Young Mommy & Daddy

This piece of news has sparked media interest across the globe; from newspapers to online news, from television programs to forums and I am sure it is the current hot topic for discussion at school and work.

Source: The Sun

Apparently, a baby-faced 13-year-old British schoolboy has fathered a child with his 15-year-old girlfriend. He seriously looks much younger than 13 while she seriously looks much older than 15, I guess giving birth makes people look older in general.

Alfie Patten admitted he had not thought about how he and girlfriend Chantelle Steadman would support the baby daughter Maisie Roxanne. It was told that the baby was conceived after just one night of unprotected sex; Alfie was 12-year-old at the time.

Patten will undergo a DNA paternity test (paid by social workers) to prove that he is the father of the baby after Chantelle's mother, Penny Steadman, said her daughter had slept with other boys. It is reported up to six other boys claimed they could be Maisie's father.

The news has triggered debate about the country's high level of teenage pregnancies. As a matter of fact, Britain has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in western Europe. The case has drawn comment from Prime Minister Gordon Brown, while a former leader of the main opposition Conservative Party said it was an example of social breakdown in "broken Britain". British government has launched a strategy to reduce teenage pregnancy. According to advisors, the level has falling but have called for more accessible contraceptives and more sex education in school in areas which are falling behind. Sources of this story are from here, here, here and here.

Suddenly, I get pretty worried over DYB. Of course he is older than the mentioned schoolboy but DYB and DYBGF have been going on holiday at three destinations over in a span of three months!!

Valentine's Day is Going Strong Despite Recession

So I headed down to Orchard for dinner tonight and being offered a stalk of rose at a grand $20 each! As I walked into Takashimaya, there was an unbelievable long queue for Louis Vuitton while Chanel and Tiffany & Co appeared chaotic with over-crowded customers.

This is so contradicting to what I have been reading in the news everyday. Hellooo? What about economic recession, market turmoil and financial crisis? Everyone was dragging the high-quality brown, white, blue and red (i.e. LV, Chanel, Tiffany and Cartier) paper bags. Wow, who would have thought that Valentine's day can actually help to stimulate the economy during recession.

My Hairstylist Looks Like an Martial Art Actor

My favourite genre for movies - to everyone's surprise - is action. I don't know why I get adrenaline rush whenever I see people fighting, kicking, boxing ... uh yes these sort of actions.

Source: fighttimes.com

Having previously watched (and undeniably loved) Ong Bak, I decided to catch its latest work today despite having read skeptical reviews about Ong Bak 2. While I am not trying to write another review of this movie, I must say that the fighting scenes are incredible and I will definitely watch its next movie, somehow the story gives a feeling of a continuation. But I would like to share a piece of information regarding Ong Bak 2: Tony Jaa is ridiculously resembles with my hairstylist - the hair, the lip, the eyes ... well almost similar except with a contrasting skin colour.

On the news:

• Singapore is experiencing uncommon strong winds. Beware people, it is easy to fall ill with this climate.
• Study shows beautiful women are more likely to cheat. Beware dudes, do not underestimate female hormone.
• A Korean husband found guilty of raping his wife. Beware hubbies, something that is lawful will not always be lawful.
• A Chinese maid repeatedly slashed baby girl's face on a chopping block. Beware employers, choose your maids carefully.

Pick-up lines #2

The brother was craving for durians so off we went, home-attired without make-up and sporting a bad hair day, to find a Thai stall assistant said hello and mumbled to himself sui mak mak while opening up a durian. Reached home googled for those words and surprisingly, my day has been made.

On the news:

• Obama isn't too keen on Britney Spears or Paris Hilton, and so are her two daughters, Malia and Sahsa.
• A six-year-old Texas girl returned home after having half of her brain removed in June.
• Hackers are increasing aiming at iPhones and Macintosh computers as the Apple devices gain popularity worldwide.
• UK's largest employers' organisation has warned that UK economy is deteriorating faster than it previously thought. What a gloomy world...

Oh.. It Is The Special Day

Source: Beijing Olympic official site

Has everyone seen the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic? OMG, it was magnificent, so breath-taking and truly amazing. I was stunned and had goose bump sensation throughout the ceremony. I didn't expect such a spectacular ceremony from China and it was like telling the whole world that China is capable of doing anything at its best. Having watched just the opening ceremony, I see some of the US$40 billion is well spent.

