Neil Gaiman and BBC will let you Twitter a story for them. The Coraline author will tweet the first sentence in an interactive storytelling experiment, with the hope that fellow Twitterers (Twits?) will pick up the thread and spin the rest of the story 140 characters at a time.
And it's now a global (at the very least, regional) event! With participants from China, Taiwan & Indonesia, will the locals' greed shall be overcome by the foreigners'?Hundreds of people in Singapore have entered a marathon test of endurance to win a car.
For the first time, the annual MediaCorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge is seeing participants from China, Taiwan and Indonesia.
Some 400 people turned up at the Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza on Saturday to take part in the event.
They are all focused on winning a brand new Subaru Impreza worth S$81,000.
But some said they would not be keeping the prize if they emerge the winner.
"If I win the car, I think I will sell it and get the money," said contestant Eason Ju, as he does not own a driver's licence.
Eason, 27, is one of the 10 Chinese nationals taking part in the event.
Another participant, 27-year-old Telly Asih Handoko from Jakarta said that he too will be selling the car and put the money to good use.
"I have a dream to set up my own business in Indonesia. I will use the money to set up a motorcycle workshop," he said.
Among the local contestants, there are some who are no strangers to the challenge.
Naisha Jamil, a 41-year-old nurse, is taking part in the event for the third time.
"Last year, I lasted about six hours plus. Because I accumulated three penalty tags, I was asked to leave. I'm working permanently at night. I'm used to having little sleep. So, it shouldn't be a problem...as long as I don't accumulate the penalty tags."
The rules seem simple enough. The participants just have to place their palms firmly on the cars. The last man or woman standing will be the winner.
But it is a tough challenge. Last year's winner, George Lee, lasted a record 81 hours 32 minutes.
The challenge kicked off at 1pm sharp and hardly an hour passed before the first person was eliminated.
He is 44-year-old driver, Ang Theng Chuan.
He said: "I had to place my palm at the same point and I could not move around. I felt tired and it was painful."
From Channel NewsAsia, "MediaCorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge 2009 kicks off".
Update on 02/11: And then there were 39 (No thanks to the heavy rainfall!!).The heavy rainfall on Monday proved too much for some contestants of the MediaCorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge.
As it started to pour, contestants - drenched and discouraged - began to drop out at a faster rate.
However, the heavy rainfall did not dampen everyone's spirits, as 39 contestants remain.
All contenders from Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong have dropped out of the competition.
Only a few from South-East Asia - four contestants from Thailand and one from the Philippines - are still in the competition.
34 of the original 321 local contestants still have their palms placed firmly on the cars.
The challenge is into its eighth year and the longest-standing contestant wins a Subaru Impreza Sedan WRX worth S$81,000.
From Channel NewsAsia, "39 contestants left competing in MediaCorp Subaru challenge".
Update on 03/11/09: And the winner is...a 40-year-old Mohd Anuar. Congratz!!A 40-year-old Singaporean has won the MediaCorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge after four days of intense competition.
But not before some emotional drama unfolded.
After 72 hours of braving the elements, it was down to 3 Singaporeans and one Thai - Yeo Shu Qing who turned 25 on Tuesday, 23-year-old Santozkumar Poonsolai, 40-year-old Mohd Anuar, and Thai contestant Samach Tepsen.
Samach called it quits around the 74th hour. Shortly after the break at the 75th hour, the birthday girl threw in the towel.
It was then a mental fight between the two left standing. At the 77th hour, Santozkumar was disqualified for moving his palm, but he refused to leave.
"I'm sorry I have to go ahead and announce the winner. Be a gentleman," urged a Subaru official.
After competing for 77 hours and 43 minutes, the elated winner was so tired this was all he could say.
"First thing I need to do is go to the toilet because I don't feel good! And then take a nap," said Mohd Anuar, winner of this year's MediaCorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge.
But he will still have to wake up early to drive away his prize at the presentation on Wednesday morning.
From Channel NewsAsia, "40-year-old Singaporean wins MediaCorp Subaru challenge".
Update on 04/11/09: Will we see more regional participants next year? This article seems to suggest so. Well, they'd better start training from now on then. Standing still in the middle of a heavy rainfall might help. Or send you to your (final) rest faster.This year's MediaCorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge saw good response from seven Southeast Asian countries.
Next year, organisers plan to bring in contestants from two more nations.
40-year-old Mohd Anuar won this year's competition.
It was his second time competing, but Mohd Anuar did not come quite prepared, having ended work a few hours prior to the start of competition.
What's more, he was also down with fever on day one. Nevertheless, he prevailed, beating even the 69 overseas contestants.
And organisers are set to have a stronger Southeast Asian flavour next year.
Glenn Tan, group chief executive of Motor Image, said: "This year's weather was very extreme - there were thunderstorms and a lot of rain ... We were surprised that the contestants lasted a long time, especially the Thai contestants.
"Next year, we're looking to bring more regional countries. We're looking at Vietnam and maybe even Cambodia."
This year's contest also had some drama - when runner-up Santozkumar Poonsolai refused to concede defeat after one of his finger moved slightly out of the palm print.
"The rules of the competition are your hand needs to be on the palm print. If any part of the finger or palm gets out of the print, you're disqualified. So it was very clear. My marshall who caught him with a finger out of the palm print told us, and we had to do what we had to do," said Steven Choo, AVP of Programming, Radio, MediaCorp.
Mohd Anuar may have won the S$81,000 Subaru Impreza, but interestingly the Singaporean who works as a steersman, said he is a biker at heart and plans to buy a Harley soon.
From Channel NewsAsia, "Subaru challenge to rope in contestants from Vietnam, Cambodia next year".
And he won second prize for Tamil poetry at the Singapore Press Holdings-National Arts Council Golden Point Award competition! I like the way how dedicated he is. It's said that he closes his prata stall on Sunday so that he can pen his poems. Govindarajan Elangovan, 36, whips up pratas and curries at his food stall. Sundays though are for poetry.
