against their opponents, whom the latter has this tendency to spout nonsense with nothing to back him/herself up. So in the end kena bankrupt lor. No sympathies there. It's his/her own doing but I digress.

Speaking of checks and balances. While I may be wrong, I am of the belief that intensive coverage on the internet, "in favour" of the oppositions during the elections on the internet was merely a natural reaction to the intensive coverage on the various MickeyMouse Media, "in favour" of the PAP. Call it a balance of the yin and the yang, if you will.

I must thank those who posted pictures of the opposition rallies on their blogs. I was shocked to see the turnout at the opposition rallies from their photos. Being overseas, I would have not known the real picture (no pun intended) had I just rely solely on those MickeyMouse Medias. The latter's intentionally/unintentionally skewed coverage didn't go down well with me.

Anyway, the elections is over and PAP returned to power winning 82 out of the 84 seats. So how come it doesn't feel like a resounding victory when they won? Why the gloomy faces when lifting the championship trophy?

Here's why on a few counts.

1) While PAP may have won this elections with 66.6% of the popular vote, it was in fact a loss of 8.7% of the votes from last election. Wah raoz. Throw Progressive Package, Upgradings and other goodies and still lose almost 9% of the votes??! Kan si lang lao kwee #1.

2) PM Lee's own Ang Mo Kio GRC enjoyed a walkover during GE2001 only to lose 33.9% of the votes to the WP kamakazis this time round. Imagine a team of unknowns sukah sukah just walk in and then effortlessly walk out of our own PM's backyard with a fistful of votes totaling nearly 50,000 votes. Kan si lang lao kwee #2.

3) Speaking of kamakazis, the WP team contesting the Ang Mo Kio GRC aren't the real deal. The real kamakazi would have to be the suay suay kena-arrowed SM Goh putting his endorsement and bearing gifts of lift upgradings to Potong Pasir and yet, still lose miserably to the victorious Mr Chiam who took this election to improve his scorecard by an additional 3.5% of the votes. Kan si lang lao kwee #3.

Here's a question. If Potong Pasir was so important, how come never put MM Lee out there instead of SM Goh? Looks to me like our dear SM Goh tio tuar jeet kee tua tua kee.

In closing, here's my advice to the PAP. Open your bladdy eyes and ears and figure out what the people are trying to tell you. Then and only then would you be able to stem this trend of sliding percentages.

And finally a parting shot to the MickeyMouse Media (you know who you are). With just a remaining sliver of credibility left, you guys effectively just downgraded yourselves to the calibre of tabloids, albeit a little more atas one.

- Voxeros

1. sunflower left...
Thursday, 25 May 2006 1:54 am
Good effort! >.<

Understandably, being in oversea, you will sole depend on online newspaper, eg, ST online or Today online. But if the media only cover our dear gahmen....

Look at this para:
Nowhere, for example, was it mentioned that this particular GE was not a snap poll or that the Opposition had the freedom to hold rallies of its own. But given the fact that cyber-traffic goes out to the world, Ms Phua felt that a foreigner reading about elections in Singapore would only have a chance to hear one side of the story — that too, a somewhat skewed one.

Certainly, I am not trying to say our gahmen is not good. But is just tat they are really arrogant! They always refuse to listen people voice....only gahmen voice is allowed.

I wonder why?


2. airhole left...
Thursday, 25 May 2006 8:48 am
nicely and aptly put.
my sentiments exactly. ~airhole


3. teeim left...
Thursday, 25 May 2006 11:46 am
i know a reporter in the newspaper. All reporters knew the opposition situation (they cover the the elections wholly) but are "restricted" in their reports/photos/writings/quotes in the papers. If not, risk "reprimand".


4. kelawar.kilat left...
Thursday, 25 May 2006 4:51 pm
You're quite the GCT sympathizer, aren't you?


5. JayWalk left...
Thursday, 25 May 2006 7:13 pm ::
Sunflower: Here's why they should start to listen to the people. At this point in time, people make noise because they still care.

Until a time when people give up totally and stop saying anything, there is still a sliver of hope for the PAP to retain the people's hearts.

Let's hope the MIW wake up their bladdy ideas in time.

airhole: Thank you. Great to know that there is someone out there who thinking along the same line.


teeim: Well, well, well, look who decided to finally grace her presence here. Welcome to my humble abode!