Auspicious Date

Source: 2008 TVB Calender uploaded by TVB2008 on Flickr

08-08-08 (which is tommorrow, by the way) must be an auspicious time of the year. Why so? Well, maybe this date (which contains only 1 or 2 numerical digits at most) is easier to remember than a date with many different digits. Or maybe this date looks and sounds special, therefore it will last longer in our memory. Or maybe '8' signifies a positive sign in some cultures. I would say, each of the above plays a part to the popularity of 08-08-08. Anyway, I will list down some -and definitely more, if I have time to rake them - news to support the statement above:

1. Needless to say, media-swamped Beijing Olympic Games will officially launch on 08-08-08 at 08:08PM. The number '8' homonymies good fortune in Mandarin and Cantonese. Unfortunately, there are many (controversial but skewed to negative) issues on the current Olympic Games hosted by Beijing. Given spare time, I may discuss on this matter as a separate entry.

2. As point 1 suggested the digit '8' denoting good fortune for Chinese, China Daily reported more than 16,400 Beijing couples have applied to register their marriages on 08-08-08. This is to compare with just 3,390 couples registered their nuptials for the same date last year. Well, this puzzles me, I would see starting up a business on 08-08-08 is far more correlated than registering marriages. Isn't marriage is about happiness and longevity? Too bad, I don't know where to find data on business start-up date, otherwise, it is possible to test my hypothesis. On a side note, Hindu astrology finds no muhurtham (auspicious time for a wedding) on 08-08-08; besides, it falls in the 7th month of the lunar calender, the month of the Hungry Ghost when the gates of hell are said to be opened (source: AsiaOne).

3. Narrowing to local region, the most significant player in the newspaper industry, the Straits Times Singapore, will be sporting a whole-new-look for its newspaper and website on 08-08-08. The lively refreshing new website covers features such as free breaking news and blogs (the Strait Times).

4. Last but by no means the least, F.I.R. (a popular Taiwanese band) will hold a concert in Singapore on 08-08-08 at 08:00PM (source: Sistic).

Fame

Source: Bitten and Bound

When one member in the family is famous, the other members usually share some sort of fame too. Some famous people are respectable souls but fame does not necessarily always involve with pleasant matters. It is definitely an embarrassing week for the Lohan family; having a troubled child is terrible enough and now papa Lohan went for (and awaiting result of) a DNA test to determine if he is the biological father of 13-year-old Ashley Kaufmann (pictured above). Ashley's mother, Kristi Kaufmann (who papa Lohan admitted having sexual affair with during separation with mama Lohan) tried over the years to get Michael to live up to his obligations as a father. At the same time, Lindsay Lohan is said to be taking the news of a-possible-half-sister very hard and Michael Lohan has threatened to sue Kaufmann if it turns out that he is not Ashley's biological father.

Source: Dlisted

Yes, I have been ignorant and I am now utterly shocked. Ellen Lee DeGeneres made public the fact that she is a lesbian ten years ago and I didn't know that! I love Ellen; she is funny and I make a point to watch her talk show whenever I am free but it never crossed my mind that she is a lesbian. Having said that, by no means I will love her less. No ... no, I will not discriminate people in regards to their sexuality preference, there was once I thought I might be a lesbian too (aha!).

Alleviate Poverty

Source: Free Rice

I donated 5100 grains of rice today just by playing a vocabulary game. It is fun, it is educating and it is alleviating poverty. I suggest do play and donate rice in Free Rice.

On the news:

• A Taiwanese loses 30 cm of tresses while watching Kung Fu Panda movie. I suspect the mysterious barber has kung fu too.
• Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim filed complaints for the latest accusation of sodomy (not again?!) as part of a political campaign to destabilise his bid to return to power. 23-year-old Saiful Bukhary lodged a police report against Anwar Ibrahim; apparently, the former aide is engaged to Janna Syafiyah who vows to stand by him in her blog.
• eBay is to pay 38.6 million euros to LVMH for allowing the sale of fake merchandise. I swear this firm is a proficient money maker. Note that eBay was ordered to pay handbag maker Hermes 20k euros for the similar issue just a month ago.

