A simple prop to occupy my time

dragonfly

2006-12-11T22:19:00.000+08:00

Went to Dragonfly at St James Power Station last Friday. This nightspot seems to be the hottest hangout in town now. In fact, the Star Awards was held there yesterday.

The great thing is that with the cover charge of about $17, you get a chop that allows you into all the different theme clubs there (Latin, jazz, lounge, techno, Chinese/Canto etc).

Dragonfly is probably the most popular one there. Clubbing purists may find it crass because it seems like the place would stoop to anything to attract the crowds. It resembles very much like a club you'll find in KL or China. There are live performances of mainly Chinese/Canto music while the deejay spins popular mambo hits when the band's taking a break. Add to that TV screens showing football and a karaoke lounge with private rooms above.

A warning about the place though. It's not the largest club around so it gets packed really quickly. By ten plus, the member queue was already snaking outside the club. There's even a queue for re-entry (and plenty of disbelieving faces)! So if you're not a member, you can forget about going in after ten unless you know someone who is. And if you do get in, don't come out!

The performances absolutely rock. That's what everyone is here for. To call it a live band would be the greatest understatement because there were six different singers that night and numerous scantily-clad dancers, both male and female, to gyrate along to the music. Each singer has a different style. There's William Scorpion for those who's heard of him; this seemingly popular and well-known gal called Celeste who sings almost Peking opera style; a Gothic guitarist lad with heavy boots and heavier eyeshadow than Billie Armstrong of Green Day; a good looking young man; and a young lady who fronted the earlier performance.

Last but not least, and I really wasn't expecting this, was this young rocker we're all familiar with:

If you dig Chinese/Canto music and mambo, this place is a must-visit.

kopi jargon

2006-11-14T21:40:00.000+08:00

I was at a foodcourt one day queuing up to buy drinks when someone ahead of me ordered "kopi-si gosong gao".

That rather amused me. Sometimes I wonder how the kopi uncles and aunties are able to operate like clockwork and dish out your coffee in 5 seconds flat. Don't they have to pause for a moment to think about which concoction it is every time a customer mutters a mouthful like that? Or maybe they would be really nice to acknowledge your order but still make your coffee the same way as the hundred other cups they've done that day?

I mean, do these uncles and aunties at your neighbourhood kopitiam really give a freaking toss how precise you want your 90-cent gourmet coffee done?

If it were me doing your coffee on a busy day, you'll be lucky if I don't give you tea when you order coffee. In fact, I'll operate like a binary switch. There will be no such thing as siu dao. No such thing as more sugar, or less, or anything in between. It's either got sugar, or no sugar. OK?

Next time, maybe we should try something like "kopi-o gao siu dai, teh-si gosong peng, yuan yang". I bet that'll make the kopi auntie stop in her tracks.

Ha!

apples to apples

2006-11-14T20:12:00.000+08:00

The GST announcement really came as quite a shocker, non? These days, I read our papers with a double dose of skepticism and after going through four full pages on the issue, I couldn't find a single speck of disagreement on the policy anywhere. Surely everything has its good and bad?

It drew plenty of ire from the online comments I've read so far though. But I'm not going to repeat all these "robbing the poor to feed the poor" rhetoric because I'm sure the government must have already considered most of the obvious factors. Or maybe they simply know too well that Singaporeans will complain even more if income tax is raised instead.

I also notice from reading the reports that they like to say things like, "Oh, we shouldn't compare with other countries because we are different/unique" when rejecting suggestions for social welfare, old-age pension, minimum wage, etc. The same has been said for non-economic issues like democracy and freedom of expression. Which is fine, really.

Except that in the same breath they continue to utter things like, "Look, their VAT is more than 20% while our GST is just 7%", or "Our income tax is amongst the lowest in the world!" to justify or support the policy changes they are pushing for.