Careful what you are saying about the so-called "reprimand". You are venturing into thin ice here and I think it would be safer if we just put this down as hear-say cause you and I both know that when taken to task over this statement, there is no way you can back this up. Even if hypothetically true, your alleged "reliable & credible source" would be expected to deny wholeheartedly or worse, go into hiding, when things get too hot in the kitchen.

Kelawar: Whoa. Tricky question here. Which response will prevent me from getting imprisoned?


6. Pam left...
Friday, 26 May 2006 1:09 am
i was just going to add a link to how the times in UK reported on the elections in Singapore, and basically said that the MIW aren't really winning and that Singaporeans are really waking up and smelling the coffee. it'll be interesting to see how the next 10 years will turn out.
tried hunting it out on the times, but can't find it!


7. JayWalk left...
Friday, 26 May 2006 2:18 am :: 
Pam: I want to read! Go library archives to find?
You'd do that for me? No?


8. Robin left...
Monday, 29 May 2006 11:39 am :: http://robin33.blogspot.com
Well said!


9. JayWalk left...
Tuesday, 30 May 2006 11:17 am ::
Robin: Thanks! Do drop by often!


10. Pam left...
Wednesday, 31 May 2006 12:48 am
my dear friend.. i did try and hunt out the article for you, but to no avail. you can try - it's The Times (www.timesonline.co.uk), and i think it was on may 9th because i read it on the plane to berlin.


11. JayWalk left...
Wednesday, 31 May 2006 12:19 pm :: 
Pam: Cannot leh. To browse their archives, you need a $ubscription leh. :(


12. Pam left...
Wednesday, 31 May 2006 5:46 pm
really?! i don't think i have a subscription?! oh well. it's lost. next time, i'll remember to hang on to it.


13. JayWalk left...
Thursday, 1 June 2006 12:41 am :
Pam: Same goes for a lot of other newspapers' websites. Anyway, as there are just as many free ones out there, I don't see the justification of spending that kind of money.

24 May 2006

Les Baux des Provence

Les Baux de Provence is the last stop of my sightseeing itinerary. The castle that sits majestically on top of the hill is nothing short of breath-taking. History has it that this place was dated as far back as 6,000 B.C. and at one time during the Middle Ages, was the seat of a formidable feudal lordship that ruled over Provence for many years.

If you thought the word Bauxite (raw material for producing Aluminium) looked somewhat familiar, that's because this particular mineral ore was first discovered here in 1821.







From the castle, we were able to have a very clear view of the Alpilles mountain landscape. The very same one that Van Gogh painted the Starry Starry Night, except that he was on the northern side of the Alpilles in Saint-Remy-de-Provence.


As I was wandering through the cobble-stoned streets of the village, I was drawn by the sweet smell of this particular shop. It was a local Biscuitier. If you think the Famous Amos stall in Specialist's Centre was nice smelling, this was even better and OH what a joy to just look at the biscuits sitting pretty on the shelves. Looked so good that it seemed like a cardinal sin to even want to disturb the meticulously arranged biscuits.

- Voxeros

1. Eddy left...
Tuesday, 23 May 2006 10:15 pm
Wah lau, so nice!
I is jealous


2. OLLie left...
Wednesday, 24 May 2006 8:34 am
wah. i wouldnt dare to touch those cookies. so damn pretty. You are making me crave for famous amos. No fish, prawns also good.


3. JayWalk left...
Wednesday, 24 May 2006 9:28 am :: 
Eddy: Don't jealous lah. Work hard, save up and plan your vacation to go there lor. Can one lah. 

OLLie: I also don't dare to touch. Sekali take one piece, the entire stack falls apart, iSiaoLiao.

23 May 2006

12 Blogs Meme

Got tagged by Jaschocolate and while I take a breather in between my Provence blogs, here it is.

List down 12 blogs that you visit regularly

3 blogs because of their pictures
  • Haro Singapore (It's good to see Singapore from a different angle sometimes.)
  • The Sly One (Aiyoh, this guy always take photos of all the yummy food!)
  • Nadnut (Babe and delicious food pix. What more can you ask?)

3 blogs ’cause they make you think/seek information

3 blogs ’cause they make you laugh
  • Rockson (I seriously don't believe he is as Beng as he sounds.)
  • AKK (Love this girl and the way she writes.)
  • OLLie (Slutty and funny - Lethal combination.)

