Boybands Pop!

New Kids on the Block, Take That, Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync, Westlife... What's the big deal with them? They were the craze back in the day with their balloon pants, weird 90's hairstyle and super soapy ballads that got all the gals (and some guys...) chanting their names, throwing their underwears onto the stage in concerts, sticking countless posters all around the room and some
even building an "altar" devoted to their "idols"!


New Kids on the Block...


Take That... (They might as well just kiss each other...)


Backstreet Boys... (All of them have got leg problems... can't stand properly... fell down at Interchange... hahaha)


'Nsync... Thank God for Justin... (the only good thing that came out from boybands)


Westlife... (No words can express what I feel about this picture... how do they actually stomach taking this shot?... and they all look a little constipated, don't they?)

Now, you may think that I'm a hater but I don't think I am. I really did try to accept them as much as I can but they never fail to do the silliest things... just look at all the shots taken above! How can you not feel like taking a shovel and knocking all their heads...

Ok, ok... I know I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, Suede, Prodigy, Tupac, Oasis... a bit dark and they aren't the perfect role models as well... (think Michael Jackson and lil' boys) but at least they are great performers who defined cutting edge in their times....

I know I'm just being a little biased and everybody has their own taste in music. Some bands appeal more to others than the rest... I can accept that but... *sigh.

Why this talk about boybands? Just the other day I saw the latest video from New Kids on the Block. Yup, looking not so new and not very 'kid', they are back to the block with their infectious new hit "Summertime". This is not something new as recently, a whole bunch of boybands are making a comeback.

So I have decided to just show you their videos and you tell me what you think. It'll be great to see all those old, famous poses and dances that boybands are so famous for... the old vids as well as the new ones.


NKOTB - Step by Step (old)


NKOTB - Summertime (new)


Take That - Back for Good (old)... got to admit, this song is not too bad! The rain is classic boyband though... hahaha!


Take That - Patience (new)


Backstreet Boys - Get Down (old)


Backstreet Boys - Incomplete (new)

A leopard never loses its spots huh? You can see that the pattern is still there!

Do tell us what you think... Boybands Pop!

Falling Giants

Times are a little tough. In the backdrop of all the economic turmoil in the world today:

• AIG receiving a whopping $85 billion rescue in funds from the American government

The solution: Sell off Ronaldo... better still, sell off Manchester United... to Petronas, Malaysia... hahaha.

(Now put the three together and you'll get an amazing jersey - jalur tong gas merah gemilang. Translated: The glorious stripes of the red gas cylinder... No more the red devils!)

• Merrill Lynch & Co. being bought by Bank of America for a mere $50 billion (Can you imagine that?... it's like a fraction of the price...)
• Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. going bankrupt

As I said, in the midst of the fall of all these investment giants... I, another giant at 1.90 m also had a terrible fall!

Yup... you heard it right! I, Dev Menon, had a super fly fall in full view of the public in the bus interchange while running for the bus. I didn't realize that the floor was wet... (until now I'm still puzzled why the floor was wet... it wasn't raining this morning... some kid must have emptied the water from the water bottle his mum gave him!)

I basically flew up in the air and landed, full body weight, on my left thigh...

Yes... my legs are quite hairy... I can't imagine how the bruise is going to look tomorrow!

At the same time, I scratched my arms by the curb... So now it looks like I was slashed by a parang... a really small parang

I was then brought for treatment to a Chinese Sensei (for the first time ever in my life...). To tell you the truth, I never had a very good impression of them. I think it's due to too many kung fu movies with the sensei releasing power to the victim and he starts vomiting blood and all.

I was expecting something like a really horrible and painful twisting and bending of my thighs... the Sensei said, "No need do that..." He went on to say the terrible 'A' word; ACUPUNCTURE!

I freaked out! Needles and me never ever go together! I tried to wiggle my way out but to no avail... So...

Yup... I took down my pants for the sensei and he poked me with all these tiny needles...

You see the needle that is at the upper right of the screen? That hurt the most!

However, after the acupuncture, my thighs did feel a little light... for a short while. Then the pain returned again... Sad!

I tried reading on acupuncture points but I just couldn't stomach it. My imagination started running wild; imagining all those points being "accurately" "punctured" with thousands of tiny needles. I have a very low pain threshold...

So there you have it... it's not just investment and banking giants that are gritting their teeth and walking with a limp. I am the latest addition to the statistics... Sigh! *Grits teeth and walks away limping.

Yum yum yum... Jalan-Jalan Cari Makan!

This is is a special posting. Why? It's about FOOD... glorious food! I am going to share with you some of my favorite eating places from both sides of the Causeway!

Disclaimer:

• Now, it is by no means an exhaustive list... not even close! There's definitely going to be more instalments to this.


• Taste buds may differ from one bud to another... one man's poop is another man's fertilizer.