What's with that? If you say don't compare, then don't compare anything at all. Don't conveniently compare the aspects in your favour and write off those against you as "can't be compared", heh!

hazy investor confidence

2006-10-14T10:55:00.000+08:00

I've always believed that the biggest problem with this country and its government is its obsession with economic progress and staying competitive.

This is exemplified by our PM's letter to the Indonesian President on the haze that's affecting the region. Below's the press release on the letter sent:

MFA Press Statement: Haze Situation In Singapore

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has written to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to express his disappointment over the recurring haze problem, which has been particularly serious this year. In his letter, Mr Lee had stated that Indonesia needed to deal with the problem in a timely and effective manner, so that investor confidence in Indonesia, Indonesia's international standing and ASEAN's credibility would not be affected. Mr Lee had also noted that while it may be too late this year to prevent the fires that cause the haze, it was critical to take action now in order to prevent future forest fires. To this end, Prime Minister Lee informed President Susilo that a meeting of Environment Ministers from the ASEAN countries affected by the haze will be held in Singapore on 13 October 2006. Its objective is to muster ASEAN's resources to help Indonesia cope with the present haze problem. Mr Lee also suggested that the meeting of 13 October 2006 could help in preparing for an international meeting which Indonesia could convene, to marshal the expertise and resources needed to help Indonesia and ASEAN tackle the haze problem effectively.

MFA had also conveyed these concerns on the haze issue in a Third Person Note which was handed to the Charge d'Affaires of the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore on 9 October 2006.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
11 OCTOBER 2006

Note that there's no mention of environmental issues or health problems caused. Instead, the concern is on "investor confidence in Indonesia, Indonesia's international standing and ASEAN's credibility".

success vs popularity

2006-10-08T14:29:00.000+08:00

In the penultimate race of the F1 season today, Michael Schumacher shockingly blew his engine while leading comfortably with less than 20 laps to go. The commentator said that it's the first time since 2001 a Ferrari car retired due to engine failure (McClaren should take note). This allowed Fernando Alonso to take over and win the race with ease.

With just one more race to go, Alonso leads Schumacher by 10 points, so it'll take nothing less than a miracle (Schumacher to win the race and Alonso to finish pointless) for any chance of Alonso not winning his second driver's championship.

We also witnessed today the contrast between the former and current champions. After his less than satisfactory performance in the last race, Alonso was shooting off his mouth and accusing his own team of sabotaging him. In contrast, after his retirement today Schumacher made sure he went around to hug every single member of his pit crew and the rest of the Ferrari team. Despite the gloominess around and how lousy he must be feeling inside, he managed a smile all the while.

That may explain why Alonso is trailing so badly in the popularity charts. In sports where success and popularity often have a direct causal effect, his fourth placing performance seems rather absymal.

I guess he still has a lot to learn before he is acknowledged as a true champion.

troubleshooting 101

2006-09-21T17:21:00.000+08:00

Three simple steps to solve all computer-related problems before approaching for help.

RTFM (Reboot The F**king Machine) – Rebooting your machine can solve up to 80% of all computer-related problems.
RTFM (Read The F**king Manual) – Consult the manual or documentation before asking obvious questions.
FGI (F**king Google It) – Usually, a simple search on Google can answer all the questions and problems you may have.

If everybody follows these instructions, your friendly helpdesk folks will have more time on coffee, cyber-research and Warcraft, ha!

(More info)

must see

2006-09-13T23:50:00.000+08:00

As some of you may know, I'm not the biggest fan of most things Korean. Not the place, not the people, and definitely not the popular culture. The only exception is kimchi, which I love. But after reading so many excellent reviews of The Host, I just have to catch it.

And they're right. What a show!

Here's what you can expect:

End to end action and plenty of grandoise scenes for all you drama mamas.
Lots of deadpan and wacky humour when you least expect it.
Wonderful special effects of the mutant creature. And you don't even have to wait more than 15 minutes to see it in full glory.
Victory of common folks over monster and hardhearted government authority, powered by their desperation to save their loved one.
Political barbs at the US.