That is when his stall in Bukit Batok Crescent is closed and he can write.
It is hard going, but the father of two's perseverance has paid off. He won second prize for Tamil poetry at the Singapore Press Holdings-National Arts Council Golden Point Award competition.
Twenty-three authors from all walks of life were feted at a ceremony at The Arts House yesterday for their winning entries in the biennial writing contest.
Selected from 453 competitors, they included teachers, professionals and a polytechnic student, who at 17 was the youngest-ever winner since the award's inception in 1993.
Of the seven first prize winners, two are immigrants, now permanent residents here. Ms Perinbam Vasudevan, 35, from India, took the honours for the Tamil short story category, while Mr Li Qingsong, 32, from China, won the top award for Chinese prose.
From Straits Times, "Prata man whips up poem".
Written by the Leagsters for BBC Two, Psychoville is a dark character comedy mystery featuring characters from all over the UK, who each receive a mysterious letter. Spoiler alert: don't check out the Wikipedia article on Psychoville. Oh, never mind.
It's a hilarious, dark comedy & what I like most is that I learn a new thing about sick people with their sick mind. For example: one 'psycho' suffers from Paradise Syndrome which is defined briefly in Wikipedia as 'a feeling of dissatisfaction despite having achieved all one's dreams'.
If you google 'paradise syndrome psychology', you'll come across this TVNZ article, "Paradises syndrome: When too much is never enough".
Partially quoted:Are you dissatisfied with your life, even though you've got everything you ever wanted - kids, a lovely house, a loving partner?
Have you landed that dream job or reached the pinnacle of your career, yet still feel empty inside?
If this is you, you may be suffering from paradise syndrome - a term used by cultural commentators to describe a condition where people feel dissatisfied even thought they've achieved their dreams.
Interesting. It now seems a good move to set an unachievable target, doesn't it? Lest one may suffers from Paradise Syndrome. Either that, or always set a new (higher) target, or not to even set a goal at all (Nah, this is too extreme!).
Well...we all know sex sells. So good for Christy Yow really to finally have a chance to take on the roleof the infamous Rose Chan. Rose Chan, according to Wikipedia, was a cabaret dancer turned "Queen of Striptease" who has become something of a legend in--yes, you read it right--Malaysia.Busty Malaysian actress Christy Yow is set to earn her wings for her acting talent rather than her physical assets when she takes on the role of Rose Chan in her new movie.
Yow is well known for her pair of 36C breasts and has even been nicknamed Malaysian Giant Breast.
That will soon change when she plays the role of "The Queen of Striptease" Rose Chan in her new movie.
The 22-year-old lass from Ipoh, Perak beat several hundred candidates for the role in the movie Mei Gui Xiang (The Charming Rose).
Yow is currently acting in Singapore Chinese drama.
Singapore's Lianhe Wanbao reported that Yow's manager had confirmed the news of her role in the movie by French producers.
He said Yow had been going to the nightclubs to learn from the mama san (a woman who leads the GROs) and to find out the real life of women in the night entertainment industry.
"The world of Rose Chan was very complicated.
"Yow must work hard for the role," said the manager.
Yow was overwhelmed by the news on Thursday and told her parents about it.
She said her mother did not object, but was worried if she could do it carry the part. Her father did not say anything.
He asked if Yow had to strip in the movie and remained silent after she answered "Hmm...".
The director and producers of the movie searched for two years before they agreed on Yow.
Mei Xiang Xiang is expected to start filming in Shanghai, China next year.
The movie tells the story of the legendary striptease Rose Chan (1925-1987).
Rose Chan was a cabaret dancer turned striptease. She was known for her daring performances on stage such as her famous python-wrestling act and having motorcycles ride over her.
She also performed unusual stunts that required her to use her "lower body" strength and flexibility.
These popular performances have since been adopted by the "tiger show" performers in Thailand.
Rose Chan had performed in Germany, France, Britain, Australia, Indonesia and others.
She died of breast cancer at her home in Butterworth, Penang in 1987.
From Asiaone, "Busty Malaysian actress to play Queen of Striptease".
If life is a series of lucky strikes, then 23-year-old Christy Yow Wei Min should thank her lucky stars for her fast-track route into the world of showbiz.
While many of her peers are still deciding what to do after receiving their undergraduate degrees, Yow already has her work and career path cut out for her as South-East Asia’s newest sex symbol.
Her Cinderella moment has been well-documented by the frenzied Singapore press, who can’t seem to get enough of her fresh-faced looks that can be easily transformed into a sultry goddess in front of the lens.
The girl from Ipoh initially left her hometown to work as an air stewardess for Singapore Airlines but didn’t make it past the first round of interviews.
“I was asked to introduce myself. I just said that I am a model and I would like to fly for SIA. Maybe I wasn’t too outspoken, that’s why I failed the first round of interviews,” she says upon reflection in another interview.
But fate had other plans for her. Yow caught the attention of Crocodile International’s former head of corporate communications, Terence Ang.
They first met in 2005; even back then, he believed that she would one day make it big in the world of entertainment.
“She was still schooling then. But she appeared versatile to me. She has interesting, good looks and can be groomed to be a model. With make-up, she can be transformed,” says Ang in a recent interview.
And so Yow was plucked from obscurity and a mundane life attending classes at Tunku Abdul Rahman College for her broadcasting diploma.
Soon after graduating, Yow threw herself into modelling as Crocodile’s official spokesman in Malaysia and Taiwan, fronting ad campaigns shot in London and Ho Chi Minh City – for the brand’s womenswear range – where she gained modelling experience in front of the camera.
But she really caught the attention of Singapore when her bikini-clad figure appeared on the sold-out December 2008 cover of FHM magazine in the Lion City.
The pictures were shot in Bali; it was only upon her arrival that she discovered that she was required to wear a bikini for the photographs.
Ever the trooper, Yow agreed to complete the shoot. When the magazine was published, the Chinese press labelled her “the busty 36C lady from Malaysia”. Yow unwittingly became the new pin-up girl for the island nation.