• I'm a general food (consumable by the masses) kind of eater so chances are you're not going to find "special" food like dogs, frogs, intestines (of all animals), placenta of a mosquito and the likes... Enough talk, let's get down to business:

1. Ayam Penyet & Burger Ayam Special Cheese @ Kafe Banafe

Kafe Banafe is situated opposite New York Hotel in JB. You can't miss this stall with neon lights to spell out Banafe at the entrance. Always packed, their specialty is Ayam Penyet which is chicken served in Indonesian style sambal! White rice is optional. It's very spicy so it's not for the weak at heart.


The chicken is juicy and super mouth-watering!

The concept is very 'mamak' meaning it's a blend of open air and sheltered seating!



While at Banafe, you can also order Ayam Special Cheese burger (Chicken burger with egg and cheese)!



It tastes so good, it defines Ramly burgers! The bread is a little crispy and you can still get the buttery taste in your mouth! The flavors blend very well and the cheese practically melts in your mouth! Not high on health however but to spoil yourself once in awhile... you should!

The food here is tasty and is worth every ringgit you spend!

2. Ikan Bakar @ Centrepoint

Centrepoint is a hawker center situated on top of a hill just behind the Esso opposite Menara Pelangi along Jalan Tebrau. It is just behind the row of medical centres such as Pathlab and also the famous Alpha and Omega Tuition Centre. When you're there, order the Ikan Pari (Sting Ray) and ask them to add extra sambal. Don't worry because the sambal here isn't spicy! It's just very rich in taste... quite peanuty I would say!

3. Rosmarino Italian Restaurant

Rosmarino is more of a fine dining restaurant. You get exquisite Italian food, highly rated and recommended by food reviews!

I highly recommend their Italian Meats Pizza!

This shot was taken when I took away the pizza!

Undoubtedly, it's a very "guy's" pizza. For something not so meaty, you can try the Seafood Pizza which is also great (but nothing beats Italian meats... hahaha).

The pasta is good as well according to Aimei. The carbonara, seafood... etc. I'm not big on pasta (too much carbo... show me the meat...)


Pasta

The salad is good as well!

Aimei looking really hungry!

Rosmarino is at 123 Jalan Damai, 80300 Johor Bahru, Phone: +60 7 222 1820. I'm giving you the address because it is not very easy to describe. All I can say is that it's very near Stulang and opposite Lion's Hotel situated at the row of shophouses! The place is really comfy and the ambience is great!

Good food is like treasure... so happy hunting!

Now let's jump across the Causeway and see what the island of Singapore has to offer!

4. Prawn noodles @ Food Republic Level 4, Wisma Atria

This is the best prawn noodles in the whole of Malaysia and Singapore... hands down winners... no matter what others may say!

The gravy in the noodles is so good, you'll crave for more!

It is served in this fragrant leaf; makes it all the more fragrant and appetizing!

The prawn are oh so succulent! Always fresh and big... !

It's a little bit pricy at SGD 4.50 for a small plate but it's all worth it... trust me!

You can't miss the store; it has a straw hat concept. The workers wear a straw hat so that you can't miss them!

5. Grilled Indonesian Chicken @ Suntec Tower 3 Food Court

Situated at Suntec Tower 3 Food Court, it serves the best and most eatable food for this office area! I eat this nearly everyday for lunch!

I like to "banjir" (flood) my rice with curry. It tastes better that way!

6. Carrot Cake @ Bedok Interchange

Good carrot is hard to come by in Malaysia. However in Singapore, it's a different story! You can find good carrot cake almost anywhere! This is the best of the best so far in my opinion that is affordable yet very delicious!

It comes in two types, the dark and white one!

Both are good! The only downside that I could think of is that if you are to eat in, it's going to be quite stuffy! The place is quite packed and you will most probably leave the place smelling like smoke or something!

You could bring a change of clothes... things we would do for food, right?

Jumping back to other side of the Causeway again, we have...

7. Mee Rebus @ Kafe Enampuluhan

Kafe Enampuluhan (60's Cafe) is situated opposite Stulang Laut!

It doesn't look like a 60's cafe and I don't know why they called it Kafe Enampuluhan. All I care is that the Mee Rebus is quite good served with their Lobak ayam (chicken lobak).

Mee Rebus

You can choose the amount of eggs you want... half, one, two or even three eggs... up to you! The Mee Rebus goes great with the lobak ayam! It tastes great together!

Lobak ayam

8. Banana Chips @ Grandma's

Well, the last one is a home cooked delight that my grandma is really good at... banana chips! I've been eating it sinceI was a kid. I can fininsh a whole tin of it all by myself!

With it's striking yellow color and delightful taste, it makes a great evening snack to go with teh-o or while catching a movie!

I took this pics after I've finished three quarter of it... hahaha!

There you have it; a partial list of things I like to eat at places I like to roll! Hope this will help in your future quests for food!

Oh yeah... final note: Remember to exercise!

The Winner is...

With a total of 59 voters voting to suppport their favorite pics, the results for the Unity in Diversity Project is out.