What more can you ask for? Besides, any show with scenes of a monster chasing and gobbling up people in broad daylight is always going to win extra brownie points from me. Not that I'm sadistic, but I don't really like scary movies that are pitch dark 90% of the time.

I was going to say that this is the best Korean show ever, but that's not saying much, non? Ok, it's the MOVIE OF THE YEAR.

Go catch it!

uncle agony

2006-09-11T18:27:00.000+08:00

This is sooo farni. Hur hur hur.

[link]

classic clip

2006-09-08T21:15:00.000+08:00

Below is a clip of the famous Mighty Mouse performance by Andy Kaufman on Saturday Night Live back in the 70s.

Kaufman was an eccentric American entertainer in the 70s and 80s. He was portrayed in the movie Man On The Moon by Jim Carrey, and also referenced in the song by REM which gave the movie the name.

A classic example of doing more with less.

not helping the cause

2006-08-30T16:02:00.000+08:00

Just a few days ago, the Sunday Times had a review of a new book about queers in Singapore. Being observant as ever (and nosey), Oh noticed that the name of one of the contributors of the book looked suspiciously like someone from his college. The article even quoted him:

"The media has made gay life out to be full of debauchery - you sleep around, you go out, you drink," he said. But he and his partner "are not like that... We're a very sedate couple."

I totally agree that there is a very strong misconception that gays are very loose people who go around picking up one another for sex and all. And it does not help that our trashy tabloids like to associate them with drugs and crime just for the sake of sensationalism.

On further digging, I found this person's blog. He is indeed the guy from college! Kudos to him for coming out and being open about it. It takes plenty of courage indeed in a "conservative Asian" (whatever that means) nation like ours.

Then I read a post on his blog mentioning how he went walking around town looking to get "cruised". Not entirely sure what that means, I decided to check it up.

cruise (verb)
Slang.
To look in (a public area) for a sexual partner.
To seek out and make a sexual overture to.

And all his credibility gets thrown out of the window.

creepy!

2006-08-27T15:12:00.000+08:00

Oh and his sidekick went fishing again yesterday. For only the second time, they caught something. But it wasn't exactly something they expected.

It looked like some creepy and slimy eel you see in Fear Factor! As the line was reeled in, the eel was struggling so violently it managed to tie itself up in knots. After a long struggle of over ten minutes, it finally went dead (even though a Malay guy insisted it was still alive).

Oh and his sidekick were so freaked out they didn't know what to do with it. Oh didn't even want to touch it with a ten-foot pole! Upon advice from some passers-by, they finally cut away the line and throw the thing onto the beach beneath. They were so traumatised by the incident they decided to pack up and go for dinner.

the big convergence

2006-08-25T18:53:00.000+08:00

Just last week, Google launched its free citywide wireless network for its hometown of Mountain Town, CA. Earlier this year, it also won a bid to offer the same service for the whole of San Francisco.

Now, consider the following:

Google offering free citywide wireless networks
The Slingbox and P2P TV such as PPLive
A Skype WiFi Phone
Internet radio

What is the common significance?

All these little bits are falling in place with Oh’s big vision of the future. And what is this big vision? It’s the vision of a big convergence of technology. Since the arrival of the Internet, our lives have changed, and it has enabled us to do more and communicate better. But this is just the beginning.

Consider what we have right now. We surf the worldwide web on the Internet, call our friends on the phone networks, and get entertained watching television that runs on the cable network or listening to radio through the radio network. Slowly but surely, however, we are discovering that all these things can be accomplished solely via the ubiquitous and powerful Internet.

At the same time, broadband speeds are increasing steadily while prices to stay connected are going the other direction. It is only a matter of time before Internet service providers realize that charging for Internet connectivity is no longer a viable business avenue. Ambitious governments and companies in small countries and cities such as Singapore are already looking at providing free wireless coverage for entire regions, much like what Google is doing now. If I tell you that one day the whole world would become one big wireless zone, would you bet against it?

