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24 September 2010

Net Happiness



Let me break down this simple.

Those who missed out, those who can't buy this, those who can't upgrade and so on = Poor People.

Those who are happier = Rich People.

Therefore Poor People + Rich People = Net Happiness in this case.

Sounds like your classic model towards income gap. As long as the rich get richer, the "Net Happiness" will increase. If that is the yardstick to measure a country's success, then as long as we keep feeding the rich, we can totally ignore the woes of the poor.

Well, that's the message I am hearing even though you and I know that the logic may be flawed.

Still, when I was watching the video, two words keep flashing in my head.

Minister's Salary.


I wonder why.

- Voxeros

20 September 2010

Kavalan ConcertMaster Single Malt Whisky


Was drinking this last night over at dinner.

It was a sample sent over from my supplier who is hoping that I carry this line for them.

I was very skeptical initially after having dealt with similar samples in the past which I am sad to inform you that they are all crap.

My past bad experiences includes Ibis, an XO category cognac, which I thought was an XC (Xtra CockroachWater), and Matisse Whisky whom Jacky Cheung must have loved the added caramel colouring (yes, it is actually listed in the ingredient list) so much that he became their endorsing spokesperson.

So here I am, presented with a very very ugly bottle of whisky which originally I thought, as a result of its name, was from some cheapo Eastern European country.

As it turned out, it is from Ta1wan which I don't know to think if that is better or worse than something churned out from a distillery in some obscure Eastern European country.

Still, I kept an open mind about it and reminded myself to be as objective about it as possible.

Eh.

This bladdy thing is ACTUALLY NOT BAD.

The whisky is surprisingly easy to drink and has a good flavourful body.

I am not sure if it is really that "not bad" (I have yet to make up my mind to say it's good) or if I had initially set the bar soooo low that I got "blown away" by this, even if in actual fact, it is just mediocre?

Anyway, this distillery is so new that it has yet to earn it's first candle on the cake. I do, however, like their tag line very much.

"The 1st Step Towards A Hundred-Year Distillery"

I like it. It is honest, unpretentious, straight to the point and oozes ambition. Well done.

The ConcertMaster, one of 4 varieties that they currently offer, has definitely earned my interest to want to find out about the other three as well as to seek the all important "price".

Unfortunately, as much as I am impressed with the whisky, I am certainly not impressed with the pricing. My guess is that it should be retailing in major stores for about what? SGD 100 to 125 (700ml duty-paid)?

Wait till these bottles get to the shelves of the bars, pubs and restaurants. Then you will really see the numbers skyrocket.

For something non-vintage (aged for 3 years only coz they say Ta1wan climate warmer and so aging process sibeh fast fast), no history, no market perceived value, I say it is too much to pay that kind of money solely for the product content. Heck, they should even compensate me for looking at their fugly bottle.

- Voxeros

19 September 2010

Deadliest Female Ninja Trick

This has got to be the most kok, stupid, ridiculous thing I have ever seen!!!!


Part 1

Part 2


- Voxeros

07 September 2010

The Princess Syndrome


This has been going on for quite a while already but it was only recently that shit has finally hit the ceiling.

Things were falling apart. Marriage was on the rocks, work was falling to pieces and nobody really knew what was going on in that little brain of hers.

The husband loved her to bits and yet was given the cold shoulder.

"I just can't love him as much as he loves me." was the lame explanation that totally made no sense.

If only I could remind her that it was she who wanted to marry the guy, 3 years ago against her parents' wishes. He was a divorcee with a kid and her parents were naturally concerned about marrying their daughter to someone with baggage.

As usual, with her wayward tantrums she got her way and they were married.

As it turned out, the husband was a really good catch and the rest of the family started to warm up to him very quickly. He works for Alpha Male too and despite the initial backtalk by the usual CB people in the office, about how being the 驸马爷 will have all the perks of the fast track, he managed to stuff their feet into their mouths with stellar numbers year after year.

Yes, he may be the son-in-law but anyone would have promoted him to where he is now, simply based on his numbers. These CB mouths were all hushed into shame.

All is good..... on the outside.

However, it was a totally different story on the inside.  Those in the know, all very 为了他感到不值.

What did he do to deserve this? I mean if he cheated on her, that's fine. At least we know where the problem was.

Yet there was no reason at all. Whatever lame excuses sprouted made no sense. That was the frustrating part. There wasn't an effort to come up with a proper excuse, even if it had to be a blatant lie.

It breaks my heart to see him sleeping on the couch when I wake up in the morning. The kick in the teeth was that their bedroom was empty. She wasn't even home from the night before.