With a total of 26 votes (44%)... *drumroll, THE WINNER IS... JING MI! *Balloons, glitters. confetti (with Eli, the confetti thrower)! Congratulations! You have won yourself an RM 10 Starbucks Voucher! The readers have decided that your picture best reflects unity in diversity!

Congratulations to the rest of the finalists as well! The race was close and you guys did well! Thanks for the effort and initiative! Your submissions prove that unity in this diverse culture that we live in is something treasured dearly even in our generation! You guys are awesome!

To the readers/voters, thank you for playing your part and supporting this really tiny, ultra mini project!

So here is the winning picture submitted by Jing Mi:

This must be a double whammy for Mi as we also celebrated her belated birthday on Sunday at an Italian Restaurant!

Huey and Mi, the birthday gal!... Not a very clear shot! Sorry gals!

Spooky photo taken by Ber... *eerie, haunt, haunt...

Z'ng jealous and ostracized 'coz it's not his birthday! (courtesy of Ber...)

Shuffle Prince trying real hard to shuffle with his lips!

Rare and his "voodoo" doll!

And to end it all, a finger dance for the birthday gal... hmmnnn... more like they shiok sendiri and did it for themselves! Hahaha! If you find this video offensive, do tell me... hahaha!

Mi, enjoy it all! You deserve it. Happy Birthday and Congratulations! Starbucks awaits you...

Gleanings from History

Being a Malaysian living in Singapore is to me some sort of ambassadorship where you get to represent and be the spokesperson for your country in a foreign land.

Now this may sound cool (it is actually...) but it becomes a little bit embarassing when you have to explain... again and again...

Why is Anwar accused of sodomy... again (like it's Part 2 of some B-Grade sequel that we don't know about or something)?

Why is Raja Petra, Teresa Kok and Tan Chee Hoon arrested under ISA (I think they would also be arrested if they did the same in Singapore... hahaha)?

Raja Petra

What's up with Ahmad Ismail (why isn't he in ISA... he also havoc-ed Internal Security, what?)?

As I was pondering on these matters especially with the whole Ahmad Ismail saga looming over the nation and racial tensions at all time high, I realized that we, Malaysians ought to be cautious; we don't want to end up fighting the wrong things or worse still, fighting one another!

Let me explain: What we're seeing now is really a shadow of what actually happened in 1969. You studied it in history lessons but the picture was never quite painted right! We were taught that May 13 1969 was a result of communal violence; racial tensions flared up and people killed each other.

However, as documents once classified by the British government were declassified, the truth was out. Dr. Kua Kia Soong in his book "Declassified Documents on the Malaysian riots of 1969” discovered that May 13, 1969 was instead politically motivated.

That elections, the ruling Alliance retained the overall majority but they lost the two-thirds majority (sounds familiar...?). They wanted to shelve Tunku and put up Razak... (sounds familiar...? See the family ties...?).

I thought that it was a really cruel thing to shelve Tunku; an awesome leader and my all-time favorite PM!

To cut the whole story short, mutilation and cruelty is what followed; a black mark in our history.

You see, it is never about just about the different skin colors that we have. We have been getting along quite fine. Of course we have our differences. We all have our flaws but we all have our unique strengths as well!

Our beef is not with one another; Malay, Chinese or Indians. The real culprits are those with selfish ambitions that toy with the rakyat to feed their hunger for power.

It is not flesh and blood that we fight but powers and principalities! The battle cannot be won with brute force. It is a battle to win the hearts and minds of people.

Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary - Gandhi

They used to say that the pen is the weapon of the future. Well, things have progressed! The keyboard is now the weapon of the future; music is the weapon of the future!

Let's glean lessons from history; it is never meant to be repeated twice!

Tak Puas Hati

I'm now at the state of tak puas hati (directly translated: unsatisfied heart... what it actually means: not very happy and satisfied) at this current moment... 'somebody' or rather 'somebodies' copied the bear idea on my blogskin and used it on theirs! This is blogger war in the lines of Xiaxue vs Dawn!

However, for what it's worth, the bear did get some interesting reviews though! What did some readers have to say about the bear?

Shuffle Prince: tht luk lyk a bear drunk while dreaming haha..

dan: Dev, is that a bear ? (No, dan. ... It's a rabbit! Hahaha)

Quite a big difference, right?

@*mei (*hint... culprit culprit): dev..why is there a bear on your skin?! wat's it suppose to do!?!?

Wanna take a guess who the culprits are? Hahaha! My readers are smart so you'd probably have guessed the first one! The second one was an accomplice... a metro, fair and supple skin, artsy-fartsy... yup, you guessed it... z'_ _! (*Hush... not too loud... *Whisper whisper... they might hear).

Being the kind and forgiving person that I am, I release and forgive them! So here are some bear photos instead to cheer you up!

It's a short posting. Enjoy and don 't forget to vote for your favourite nominees of the Unity in Diversity Project!!