For the time being, that is the main thing that’s keeping us on these phone and radio networks. We want such services on the go, but currently the Internet is limited to certain places only. Think about it, by the time the world becomes one big wireless zone, would you still pay a monthly subscription fee to call your friends on the phone network? No way! The other area of concern would be quality of service – whether the Internet is capable of delivering at guaranteed levels of speed and clarity that we expect for such services. This shouldn’t be much of a problem given that the quality of internet telephony and video and audio streaming are very much at or reaching acceptable levels even as of today.

That is why the industries of service providers for phone (mobile and fixed line), Internet (cable or dial-up), cable tv and radio networks are dying a slow death. It may happen in the next ten years or it may take 50 years, but we can be sure it’s happening. Sooner or later, all will converge onto the Internet, and all will be more or less free. The moolah to be earned then will be on providing content, rather than infrastructure services.

So how will the relevant parties be affected? Those providing cable and telecommunication services will find that their main line of business will be severely affected. Television and radio stations, on the other hand, will continue to provide their content. Only the means of doing so would have changed.

As consumers, we will all benefit greatly if this comes true. Technology is supposed to be a wonderful thing, non? The main stumbling block is that all these affected companies will be clamouring for legislation in order to maim this free market and protect their businesses.

Why? Because they are all EVIL.

a harmless joke

2006-08-23T10:06:00.000+08:00

Sometimes when you try to be funny, you end up with the joke being on you.

And it's not just all fun and games. I give you an example. You put out a funny podcast, you talk about bak chor mee [laughter]. I will say mee siam mai harm. Then we compete. Then what will I do? I will hire Jack Neo to be my National Day Rally adviser [laughter].
-- PM Lee

I don't know which hawker centre our PM has been visiting, but I've never seen mee siam with harm (cockles)! Nor did everyone else who's been chastening and mocking our poor PM for saying that. Some even accused him of being disconnected with the people.

For the record, his press secretary has since clarified that he meant to say laksa mai harm. Aiyo, our poor PM. He can't even tell the difference between mee siam and laksa, ha!

power puffs

2006-08-22T10:23:00.000+08:00

Oh's favourite Tip Top curry puffs were actually mentioned by the PM in his National Day Rally speech. For years Oh has wondered why the very popular stall in AMK Central doesn't create a franchise to sell more curry puffs all over Singapore, like what Old Chang Kee did.

Turns out that the boss' son has instead decided to venture into Shenyang and is fast expanding there!

You read about the big companies in the newspapers but tonight, let me tell you about one small company. Tharman came across it and mentioned it to me. He was in Shenyang recently and he came across a Singaporean who was selling curry-puffs in Shenyang. So he talked to the young man. Turns out that the father is in Ang Mo Kio central -- used to be my constituency -- Tip Top curry-puffs. Father is successful here; the son went to China to venture. So he's looked around Shenyang, he concluded that the food is not so interesting and varied as if you go to Shanghai or if you go to Guangzhou so there is an opportunity to sell something they've never met: Singapore curry-puffs. Very successful -- I think he's got five shops in Shenyang -- and now he is going to go further north [to] Harbin, also [to] sell curry-puffs. So the next time you go to the Harbin Ice Festival, cold sculptures but hot curry-puffs.

-- PM Lee

mysterious letter

2006-08-18T10:37:00.000+08:00

There was a mysterious letter in the ST Forum yesterday. Let me replicate it here in full:

Aug 17, 2006
With the PAP in charge, who needs opposition parties?

I find it amazing that many people can be so pissed off with the Singapore Government. What for?

I am no politician but a working man. I do not have many facts but I know what I want and what I need.

We have many jobs in Singapore and unemployment is not a major problem. We have good housing. Our economy may not be super but it's good enough in that our Sing dollar is stronger than some other currencies.