After the FHM buzz, acting and modelling offers started pouring in.
Ang, now her manager, recalled that “directors were calling up almost every day with scripts”.
So far, her screen time has been limited to either singing on film soundtracks (for the Fann Wong/Christopher Lee rom-com vehicle, The Wedding Game) or participating in Hong Kong game shows such as Eric Tsang’s Super Trio Supreme.
Now, with one movie already completed and another just confirmed recently, it’s quite amazing that she even managed to squeeze in a 10-day acting workshop in Taipei recently.
The movie in question is Aunties United, a movie spin-off from MediaCorp Channel 8’s Aunty Lucy character played by Y.E.S. 93.3FM DJ Dennis Chew, in the Paris and Milan variety show.
The movie revolves around Aunty Lucy’s attempts to play basketball but that is beside the point; Yow plays Aunty Lucy’s daughter, Enqi, a demure girl-next-door type who transforms into a sex bomb towards the end of the movie.
Surprisingly, being sexy on film proved to be more of a stumbling block for the budding actress.
In a recent interview, she said she recalled a scene that required her to walk slowly towards the camera, looking sexy.
“I had to pose, sway a little and look sexy. I didn’t think it would be difficult and everyone thought I would be able to complete it in just one take. But it felt weird when I did it. It wasn’t natural. I thought it could be because it was my first time acting,” Yow says.
The scene was finally approved by the director after the crew was asked to leave the hall they were filming in.
Yow’s performance has been hailed as promising in reviews.
The bigger surprise to critics was the ability of Yow to show a side of her completely removed from the ice queen, sex bomb image that propelled her to fame.
For the record, her recent weight loss means that the 36C tag is no longer applicable; the tabloids suggest that it is a more modest 34C now.
Yow geared up for the role with a whirlwind photoshoot in Paris for the media. During Paris Fashion Week, Yow was in the safe hands of her Singapore crew as the silver Volkswagen people-mover that we were travelling in functioned as hair and make-up station plus changing room.
While Yow appeared casual off-duty, she took her work seriously; there was a heightened sense of anticipation from the crew every time she emerged from the van.
Perfect fit
Two weeks after the photoshoot in Paris, the Singapore press announced that Christy had landed the lead role in Singaporean director Eric Khoo’s biopic of Rose Chan, called The Charming Rose (Mei Gui Xiang) in an epic casting call that took more than a year and 200 auditions with part-time actresses and assorted models.
Why did it take so long to find the right person?
“She should have the sultry lips of Shu Qi, the voluptuous figure of Fiona Xie, the height of Beatrice Chia, and the poise and complexion of Gong Li.
Hopefully, she can also act like Maggie Cheung and tell jokes like Irene Ang,” the director stated nonchalantly.
And one other tiny matter.
“It is hard to get local female artistes to strip,” producer Gary Goh admitted. On top of all that, she should also be in her 20s, be able to speak Mandarin and Cantonese, and be comfortable around snakes.
A tall order indeed.
The Singapore press is already making a big fuss over the fact that two scenes will require her to bare her assets – a full frontal nude scene and a rape scene.
But above all, said Khoo, “the female lead must bring out these different sides of Rose, a strong character. She’s almost a feminist in those days yet she also had her emotional moments.”
To prepare for the role, Yow has been visiting the nightclubs to learn from the mama-san how the GROs ply their trade.
In addition to this, Yow will also have to play an age range of between 17 and 35 years old as Rose Chan.
Rose Chan was a legend in 1950s Malaya, combining cabaret routines with striptease and daring circus stunts, including wrestling pythons and having motorcycles ride over her body.
She even made it to Australia, Germany and France with her act. At the height of her fame, she was rich enough to drive a Rolls-Royce, and had five husbands.
But the high-profile sex symbol lived out her twilight years alone, eventually succumbing to throat, lung and breast cancer at the age of 62. Her two adopted daughters did not attend her funeral.
“Sometimes I worry that things are moving too fast for Christy,” says Ang. “There is a need to manage what kind of scripts she’s getting and how her career is evolving.”
Given that she’s about to take on what could possibly be the defining role of her career, it may be a wise move to sit down and take stock of events.
But for now, Yow is one girl that’s coming up all roses.
From Diva, "Fast track to fame for Christy Yow".Christy Yow, nicknamed Malaysian Giant Breasts, has been offered S$50,000 to strip at a charity show.
The person who made the offer said the money would go towards rescuing stray cats and dogs.
The charity event is suuposed to be held at a cinema in Singapore on Saturday with all gains to be channelled to the Animal Lovers League.
Last Saturday, Yow received an anonymous e-mail from someone who claimed to be her fan.
The republic's Lianhe Zaobao reported that in the e-mail, the sender had promised to donate S$50,000 if Yow strips at the charity show.
"Since she has to strip for the movie sooner or later, if she is willing to do it that day, I will donate S$50,000," the sender wrote.
The 22-year-old Yow, who hails from Ipoh, is currently pursuing her acting career in the republic.
Although Yow is more famous for her pair of 36C breasts, she has now been given the chance to prove her acting skills.
She was chosen to play the role of Rose Chan, "The Queen of Striptease" in the new movie Mei Gui Xiang (The Charming Rose).
Asked to comment on the request, Yow said she was humiliated.
"The sender should not have made the request. This is humiliating me. You should not ask for returns when it comes to charity," she said.
She, however, said if the sender had the courage to go for the show, she would strip.
"I can only show my back," she added.
On the other hand, Yow had made a counter-offer to the e-mail sender.
"If the person donates this sum of money, I will discuss with the director of Mei Gui Xiang to let him view our shooting," she said.
The movie is expected to begin shooting by next year.
From Asiaone, "Christy's $50,000 strip offer".
And for the clueless (I'm one of them, okay?) IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identification.
I like the news how HITS has been improved. Previously the check on whether the handphone was stolen could only be done using the Internet. Now, a SMS service is introduced & allowed the check to be done anywhere. (Well, you can use Internet too almost anywhere...but you know what I mean.)