3 blogs that you don’t know why you stalk but you keep going back for more
  • JoMel (The true strength of a woman.)
  • JettyKey (Lost her for a while. Glad to have her back.)
  • ZheBin (He very the cheese fries one.)

And tag 3 blogs
- Voxeros

1. OLLie left...
Tuesday, 23 May 2006 11:49 am
muahaha.. Slutty. I'm slutty. Tsk. And I thought I was pure and innocent. Oi. You just bulldozed all the sandcastles I was building in my mind.


2. Jaslyn left...
Tuesday, 23 May 2006 4:52 pm :: http://precious-jas.blogspot.com
Wah.. Sad leh. I didnt see my name :(


3. Jaschocolate left...
Tuesday, 23 May 2006 8:20 pm
Good boy! *pat pat jay's head*


4. JayWalk left...
Tuesday, 23 May 2006 9:00 pm ::
OLLie: OK fine. You are pure and innocent in a slutty way. Happy now?

Jaslyn: The meme don't have a "3 blogs I goto because I want to see chio bu models" category leh. So don't have lor. Sorry!

Jaschocolate: Head????!! Oh. Nevermind....


5. aloe left...
Wednesday, 24 May 2006 8:45 am
Heng arh... dun see my name anywhere.. hehehe!


6. JayWalk left...
Wednesday, 24 May 2006 9:31 am ::
Anna: Next meme perhaps?


7. nadnut left...
Wednesday, 24 May 2006 2:56 pm :: http://nadnut.liquidblade.com
u stalk my blog only for pictures?!?! *pouts*


8. JoMel left...
Wednesday, 24 May 2006 5:24 pm
You stalk mine? Awww.. HUGS


9. JayWalk left...
Wednesday, 24 May 2006 6:42 pm :: 
Nadnut: Wah raoz... dounch like that lah... pictures nice to look at what..... Got lah. Got read your blog entry lah. But then you know your blog not very comment friendly leh and so you don't see my comments often lor.

Jomel: Eh. Buay pai siah. Stalk your blog get hugs one har?
Stalk. Stalk. Stalk. Stalk. Stalk. Stalk. Stalk.
Stalk. Stalk. Stalk. Stalk. Stalk. Stalk. Stalk.
Stalk. Stalk. Stalk. Stalk. Stalk. Stalk. Stalk.


10. JoMel left...
Wednesday, 24 May 2006 11:57 pm
I no Paiseh one. Me Hug-Sharer.
HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS HUGS


11. JayWalk left...
Thursday, 25 May 2006 1:25 am :: 
JoMel: Ok at this time, I am going to have to ask you to call ambulance liao. 

iNoseBleed.
 

20 May 2006

Gorge du Verdon

The equivalent to the Grand Canyon of America. This is the largest in Europe. Some spots may even be as deep as 1500m! Anyway, here are a few pictures that I have taken as we drove to the top of the canyon as well as straight to the bottom. The winding road was certainly harrowing as I definitely frayed quite a lot nerves as I negotiated each turn and bend.








This is a picture of a terrace restaurant at Moustiere Sainte Marie where we stopped for lunch. It was beautiful but I suspected it is a case of 好看不好吃. True to my prediction, the food was terrible. I think the western food at the NTU or Singapore Poly canteens tasted better. Oh well, we were hungry and was in the middle of nowhere.


After driving through the entire canyon, Deek and I were exhausted and topping ourselves with caffeine as we had a 4-hour drive through winding roads ahead of us with the daylight slowly slipping away. We got back to our villa just be 11pm and 90 Euros poorer for a speeding ticket. The pictures below were taken as your final rest stop at this quaint little village called Castellane. Very nice picture of the hotel with a church perched on top of the canyon in the back group. Click for enlargement to see the church clearer.

- Voxeros

1. Jaschocolate left...
Saturday, 20 May 2006 12:15 am
Oh, uncle deek with you ah.. hahaha.. Wow, the place looked so relaxing for a holiday.. Being in the nature is good..


2. kampongbabe left...
Saturday, 20 May 2006 10:56 pm :: http://kampongbabe.lah.cc
do i spy a lavender field?