We have a low crime rate. At least I know that I don't fear walking down the street with the thought of being killed or stabbed. So there's no problem with jobs, housing, getting food on the table.

It's a pretty safe place to live in; no problem in getting big foreign investors to invest and create jobs in our country. So what is the problem?

Many people say that Singapore is not democratic enough. But which country in the world is truly democratic? I don't think there is one because it's impossible.

The USA? UK? Many Americans and British opposed the idea of going to war in Iraq. Not all opposed it, but almost half the population did. Opinions were split, at least in the UK.

Yet what did Tony Blair and George Bush do? They did not wait for another round of UN inspections and talks, etc. They invaded Iraq the moment they could.

Correct me if I'm wrong. Isn't democracy supposed to be when the majority or everyone is for the idea, and action is taken? That's the whole reason for consulting the public in the first place. Otherwise what's the use of it?

So if it's not the case of making Singapore a super, truly democratic country, what's the problem? Getting more opposition into parliament? But why? Is the PAP doing something wrong?

I cannot honestly see what's wrong. All I can see is that the need for jobs, food, housing and security are all met.

So what is the PAP doing wrong? Do we want to get more opposition into the parliament for the sake of it? So that the PAP will not be the dominant party? But why?

Will the opposition really do anything different that I want? I cannot imagine having any more needs other than jobs, food, housing and security. And I find the PAP is doing a good job at them. So why would I want anything different?

Why spoil something that's already working? If one day the PAP starts to get things wrong and there are no more jobs, housing becomes amazingly expensive or there is none at all, or if I cannot walk down the street without peace of mind, I would then say that the PAP is finished.

We should change things. That is when I would want a good opposition that can change things to be in the parliament and make a difference to Singapore.

But for now, do we need that?

Han Fook Kwang
Liverpool, United Kingdom

If you just read this without thinking much about it, you'll think it's just some guy working in the UK sucking up to the government.

Well, it so happens that the editor of the ST itself is also a person named Han Fook Kwang. If this is indeed him, it'll be strange for him to write to his own forum without stating his position. It would also be unusual for him to state that he is "no politician but a working man" given the fact that he came from the Singapore administrative service and is currently the editor of a paper linked closely to the government. Also, why is he in the UK?

Conspiracy theories abound. Some believe there must be someone else with the same name, while some postulated that it was could be a prank writer using the editor's name, and the name was overlooked and it got published. Mysterious!

catch of the day

2006-07-26T16:31:00.000+08:00

Oh went camping and fishing at East Coast Park last Friday. Even though he knows a lot of guys in the Navy who are into fishing, he has never fished in his life. Fishing, in a way, is like golf - you'll never understand why people do it until you try it yourself. So try he is going to.

Thankfully, together with his eager-beaver but just-as-clueless sidekick, he stumbled upon a fish tackle shop (Joe's) along Beach Road the night before. There was this young chap tending the shop who was really helpful. Not only did he help them assembled all they needed at a reasonable cost, he also taught them everything from how to set up the fishing line to tying the hook and sinker in place using a double surgeon's knot, and even casting the line like a pro!

It helped that Oh is talented and quick to learn, of course. His sidekick, though fumbling most of the time, wasn't that bad either. Despite the dark surroundings (it was past 10pm), they managed to set up their tent just beside the beach and put the fishing gear in place with only the help of a small touchlight. All these in between bouts of sneezing attacks as Oh was battling an untimely and dreadful cold!

There was only one other guy fishing at that spot that night - this 30-something Malay guy. There were many other tents around, though, a large proportion of which belonged to other Malay folks. Camping and fishing, it seems, are two favourite pastimes of the Malays.

Oh never really expected to catch anything on his first attempt. So, soon after casting the line and positioning the rod down on the beach, he retired to the tent while his sidekick visited the nearby loo. That was when the Malay guy who was also fishing popped in.