Learn more about HITS (Handphone IMEI Tracing System) & related FAQ-s here. The HITS official site: here.Handphone ownership in Singapore has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Not only has this resulted in a vibrant handphone resale industry, in which handphones are bought and sold via secondhand dealers, but handphones have also become a target for thieves.
The Handphone IMEI Tracing System (HITS), an online handphone screening service, was developed and launched in 2006 to deter handphone thieves from selling off stolen handphones to secondhand dealers and the public. The system uses each handphone’s unique International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number to identify handphones which have been reported stolen.
Where screenings could only be done via the Internet previously (accessible via Police's e-Services webpage at http://www.spf.gov.sg/epc/index.htm), the HITS system has now been enhanced to allow for screenings to be easily done via Short-Message-Service (SMS) as well. From 27 October 2009 onwards, members of the public and secondhand dealers can easily check if the secondhand phones they are about to purchase have been reported stolen or lost via the Internet and SMS. Through this enhancement, the Police hope to deter handphone related crimes by providing a more convenient and effective avenue for members of the public to perform IMEI screening.
For Singaporeans, Permanent Residents, Employment Pass and Work Permit holders, an SMS screening can be performed by sending "SPFHITS
If the screening result is "WANTED", members of the public are advised to proceed to any Neighbourhood Police Centre (NPC) or Neighbourhood Police Post (NPP) to lodge a Police report immediately. Members of the public are also advised that it is an offence to retain a handphone that has been reported stolen or lost.
Members of the public are strongly urged to screen the IMEI number before purchasing any secondhand phones and play their part to deter crime.
PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
26 OCT 2009 @ 7.30 PM
From Singapore Police Force Media Information Center, "Unsure If The Secondhand Phone You Are Buying Is Reported Stolen or Lost? SMS 74688 To Check".A new SMS service launched by the police to track down stolen or missing mobile phones will make it easier for secondhand dealers and consumers to check if a mobile phone is legitimate.
Launched by the Singapore Police Force on Tuesday, the service is an enhancement to its Handphone IMEI Tracing System, or HITS, which began as a website service in 2006.
An IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identification) is a unique identification number that every cellphone has, much like a person's fingerprints.
The police introduced the system to allow anyone to check if a handset was not wanted by its owner. This was to curb the rising problem of thieves selling off stolen mobile phones to secondhand dealers.
Last year, an average of 67 screenings were made per day on the HITS website.
From Straits Times, "SMS for stolen & lost phones".
Yes, finally managed to borrow another Neil Gaiman's masterpiece: Coraline. I especially like it as it is in a graphic novel form illustrated by P. Craig Russell. (And if you bother to check out the Wikipedia article about the artist, you'll learn that P. Craig Russell has won multiple Harvey and Eisner Awards. And that he is particularly respected by his peers because he was the first well-known, successful mainstream comic book creator to come out as openly gay. Right.)
Anyway, this is an attempt to review a graphic novel, Coraline. I love it. It is illustrated in details & you just have to respect the tremendous amount of work that the artist put for this 186-page graphic novel.
Story-wise? Well, I'm very biased here. It's Neil Gaiman's creation after all! What can I say? Superb story-telling by the Master. Heh.
Now to set a time to catch the 3D animated film version of Coraline.
A word that best describes Massely Abdul Aziz: a monster! I have this mental image that a well deserving punishment for her (actually for all those animals who abuse their domestic helpers) is the exact kind of treatment that they did to their maids.
Imagine your teeth pulled out with pliers! You played a dentist huh, Massely Abdul Aziz?!She poured boiling water over her maid's genitals and helped extract the woman's two front teeth with pliers.
On Wednesday, Massely Abdul Aziz, 38, was the last in a family of maid abusers to be convicted of these offences committed in 2007. Her two children and the lesbian lover she lived with, were jailed last year.
During the three-week trial earlier this year, Massely claimed that the 30-year-old maid had asked to be punished in order to repent her 'wrongdoings'.
But District Judge Jeffrey Sim said: 'It may well be that the maid may have committed mistakes... but this does not justify the offences.'
The judge was also convinced that the divorcee had hit Ms Badingah with a metal rod and threatened to kill her if she did not return $60 she was accused of stealing.
All the offences occurred in June and July that year.
From Straits Times, "Convicted for maid abuse".
Update on 04/11: Maselly Abdul Aziz the maid abuser is to be thrown to jail to rot for three (short) years. Seriously, the prosecutor ought to appeal for harsher punishment!!The woman who poured boiling water on her maid's genitals and joined in to extract the Indonesian woman's two front teeth with pliers, was jailed for three years on Wednesday.
Maselly Abdul Aziz, 39, is the last in a family of maid abusers to be sentenced for these offences committed on Ms Badingah in 2007.
Her two older children and a woman described in court as Maselly's lesbian lover were jailed last year for their part in abusing the maid.
Maselly, a divorcee, was allowed to begin her jail sentence on Dec 28 as her elder daughter would be released on home detention by then to look after a two-year-old grandchild - her daughter's son.
After the three-week trial, District Judge Jeffrey Sim was also convinced that Maselly had hit Ms Badingah with a metal rod and threatened to kill her.
She pleaded guilty to employing another foreign maid without a work permit between March and December 2005 and was fined $7,500.
From Straits Times, "3-year jail for maid abuse".
And you know why? Because Destiny Calls, oh you non-LOST believers! More about Lost Season 5 can be found in--no, not in Wikipedia--Lostpedia here.
Fallen beauty queen Ris Low has revealed all in a no-holds-barred interview with RazorTV. The interview will be uploaded on the website (www.razor.tv) on Wednesday at 8pm.
In it, the former Miss Singapore World talks about her penchant for stealing and cheating. Ms Low, who was sentenced for credit card fraud in May, admits that using other people's credit cards was 'fun'.
She also talks about her bipolar disorder which affects her relationship with men and makes her drink excessively.