Pick-up lines #1

Having just returned to Singapore, my first errand is to hand in a document to a bank's corporate office. As I did not bring any suitable identification with me, I had to write down some details in the reception area. An hour later, I received a call:

Mysterieux: Hello.

The receptionist: Hello, this is x. Did u manage to find your way to y?

Mysterieux: Yes, I did. Thank you.

The receptionist: Where are you? Have you had lunch?

Mysterieux: Yes I had. Am at home now.

(after a long pause)

The receptionist: Can I make friend with you?

Mysterieux: Erm .. no, not really. I am sorry.

The receptionist: Ok, thank you.

(hangs up)

To be honest, I find these pick-up lines neutral, not good but not bad either. Some worse pick-up lines I have encountered such as "I love you" and "you look like my ex girlfriend" on first meets.

Unacceptable Behaviour in Internet

Recently, two young individuals, who are not related to each other, having trouble with law due to unacceptable behaviour posted through online.

A local blogger nicknamed as Sexy Fragrance Prince (why do I think of Thai Fragrant Rice?) was arrested for posting racially offensive content on his blog. His blog is now inaccessible to the public, but you can read the atrocious post here. From what I read, this post has been taken down and he alternatively supplied an apologetic post claiming he is an expressive person while denying being a racist and maintaining that he did not harbour any ill will towards the racial group that he mentioned in his (taken down) post. Notice how arrogant and mighty (I quote "if u wana defend yourself…. i suggest you arm youself with education and a motor mouth to compete against me.. else dont bother") he was in the earlier post and then quite contrary in the latter post. I am surprised; racial discrimination still exists in such a multi racial country - Singapore.

On the other part of the world, a 21 years old Gao Qianhui was detained by Chinese police for posting angry comments directed at victims of the devastating Sichuan earthquake. According to Xinhua News Agency, Gao was angry over a three-day mourning period that saw online entertainment and games shut down in China out of respect for those killed by the quake (read full story here and video clip here). Gao showed no interest in coverage of the quake or its aftermath and her obvious lack of sympathy - I quote "How many of you died? It was just a few. China has so many people, anyway." - provoked an outpouring of anger and criticism from Chinese Internet users. Chinese are well known for their patriotism, this young woman is an apparent minority.

The Story of a Monsterous Father

What is it with 73-years-old Austrian Josef Fritzl that has Singapore's leading newspaper, the New Straits Times, publishes his case story everyday without fail for a week (read latest, as of today, news here)? While I don't read much about it, the two main points deduced from this case are:

First, he repeatedly raped and impregnated his very own daughter. Incest, a taboo in our modern society, perhaps one reason for this piece of news to travel worldwide and a conversational topic for the whole week. I don't know why people make such a big fuss about incest (even though I think it is morally objectionable) as incest isn't that uncommon, having practised in Ancient Egypt and few other minority societies in the world.

Second, he kept his own daughter imprisoned - in a dungeon built just below his marital home -for over 20 years without being noticed. I am shocked, he actually did not arouse any suspicion given the time-frame of crime (to be exact, 24 years) and past crime committed (i.e. rape).

My initial thought when reading this news is that I felt sorry for Fritzl's wife. How would she react when she has been told that her missing daughter was assaulted and kidnapped below their home by her husband for over twenty years! I'd go insane just by thinking of it, even though I am not yet married and do not plan to have children. So far, nothing has been reported about Fritzl's wife and I sense lack of complete information on the news.

What does Putin and Sarkozy have in common?

Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Nicolas Sarkozy share many common similarities, just to name a few which, they are both undoubtedly intelligent, are great rulers and have impeccable leadership skill. Interestingly, both presidents share an uncommon similarity: their women have done nude photoshoot before.

There is a rumour that President Putin plans to wed 24-year-old former Olympic gymnast turned politician Alina Kabayeva. So far, Putin denied the rumour having secretly divorced his wife Shkrebneva as well as having affair with Kabayeva (ABC News has the story).

Alina Kabayeva (source: jialat.com)

Carla Bruni (source: huffingtonpost.com)

40-year-old Italian-born former model turned French first lady Carla Bruni's nude photo fetched $91,000 (£45,729) at Christie's auction house (Guardian has the story). The photo was sold to an anonymous (albeit, rich) Chinese collector. I wonder where he/she is placing the above photo, perhaps in his/her study room? I imagine it fits better than any other areas in a house.