"Eh brudder, got fish lah. Jerking very hard! You better pull it in or your rod will fly away!"

Oh couldn't believe his luck! He rushed out to check the fishing rod. But frankly, he couldn't tell at all that a fish was dangling at the end of the line. Or maybe it had jerked really hard some moments ago but had given up the struggle by now. Not wanting to appear like he distrusted his helpful angling neighbour, he began reeling the line in.

When he saw what he pulled in, he was like, OMFG... There's really a fish! And it wasn't like the sort of small Nasi Lemak fish leh! It was more than 20 centimetres long! (As they found out later, it was also bigger than anything the Malay guy caught the whole night. Heheheh.)

Oh got so excited he ran all the way to the loo to inform his sidekick! And he just left the fish in the pail to die! Thankfully, his trusty sidekick wasn't in a state of delirium like he was and acted quickly to pour some water from the sea to keep the fish alive.

Big fish still struggling to stay alive

Check out the fish they caught. Not bad huh? It made Oh look silly for telling his sidekick not to buy such a big pail, since they probably won't catch anything. Kudos to his sidekick for preparing and hooking up the bait as well. Oh wonders what she did to the bait.

Alas, Oh and his sidekick should have stopped on their first attempt. That would've given them a 100% career success rate in fishing, ha! Their subsequent 4-5 attempts resulted in nothing. Nope, not even ikan bilis. Those sneaky fishes even managed to gobble up the baits without getting hooked!

Pity too, that they had not brought a freezer box. Even with a pack of ice from the nearby 7-Eleven to keep their precious catch from rotting, they woke up the next morning to find ants swarming around the poor fish. So down the trashbin it went.

The next morning

Well, there's always the next time, non?

scsm06

2006-07-26T10:10:00.000+08:00

The Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2006 is now open for registration. You have until 31 August to get early bird discounts.

And I heard that if you've registered last year, you'll get a code that entitles you to a further 10% discount (valid till 31 July).

Go go go!!

funny videos

2006-07-21T14:41:00.000+08:00

Silly but funny videos to keep you entertained:

Dr Miracles (Coarse Language)
Suicide Jumper

do the zidane headbutt

2006-07-13T13:47:00.000+08:00

The biggest sporting news the past few days is undoubtedly the Zidane headbutt. It has revolutionised the way we greet our friends or exchange the friendly banter. Forget the old pat on the shoulder, follow the great one and do the headbutt!

I wonder how the French will take it if you were to do this in France. But I won't be surprised if you get beaten up, ha!

And here's the real McCoy:

There's even a game you can play!

a gentle note and reminder

2006-07-12T23:55:00.000+08:00

It has come to my attention that A Simple Prop just passed its first birthday recently. Well, what do you know. How the months have flown by!

A Simple Prop was born in Friendster Blogs, and stayed a short while in LiveJournal before moving to its current location here in Blogger. I never really believed it could have lasted this long. Like some of my friends' blogs, I was sort of expecting it to die off after some time. It's inevitable for all blogs, non?

But it didn't - as least not yet - in part because there remains a certain sentimental value to it. And that's keeping me going. You might not know it, but this blog has changed my life in a way I could never have imagined when I sat down to write that first post on a Sunday morning back last July.

And no, I didn't turn into some celebrity blogger. I'm not even close for the matter. The readership for this blog has maintained at that estimated 20 people or less, half of which I know personally and the other half, I don't. I could never expect more since I've never sought to publicise it; I've only ever told a few friends about it. Besides, I don't really write anything really insightful or worthy of more attention. In fact, sometimes I wonder why a person who doesn't know me personally would want to read anything here, ha!

I must admit, however, that the impetus to blog has reduced tremendously. Sometimes I feel like I'm posting stuff which nobody gives a damn about. Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself. Which isn't that bad, actually. What's worse is that I feel like I'm talking to myself with people at the side eavesdropping. You know what I mean, don't you? A Simple Prop could certainly do with more comments and interaction!