She also disses the pageant's runner-up Claire Lee who was thought to succeed her. But Ms Low says: 'Beauty and poise, Claire doesn't have any of it.'
Finally, Low gives her opinion on the word 'Boomz', a self-coined word which was derided by many but has also caught on with many Singaporeans.
Catch the full 8-clip interview available on RazorTV from 8pm on Wednesday.
Badly? No, don't be that negative. Singapore has in fact been ranked no.23 (which is considered part of the group of "Very High Human Development").
United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in this year Human Development Report (HDR) has listed 182 nations for its Human Devlopment Index (HDI) rankings.
The only Asian nation which is ranked higher than Singapore is Japan (HDI Rank no.10). Hong Kong, Korea & Brunei Darussalam trail behind in HDI Rank No. 24, 26 and 30 respectively. (The complete list of the HDI ranks & the 182 nations can be found here.)
In case you wonder what on earth the HDR is supposed to be for, the official site of UNDP on "Human Development Reports" has this to say:The aim of the Human Development Report (HDR) is to stimulate global, regional and national policy discussions on issues that are relevant to human development.
Still clueless? The site has quite a comprehensive FAQs for both the Human Development Report & the Human Development Index (HDI). I know I'll be checking them out. (Yeah, a bit clueless too. Heh.)
PS. And I'm more interested on the trend over the years on how Singapore has been assessed.
Now that Miss Singapore World Ris Low has given up her crown, all eyes will be fixed on the next representative.
Contractually, the first runner-up Miss Claire Lee should take over the title but pageant organiser ERM World Marketing has not contacted her.
When interviewed, Miss Lee told RazorTV that her relationship with the organiser is 'not really good' because she has been talking to the press.
However, if given a chance to take on the world stage in South Africa at the end of the year, she will take it.
A spat has developed between recently dethroned Miss Singapore World Ris Low and the pageant's first runner-up Claire Lee.
Miss Low claims that Miss Lee faked a back injury to save embarrassment in case she was not selected to represent Singapore. Miss Lee denies this.
Miss Low also said that Miss Lee had snitched to the media about her being on probation for credit card fraud. Miss Lee also denies this.
The latest controversy started when Miss Low called Shin Min Daily News last Friday to tell them that Miss Lee had confessed to her about faking a back injury so that she will not 'lose face' if she is not chosen to be the next Miss Singapore World by pageant organiser ERM World Marketing.
Miss Low, 19, a hospitality student at a private school, gave up her crown last week after media reports that she had been charged with credit card fraud last year and was put on 24 months' supervised probation.
When contacted by The Sunday Times on Saturday night, Miss Low said that she had recorded a telephone conversation with Miss Lee in which the latter had admitted faking her injury.
When she played back the recording, a woman - who she said was Miss Lee - could be clearly heard saying she hated the pageant organiser for what they have done to Miss Low.
The woman did mention having a back injury, but nowhere in the conversation did she admit to faking it.
Miss Low said she will be passing the audio recording to Ms Tracy Lee, ERM's event director, today so that the pageant organiser will know that Miss Lee 'has been badmouthing them'.
Asked about how the recording did not have Miss Lee saying she faked the injury, Miss Low said that although Miss Lee did not say so outright, Miss Low knew that the back injury was not serious.
She may be the prime candidate to replace dethroned beauty queen Ris Low, but unless she is threatened with a lawsuit by the contest organisers, Ms Claire Lee, the first runner-up in this year's beleaguered Miss Singapore-World contest, will not represent Singapore at the Miss World finals.
This, after the pageant-pals-turned-foes had a public spat over how the media had sniffed out 19-year-old Miss Low's conviction for credit card fraud in May this year.
The latter had claimed that Ms Lee, 23, had told on her, and had faked a back injury to "save face" in case she was not selected as the replacement.
Choking back sobs as she revealed her decision to MediaCorp over the phone yesterday, Ms Lee said: "I'm being accused of things I didn't do. People now think I did it to take the title, but that's not true ... I don't want to be involved anymore."
Asked about her contractual obligations, Ms Lee said: "I don't intend to represent Singapore unless ERM threatens to sue me."
The Nanyang Technological University aerospace engineering graduate said she has not informed pageant organisers ERM World Marketing about her decision.
When contacted yesterday, ERM events director Tracy Lee declined to comment on the status of the selection for Ms Low's replacement or on Ms Lee's decision, and only said that an announcement would be made when the company is "ready".
ERM had earlier said in a press statement that it will hold interviews to determine the new representative - although other pageant organisers say it is industry practice for the first runner-up to assume the title in an event where the winner is unable to represent the country.
MediaCorp understands the finalist has to leave Nov 15 for the finals in South Africa.
With the pageant's top two out of the running, whether Singapore will have a representative this year is anybody's guess given that one month may be too short a period for a contestant to prepare adequately.
As for second runner-up, Ms Pilar Arlando, 19, she did not respond to phone calls yesterday, while the other two women in the Top Five, Ms Sonia Sawlani, 23, and Ms Oxy Ong, 20, confirmed they have not been called up for interviews yet.
When told of Ms Lee's pulling out yesterday, her erstwhile friend Ms Low said: "I don't care and I have nothing to say."
"I'll be graduating in January, then I'll take some time to enjoy life ... Two years later, hopefully Singapore will forget all this and I can step on the stage again. I like to be a shining star, the centre of attraction."
And please, don't bring it back, baby!
Reading about the trial of Sunshine Empire trio enriching themselves--the infamous three are the firm's founder James Phang Wah, former director Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat and the group sales director who is also Phang's wife Neo Kuon Huay--makes me want to start my own evil empire of Multi Level Marketing.
Or at the very least, to pen a how-to book with an attractive title like, "Setting up a Multi Level Marketing empire for evil dummy" or "How to run fraudulent trades & investment schemes without getting caught -- Exclusive insights from Former Convicts".