Not that she was having an affair but that she spends an awful lot of time at our neighbour's place who also happened to be the brother-in-law. Yes, there was the initial suspicion something was going on between the two of them but we eventually cleared him.

He also lamented that her late nights at his place was also affecting him and his work. She was there every other night (sometimes every night) regardless of weekday or weekend.


Speaking of work. She quit.

No. More like she stormed off the office.

On the surface, it appears that she got herself into an argument defending her staff on some damn trivia matter and her exit would be one of a martyr forced to exile by evil forces. She wanted to be remembered as the heroine who made the ultimate sacrifice for her people.

The way I see it, she has long been waiting and looking for a way out and decided to use this opportunity to execute her exit.

She has not been pulling her weight in the office. More often than not, I have to go around looking for her only to find her holed up in the meeting room yakking away on the phone. Personally, I am not against private calls during work but there has got to be a limit drawn some where. Disappearing for hours each day is just not acceptable.

Her staff can't say anything coz she is their boss. Alpha Male and I can't say anything coz she wouldn't listen and she is his daughter and my sister.

It was more of a relief for everybody when she throw in the towel. We accept.

So this week, I was discussing with her staff on how to do the handover and taking over. Her staff quipped, there isn't much to take over coz she hasn't be doing much in the first place. I shake my head in despair when I heard this coming from her own staff.

She claimed that she was depressed and all but I don't see that when the husband flew her two BFFs over for a surprised birthday party.

All was good that night when everything was nice. Good food, good wine. Ahh.... the lifestyle.

What really irked me is that she loves the perks of the lavish lifestyle and yet refused to work for it. She takes it for granted that the husband will provide and yet gives nothing back in return.


Everything HAS to be in her favour. She wants the good stuff and only the good stuff.

For better or for worse? I think that clause was omitted somehow.

We laughed about how Singaporean girls are all Maggi Queens. Boiling an egg is probably the most complicated cuisine that they can muster up.

Try this for size. She doesn't even know how to cut a fruit. Everything has to be done for her.

It breaks my heart to see the husband cooking instant noodles for her, just because she said she is hungry.

Can anyone be more helpless?

So right now, she is back in the office doing the handover or whatever that she is making herself to appear busy. Once that is done, her source of income goes with her, leaving her husband to support her.

Under normal circumstances, it appears perfectly fine for a husband to support his wife. But I would like to ask her if she has fulfilled anything that is required of a wife?

So come end of the month when she draws her last paycheck, she will be helpless and then she would be worthless.

The Princess Syndrome is really serious with this one.

Oh how my heart aches.

- Voxeros

03 September 2010

JayWalk Shoe


Deek spotted this JayWalk shoe at Robinsons a few week ago.

Ugly lor.....

Let me show you what is called beautiful men's shoes: a category drown out by the Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks all thanks to Carrie Bradshaw & Co.

I have two favourite. In the buckle category, it's the John Lobb Redmire and in the laced category, I like the Crockett & Jones Aintree.

The few criteria which I look for the perfect other than the obvious comfort and budget (Hush Puppies!!)

I look at the leather. The suppleness and the grade. Having worked with leather for several years, I have gain quite a handful of knowledge in this field and I appreciate when good leather is used to pamper the feet.

I also look at the lines which you can see my affinity. To me, smooth lines can only be achieve using single-piece of leather rather then stitching up using several smaller pieces. The challenge of craft is there and again, I appreciate. As such, Oxfords and Derbys are out for me.

I also look at the craftmanship, precision as well as attention to detail. One may argue about what craftmanship is there to talk about if the shoe is not bespoke. Still quality may varies with the grade of machines used to mass manufacture these shoes. Yes, machines are capable of making good shoes too. Besides, I think all the shoemaker elves were retrenched a few years ago.

Last for not least, I like my shoe to have leather soles rather than rubber ones. They make a nicer sound when you walk across the marble hallway.

Sounds expensive? Yes but you will get your value for money as they are more longer lasting.

Hush Puppies as comfortable and affordable they are, can last at most 2 years and is considered a disposable shoe since the rubber sole, once worn out, cannot be replaced.

As I am typing this, I am wearing my Bruno Magli that I bought in 1996. I must have changed several heels and sole liners over the years but the fact that it is leather sole means these wear-n-tear parts are replaceable. So if you divide the amount of money by the number of years, investing in a good pair of shoes is actually more economical with proper care and maintenance.

However, I am sad to report that the life of Bruno is nearing its end as the harsh environment of QQLand is fast accelerating its pace back to the happy shoe place in the sky.

Thank you Bruno for walking with me for the past 15 years.

Image Credits: http://ww.johnlobb.com; http://thumbnail.image.rakuten.co.jp
- Voxeros