After all, if I'm really into talking to myself (which I'm not by the way), I could've just written everything into a Word document and saved it on to my local disk. Or with pen and paper. Duh.

But of course, I'm not so desperate as to beg for feedback. I'm happy as it is that you bother to read at all. Having said that, it'll still be a nice encouragement for me though! :)

In any case, the white flag is not raised yet. I don't quit that easily, heh!

It has been quiet around here lately, mainly because I was busy catching either sleep or the World Cup. Now that that's over, I'll try to write more.

See you around!

bloggers' fury

2006-07-07T10:54:00.000+08:00

I've been following the Mr Brown incident with interest since Monday. While the local media (notably TODAY) and the government are intent on keeping silent on the matter, Singaporean bloggers are outraged and are now working towards drawing the attention of the foreign media.

If you're unaware of what's happened, here's a summary:

It started with this article Mr Brown wrote last Friday. As you might already know, Mr Brown has a regular satire column every Friday on TODAY.

Then on Monday, the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) replied with a strongly worded letter.

That threw everyone into a rage, with many people arguing the following issues:

We do not need to have alternatives or solutions when we have something unhappy to complain about. That's what we paid the goverment to do.
Being a critic of the government doesn't make one a partisan player.
The role of journalists and newspapers is to champion issues and campaign for or against the goverment. After all, the local media has always been campaigning for our government.
Mr Brown's article was published in the Voices section. Everyone has a right to an opinion and the right to express it.

Following that, Mr Brown was suspended from his column, and TODAY has decided to take the easy route by doing a media blackout of this issue. In addition, MICA has decided not to discuss the issue further as well.

See the list of trackbacks and comments at Tomorrow.sg for what everybody has to say about this. The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders has also commented on it.

nice try

2006-07-07T10:23:00.000+08:00

Some people will do anything to get a public holiday. On July 10th especially. Ha!

[link]

wc final

2006-07-06T13:33:00.000+08:00

So this is it. It'll be France versus Italy in the World Cup final. Show me anyone who claims to have seen this coming before the tournament started and I'll show you a liar. In fact, nobody could have predicted this even after the group stages.

Anyway, here are some interesting facts about Italy:

Italy has conceded only one goal so far, and that was an own goal in the game against USA. This means that no opposition has managed to score against them.

Captain Fabio Cannavaro, who has been a rock in defence and who is now a prime candidate for the Golden Ball award, is only 1.75 metres tall.

Italy has reached the World Cup final in exactly every 12 years since 1970: 1970, 1982, 1994 and 2006. They won in 1982, so if this is a trend they'll win again this year.

For me, I'm not a fan of either side. But I'll probably be rooting for Italy because Thierry Henry is a blardy cheat!

how to do anything

2006-07-04T18:05:00.000+08:00

WikiHow (obviously a derivation of Wikipedia) has some of the most boliao articles on how to do just about anything. And it's amazing how they can write the silliest articles in such a serious manner.

Check out, for example, how to handle some of life's most difficult situations:

Ask a Deaf Person Out on a Date
Memorize Pi to the Twenty Ninth Decimal Place
Look Busy at Work Without Really Working
Put On Your Socks
Play Drums (if it were this easy I'll be a rockstar by now)

not to be taken lightly

2006-07-03T18:28:00.000+08:00

According to this article, smoking "light" cigarettes are not safer than smoking normal cigarettes. One reason was, I quote from the article:

Experts say that people who use lights may, for example, inhale more deeply to get more nicotine, or simply smoke more cigarettes.

Well, they've apparently never heard of the term ceteris paribus. That is, if all else being equal (inhaling the same amount and smoking the same number of cigarettes), lights are surely less deadly than normal ones.

Anyway, they are the experts. I guess all smokers should go back to their Marlboro Reds so that it's easier for them to quit, non?