Nah, too troublesome. Much easier to just rant about it here & to monitor the case closely. (For those who have no idea what this hoo-ha is all about, you may want to check the Wikipedia entry on Sunshine Empire here & the Commercial Affairs Department, or in short CAD, FAQs on Sunshine Empire here.)
PS. The title is partially inspired by this song, "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine".The Sunshine Empire would not have survived for long as its business model was flawed, a district court heard on Monday.
That did not bother the firm's founder James Phang Wah, former director Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, and Phang's wife, as they were merely out to enrich themselves, said the prosecution.
In his opening statement at the trial opening, Deputy Public Prosecutor Aedit Abdullah noted that Sunshine collected more than $180 million through the sale of lifestyle packages that included personal and beauty health care products. Participants were offered generous rebates in excess of the amount they paid.
Some $118 million was spent on these rebates and incentives to push the purchase of more packages, but much of the rest allegedly went into the pockets of the trio, who have denied the charges.
Phang, 49, is believed to have collected some US$5 million (S$7.05 million) in consultancy fees and allowances between August 2006 and November 2007. Sunshine also made loans amounting to millions of dollars to affiliated companies.
The prosecution also intends to prove that that Phang instructed Hoo to appoint Phang's wife Neo Kuon Huay, 46, as group sales director so that she would be entitled to a sales commission. She then received nearly $950,000 between October 2005 and August 2007.
The trial continues.
From Straits Times, "Trio enriched themselves".
Update: Wikipedia has an interesting entry on 'Ponzi scheme'. The defence team will have an uphill task to prove Sunshine Empire has a very viable business system. Viable & profitable, of course! (But for who? Just for the terrible trio?) Although the prosecution maintained that multi-level marketing company Sunshine Empire was a shady operation, a district court was told on Tuesday that no customer had complained against the company.
Instead, the complaints came from 'concerned individuals whose parents or friends wanted to join the Empire trading scheme,' prompting the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) to act, senior investigation officer Darren Gan told a district court. Investigations revealed that the accounts were in a mess.
The firm's founder Phang Wah, 49, and ex-director Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, 29, are on trial for operating Singapore's biggest Ponzi-like scheme. They also face charges for criminal breach of trust and failing to keep proper accounts. Phang's wife his Neo Kuon Huay, 46, is accused of falsifying accounts to allegedly pocket nearly $950,000 as commission from sales revenue. All three have denied the charges.
International forensic accountant Luke Steadman, who was engaged by the CAD to see if the Empire's business model was sustainable, noted that participants who bought lifestyle packages received immediate as well as consumer rebate privileges (CRPs) over the next 15 months.
Mr Steadman calculated that those who bought the Prime Gold plan for $12,000 stood to receive $19,200 by way of CRPs. To pay for these, Empire had to generate returns of 349 per cent a year, yet the firm had no other source of substantial income except for the sale of its lifestyle packages, he pointed out in his report.
After the hearing was adjourned for the day, defence lawyer Subhas Anandan brushed aside Mr Steadman's testimony as 'mere opinion,' saying that the defence team had its own expert to show that Sunshine was a very viable business system.
From Straits Times, "Complaints from families".
Update on 29/03/10: James Phang Wah the infamous founder of the infamous Sunshine Empire claims that he never intended to cheat anyone. Sure. I believe that's all con persons will insist to say in their defense. Founder of the now-defunct multi-level marketing company, Sunshine Empire, took the stand in court on Monday.
James Phang Wah, who has been charged with fraud, falsifying accounts and criminal breach of trust, told the court he never intended to cheat anyone.
He said he spent a long time studying how to make a multi-level marketing company work.
49-year-old Phang said he had often tried to explain to his members that there are no guaranteed returns.
He said they were determined by Sunshine Empire's profit.
Phang faces 20 charges involving some S$3.5 million, while his wife Neo Kuon Huay faces seven charges amounting to about S$700,000.
The company's ex-director Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat faces 10 charges that involve more than S$900,000.
Phang said after he suffered a S$6-million loss in investments in Indonesia, he went behind the scenes and worked as a consultant, helping students to set up multi-level marketing companies.
Even though Phang is the founder of Sunshine Empire, he said his roles in the company are as consultant and manager.
However, the prosecution said Phang played a big role in setting the direction of the company, as the top management paid great attention to his words.
From Channel NewsAsia, "Sunshine Empire founder tells court he never intended to cheat".THE founder of Sunshine Empire, which allegedly operated a multimillion-dollar scam, denied it was a fraudulent business.
James Phang Wah, 49, maintained this when cross-examined by Deputy Public Prosecutor Aedit Abdullah in court on Tuesday.
The prosecution had alleged that the firm's business was not sustainable as it had no substantial source of income except for the sale of its lifestyle packages, which would increase the costs of rebates as there would be more customers.
Phang disagreed and said that the total costs did not amount to 50 per cent. He had also delayed payment of his consultancy fee for 1 1/2 years until October 2007, and even then, the US$5 million (S$7 million) he received did not amount to the agreed 5 per cent of sales turnover. He told the court that there was nothing sinister or illegal about Sunshine's business.
Also on trial with Phang are the firm's president Jackie Hoo Choon Cheat, 29, and Phang's wife Neo Kuon Huay, 46, who was described as the group sales director.
Hoo is also accused of receiving about $950,000 by abetting Phang in criminal breach of trust, while Neo is said the have falsified payment vouchers to receive nearly $1 million in commissions.
Hoo is expected to testify next.
From Straits Times, "'There was nothing sinister'".
You don't have to be one of those poor victims of the recent Padang earthquake to sympathise with any of them. But to read how quite a number of people are blaming the natural disaster to their President is just a bit too much. And there's even an article about how the gods must be angry.
Sure, let's sacrifice the Indonesian President to appease the furious gods & see how the natural order of peace & harmony reclaims its position, shall we?!
Wake up, you superstitious faithless-yet-claim-to-be-faithful hypocrites! The last thing anyone needs to do is to shift blame to anybody. So please just concentrate on helping the victims. Or if you can't do that, do keep your mouth shut!