3. kampongbabe left...
Saturday, 20 May 2006 11:21 pm :: http://kampongbabe.lah.cc
when i visited the Grand Canyon, we took a plane that was to fly us over the hoover dam. since i get motion sickness pretty easily, i took a motion sickness pill before boarding the tiny plane. the plane ride cost us about 100 bucks? i volunteered to sit next to the pilot. well the pill made me drowsy, and i had to practically force my eyelids open to take in the view of the canyon. MUST KEEP EYES OPEN i kept telling myself. but failed miserably. and poof went 100 bucks!


4. JayWalk left...
Monday, 22 May 2006 7:32 am ::
Jaschocolate: Yeah. It was indeed a good break from work.

Kampongbabe: I don't think that's lavender although you are very close as I was on my way to Riez which coincidentally is the heart of the lavender fields. They are quite well known for their lavender distillery.


5. winter left...
Monday, 22 May 2006 8:57 am
so bery the envious.. heeeeheee
now is travel blog already :P


6. JayWalk left...
Monday, 22 May 2006 9:19 pm :: 
winter: Travel blog only for a week only lah. Back to oppit liao. :(

19 May 2006

A Day In Avignon

Set off early in the morning to visit a cherry plantation as well as the sample the fresh cherries right off the tree. Our host Eric, where we stay, happens to also be the owner of the cherry plantation. He has about 80 pickers, mainly from Spain. The reason is that the spanish pickers have no job in the summer since their olives only harvest in the winter time. So during the slack summer time, they would travel up to Malaucene for jobs.





Thereafter, we headed to Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes) where the Popes from the Vatican used to come here for their summer during the old days.








As usual, if you would like to view the entire Provence Set, please click here.

- Voxeros

1. Jaschocolate left...
Thursday, 18 May 2006 8:37 pm
The cherries looked damn good.. very fresh...

2. JayWalk left...
Friday, 19 May 2006 4:53 am :: 
Jaschocolate: Straight from the tree. You can't get fresher than that.

3. sunflower left...
Friday, 19 May 2006 9:09 am :: http://sunflower700@blogspot.com
Just watched Da Vinci Codes.
Those buildings and churches in the movies are as beautiful as your pics.
Nice Nice.


4. akk left...
Friday, 19 May 2006 10:02 am
did you pick cherries? hehheh...a hundred innuendos about that fruit.

5. koreanhousewife left...
Friday, 19 May 2006 10:36 am
Howdy,
Ah...so tis is how cherries look like from the tree:P Lovely. Reminds me of the crystal cherries brooch tat was given to me last Xmas. Cool. I always wear tat when I wear full black. Cos they all so bad, say I look like firece discipline mistress (I always carry a wobbly plastic rule and red marker) with I wear all dark. So must use the cherries to lighten up:P Awww...

6. JayWalk left...
Friday, 19 May 2006 1:50 pm :: 
Anna: So is the show any good? I am afraid it'll be another case of film doing the book grave injustice.

Akk: Pick cherries? Let's just say that I've picked hundreds of them. Hahahaha...

KoreanHouseWife: Yeah, my initial impression was like it resembled that of a coffee plantation.

7. koreanhousewife left...
Friday, 19 May 2006 2:25 pm
Pop,
Pop hundreds of cherries ya mean? LOLx.
Anyway, my mate is helpin me to scan the pix. Check it soon, cos I will upload at my blog. Dont compare in the sense he is white and U are chinese. But I do feel U and him have the same sexy high cheekbone and killer lips...and I visualized U wear the same kind of smart attire when U go important meetin.

8. Jaschocolate left...
Saturday, 20 May 2006 9:26 am
KoreanHouseWife: Dont entertain my daddy leh.. the guy in the pic is way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way way more handsome...

9. akk left...
Saturday, 20 May 2006 3:53 pm
not hahaha lah! hur hur hur!

10. JayWalk left...
Monday, 22 May 2006 1:10 am :: 
KoreanHouseWife: Simi pop hundreds of cherries? Aiyoh. Say me until like that....

Jaschocolate: What guy? What pic?

akk: "Hur hur hur" your head lah....

11. aloe left...
Wednesday, 24 May 2006 8:50 am
I prefer those dark red cherries from NZ... Very big and very Sweet!!!! Yummmmm!!

12. JayWalk left...
Wednesday, 24 May 2006 10:08 am :: 
Anna: I like cherries of all sorts in general. Even those in the slot machines!