The locals have a saying "alam takambang jadi guru" (the universe teaches unlimited wisdom). We all should learn from this tragedy & see how to emerge from it stronger & wiser.While the rest of the world blames shifting tectonic plates for the Padang earthquake, some more superstitious Indonesians feel that explanation is not enough, and they are blaming President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who has been branded an “unlucky” president.
Yudhoyono has long been burdened by murmurs and chatter that he carries with him the shadow of cosmic misfortune. A string of disasters both natural and man-made since his election in 2004, including the Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 220,000 across Asia, has seen quips that SBY stands for “Selalu Bencana Ya,” roughly meaning “Always a Disaster”.
The latest catastrophe, believed to have killed well over 1,000 people, is viewed by many of the country’s 234 million as yet more proof that his stars are crossed.
“SBY, because of his birth date, will always attract disasters to this country, according to the Primbon [a Javanese almanac of mysticism],” said Permadi, a veteran politician from the opposition Gerindra party and a practising shaman.
“Just look at the numbers of his birth date — the ninth of the ninth, ’49 — that’s unlucky. The more he holds on to power, the more great disasters will happen,” he said. If he stays president, “a much bigger disaster will strike Jakarta for sure,” Permadi said. “If SBY had a big heart, he would step down.”
Unsurprisingly, perhaps, not everyone believes this theory — and many see SBY’s birthday as enviably lucky — but such talk of supernatural misfortune has deep resonance here, with Islam and Christianity rubbing shoulders with older traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and animism.
The criticism has been longstanding enough that Yudhoyono lectured local government heads in the quake-hit region of West Sumatra two years ago that they should blame the region’s volatile geology, and not him. “Magma doesn’t move because SBY has become president. It’s malicious to link it to me being president,” he was quoted as saying at the time.
One Jakarta daily suggested a link between the disaster and the extravagance of politicians in a Sunday editorial entitled “The Gods Must Be Angry.”
“Whether you subscribe to the theological or secular explanation, the 7.6-magnitude quake ... came on the eve of the multibillion-rupiah inauguration ball for newly elected members of the House of Representatives and the Regional Representative Council in Jakarta,” it said.
Political analyst Bima Arya Sugiarto said that while some, particularly opposition politicians, try to paint the president as a spiritual liability, there are benefits for him in Indonesians’ gaze beyond the physical world.
Criticism of the often slow aid response, and the poor planning that allowed shoddy buildings to spring up in the first place, has been muted by fatalism and a widespread belief that the disaster is God’s will, Sugiarto said.
“The mystical perspective or the religious perspective is more dominant than public criticism of government policies,” he said.
Several media outlets have carried accounts of divine symbols in the aftermath of the quake, including a ring-shaped sun surrounded by a rainbow and God’s name inscribed in Arabic calligraphy in the clouds.
In the devastated city of Padang, a common refrain has been that the quake is a test, or a punishment, from God.
“I think the quake happened because many of the youths in Padang commit sins, especially during Ramadan,” chicken-feed factory worker Yasrizat, 36, said near a mosque in the city. “They’ve been engaging in sinful activities by the beach. I think God is punishing us with this quake.”
From Jakarta Globe, "Superstitious Indonesians Aim Quake Blame At ‘Unlucky’ President".Whenever a devastating disaster on the scale of Wednesday's massive earthquake in West Sumatra happens, people across the country wonder what the nation has done to deserve such a calamity.
Priests and clerics tell us it is divine punishment and that God is trying to tell us something. Scientists tell us the quake was really the result of shifts in the Earth's tectonic plates. Whether you subscribe to the theological or secular explanation, the 7.6-magnitude quake that killed more than 1,100 people by Friday morning's official count came on the eve of a multibillion-rupiah inauguration ball for the newly elected members of the House of Representatives and the Regional Representative Council (DPD) in Jakarta, just a few hundred kilometers southeast from West Sumatra.
Questions had been raised prior to the Oct. 1 inauguration about the propriety of such extravagance when the economy was not exactly doing well. Elected politicians and the General Elections Commission (KPU) insisted the sum was money well spent to celebrate the success Indonesia has made in organizing peaceful and democratic elections this year.
Wednesday's earthquake, however, turned the inauguration mood into a mourning one. Many of the newly sworn-in politicians, heeding the rising public outcry, were quick to announce they were donating their first month's salary to victims of the West Sumatra disaster. Let's hope President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono will also show sensitivity during his own inauguration on Oct. 20 to kick off his second five-year term.
The quake is a sober reminder that Indonesia is prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. Straddling the Equator and linking two major oceans, Indonesia is at the same time blessed with abundant natural resources. No one can complain that Mother Nature has been unkind to us.
It is left to us to learn how to manage these conditions that we take as a given. The fact that Indonesia still has one of the largest concentrations of poor people in the world indicates there is something wrong in the way the country is being run, in the way it deals with the threats of devastating natural disasters, and in the way it manages its natural resources and redistributes the wealth arising thereof.
The House's extravagance reflects the behavior of many people, particularly the elite. They are very good at flaunting their wealth, irrespective of whether they are entitled to it or not in the first place. Many of today's state and private functions and ceremonies are excessive by the standards of wealthier Western nations.
Could this be because, for many people, this wealth comes just as easily as they spend it, rather than something that comes from hard work?
The fight against corruption, the platform that saw Yudhoyono elected the first time found in 2004 and again in 2009, seems to be slackening of late under a concerted drive to undermine the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).
Questions are now being raised about Yudhoyono's commitment to the antigraft campaign. He allowed the National Police to pursue criminal investigations against two KPK deputy chairmen on the basis of what clearly looks like feeble evidence. And then he suspended the two deputies even while the police were changing their charges. He has since appointed a five-person team to select three names to fill in the vacuum at the KPK. So not only did he allow the drive to undermine the KPK's independence, but in some respects, he is also seen as very much part of the conspiracy to destroy the KPK.
This is rather unfortunate, for the President has just returned from a very successful tour of the United States, where he rubbed shoulders with other global leaders at the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, and received standing ovations in speeches he gave before businesspeople in Boston and scholars at Harvard University. Indonesia's image abroad has been enhanced by the fact it has successfully gone through the democratic processes of electing its leaders, that it has managed to deal with the threat of terrorism and radical Islam quite well, and that its economy has been holding on when the rest of the world is struggling to cope with the global downturn.
Perhaps the accolades (be sure to read the special report on Indonesia in the Sept. 12 issue of The Economist) have buoyed our leaders so much that they have forgotten that the serious work still awaits us back at home.
There is the question of eradicating poverty, of creating jobs for the tens of millions unemployed or underemployed, and the task of improving our education system and ensuring people have access to inexpensive healthcare. And now there is the massive reconstruction work for people displaced by the recent earthquakes, in West Java last month and in West Sumatra this week.
There is really hardly time for Indonesia to bask in the glow of its successes, no matter what other nations are telling us. It is also totally inappropriate for the nation to be flaunting its wealth when more than half its population festers in poverty. And there is no room for the government to slacken its campaign to eradicate corruption.
Whether or not the West Sumatra quake is a message that the gods are angry, the high number of casualties and massive devastation should humble this nation into seriously changing its ways and becoming more serious for once about building this nation. Only then can we safely say that those who perished in last week's quake did not die unnecessarily.
From Jakarta Post, "The week in review: The gods must be angry".The earthquake in West Sumatra, especially in Padang, the capital city, and towns and villages along the west Sumatran coast and in the inhabited parallel mountainous parts of the region, is another unavoidable natural disaster in Indonesia, following the recent earthquake in West Java.
These are reminders as to how dangerous the regions in the Ring of Fire can be, and therefore how Indonesia has to learn lessons and become better prepared, and as soon as possible, to handle upcoming natural disasters.
West Sumatra, which the local population calls Minangkabaunese, is one of the critical points in the Ring of Fire in the Indian Ocean. The explosion of the Singgalang Mountain, at the end of 18th century, for example, caused the deaths of thousands of people, so that Padang Panjang, Bukittinggi, and the villages around the mountain became haunted by large numbers of vultures.
The residents of the province are accustomed to natural disasters, especially those who live on the slippery slopes of the very mountainous region, at the base of four or five active volcanoes, on the banks of rivers, lakes and the sea, or on the floor of the valleys.
Before this latest quake, the region had suffered from recent floods and landslides. The biggest recent disaster was of course when the coal mining tunnels exploded and were devastated in Sawahlunto, when 181 people lost their lives, in the middle of 2009.
Generally speaking, if you stay in the West Sumatra region for a year, you will experience earthquakes several times. People who live around Mt. Marapi one of active volcanoes there, in the towns and villages surrounding the mountain, regularly experience small explosions shaking the earth and producing massively volcanic plumes. The area can also be hit by tsunamis.
If you travel from Padang to Padang Panjang, it is common that you face long traffic jams. Some parts of the roads are easily subject to breaks and fractures because of landslides, *quakes or instability, especially in the highlands.
Padang itself, an old city built centuries ago, is situated along very narrow stretch of coast between the hills and the sea, so transportation access to other regions consists of winding and hilly roads. Because of the limited flat land, the main part of the city, which is close to the edge of the sea, is only around 0-2 meters above sea level with frequent flooding submerging the area. This happens almost every year.
What makes the people keep living there, if we talk more spiritually, is that they believe that wherever they live, it is still tanah tuan Allah, the earth of God.
They believe that even if they can escape from a galodo (landslide) by moving to a supposedly safer area, that death may still come to them all.
These dangerous natural conditions are taken by the people as unavoidable challenges. They say in one of their aphorisms that kalo takuik dilamun ombak, jan barumah di tapi pantai, (if you are scared of being submerged by huge waves, don't live on the coast).
But the people are certainly not so passive that they accept their destinies in such a fatalistic way. They have their own local wisdom to help avoid or at least to minimize the impacts of disasters.
Take a look at the construction designs of the traditional houses or buildings for example. Most of them are made of wood and are constructed as flexible buildings, so that if an earthquake or flood takes place, the damage will be minimal.
But now, of course, as modernization changes haluan kapal (the direction of the ship), as the Minangkabauneses say, disasters seem to take more victims than before. And now we have seen how the victims of the Sept. 30, earthquake were mostly trapped in allegedly modern but weaker buildings.
And there are many other kinds of local folklore, know-how or wisdom which have helped the people in the area to live more safely and peacefully for a long, long time.
Now, as the earthquake has partly destroyed the region, besides material help and donations, it is a must to help local people to keep their living local wisdom alive and to revive dead or dying traditions, because these have carried the values the people lean on in times of hardship and disaster, and have helped them to survive successfully despite past disasters.
These traditional wisdoms are important to know. Let's help to bring them back to help them to be able to tagak di ateh kaki surang (to rely on their own efforts to sustain their lives) and convince them that the philosophy alam takambang jadi guru (the universe teaches unlimited wisdom) should be maintained, so that the latest disaster becomes one more lesson in preparing for a better and more constructive future with new knowledge and consciousness.
From Jakarta Post, "Earthquake and local wisdom".
Yay! Score 90% for this "IM$avvy Financial Literacy Quiz". Not bad, huh? But why do I feel poor within? Perhaps money is indeed not everything. Yeah, right. Money is truly NOT everything. It's just something. Whether it is of importance or not is relative.If your category is...
Guru: You know what to do, and you do it.
Cool Dude: You are better than average, but you have some way to go before you reach the top category!
Average Joe: You have some knowledge, and you might take action on some financial matters. But you can do more to improve your situation.
Boh Chup: Hmmm, perhaps you should start taking an interest in personal financial matters!
From IM$avvy, "About the Quiz".
This ought to be the advertisement of the day. Heh. I must clarify, though, that I'm NOT vested in any of the Asia Pacific Breweries shares.
