Fancy Wearing a Dead Meat Perfume?

Women love fragrance and men, too.

I enjoy walking around the perfume department in shopping malls. Friendly sales personnel will always be there to egg me to consider their latest line of fragrance and attentively allow me to wear a little of each. I usually ended up smelling like a mixed bag of potpourri but I didn't mind.

If you are thinking of getting some fragrance as Christmast gifts, read on...

The classification of fragrance can be mind-boggling. Traditionally, they are grouped into floral, wood, amber, leather, fern and cyprus.

The art of making perfume or fragrances dates back to the times of the ancient Egypt. In those days, people used herbs and spices such as almond, coriander and flowers. Since the middle of 20th Century, fragrances were no longer just derived from the nature. Due to advances in technology, perfumes today are also synthesized.

Oceanic or Ozone is the newest category in perfume history. It first appeared in early 1990s with Christian Dior's Dune. This feminine scent was created for daytime wear and it is said to possess a blend of amber, wallflower as well as watery notes of the fresh, cool sea air. Smells great? You check it out yourself.

The use of fragrance is not a feminist thing. There is a huge market out there for men's fragrance. Popular lines include Davidoff Cool Water Game Cologne, Polo Black by Ralph Lauren and Armani Code.

Last week, an unexpected player joined the fragrance making arena. Burger King has decided to join the men cologne wars by launching their own fragrance. They name it after what they are famous for: Burger King Flame. They promise that you can smell like a whopper after using it and they describe 'Flame' as "the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat." Apparently the company thinks men would like smelling like a burger. Now you can eat BK burgers and wear them too!



Burger King is marketing the product through a Web site featuring a photo of its King character. The commercial puts me off instantly and left me with no desire or whatsoever to find out more about this horrible sounding fragrance.
To me, bottling and marketing the the 'scent' of carcass of dead animals is far from a brilliant idea. "Burger King Fragrance", what an oxymoron! Whoever came up with it - he has my respect for his courage and my sympathy for his inability to differentiate between 'fragrant' and 'smelly'.


The fragrance is on sale at New York City retailer Ricky's NYC in stores and online for a limited time for US$3.99. Unless you plan to strain your relationship with your boyfriend or husband, I suggest you do not venture into getting it as a festive gift.

What's next after 'BK Flame'? I hope I don't see a new product named 'BK Ring' being marketed as "the scent of sexy allure with a dash of burnt onion."

~ shudders ~

KL - Muddy No More

I am going to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow.

Can I assume that you know where that is? You should. At least, you should know that it is the capital and the largest city in Malaysia. It is in Selangor, one of the 13 states in Malaysia and to many, Kuala Lumpur is just K.L. However, if you look into the meaning of its name, it simply means 'muddy confluence' in the Malay language.

I cannot remember the number of times I have visited the city. All I know is that I cannot use words like countless, numerous or umpteenth. KL is the only global city in Malaysia and it constantly undergoes rapid redevelopment. Each time I visit the place, nothing looks familiar to me.


Unlike places like Malacca and Penang, KL does not have a long history to talk about. It all started in the 1850s in some tin mines. Back then, the place thrived on tin mining and many Chinese migrants flocked there to earn a living. Interestingly, in the early days, KL was led by Yap Ah Loy, a Chinese Kapitan (headman) who was known as the founding father of KL. He was instrumental to the earlier systematic growth of the city.


I shall not bore you with the history. Let's fast forward to the 21st Century city which I will be visiting.

If I were to ask friends and colleagues for some recommended activities in KL, I am likely to be advised to shop. There are more than 60 shopping malls in KL. That sounds like I would be spoilt for choice except that I am really not an avid shopper. Nonetheless, I will not rule out shopping as one of the possible things to do.


Talking about shopping malls, most would not miss mentioning Suria KLCC. It has a 1.5 million sq sf of shopping space at the base of the famous Petronas Towers. Cannot imagine the space of 1.5 mil sq sf? Let me help you a little: Vivocity is about 1 mil sq ft. (If you are not from Singapore, go figure some other ways, sorry!)

I was there a few years ago checking out the 450m building. I was hoping that I could experience scaling the tallest building then but I arrived on the day the Petronas Towers became the 2nd tallest in the world. Yup! The day after it was surpassed by Taipei 101. Well, meant to be.


If for some strange reasons I find KLCC not big enough, Berjaya Times Square should solve the problem. With 3.5 mil sq ft of shopping space, it is the largest shopping mall in Malaysia and the 13th biggest in the world. I will probably get to shed some kilos just walking around the place. Phew!

There are 5 siblings in my family and I will get to visit one of them in KL. That is really great! Not many people are aware that KL too have some siblings. There are altogether 7 sister, aka, twinned cities: Delhi (India), Ankara (Turkey), Osaka (Japan), Malacca (Malaysia), Casablanca (Morocco) , Esfahan (Iran) and Mashhad (Iran). Sister cities is a concept whereby cities are paired with the goal to foster human contact and cultural links between their people.


I do not have a firm itinerary. For that matter, I do not even have the faintest clue what I would be doing there. Perhaps I will spend a few days snoozing in a city 325 km away from Singapore. Whatever it will be, I need a break.

KL, here I come.

A 365-Page Book Of Yesteryear

The year is coming to an end and something seems to be amiss.

Not too many years ago, I would have received several copies of complementary diaries. So far, no one has given me any (not that I need one). Why? Could it be the economic downturn or those things have become passe? I would think it's both.

Not many people need these conventional tactile diaries in these days of digital gadgetry. With people carrying common wizardry such as PDAs and mobile phones, the traditional diaries look a bit too last century.



In the earlier days, diaries were very popular corporate gifts. Today, it may seem quite odd to receive one from a business associate. Somehow, many businesses have stopped giving out diaries at this time of the year and they have conveniently forgotten to continue the nice gesture by looking for a suitable substitute.

I was browsing in a book store a couple of weeks ago and there was this heap of 2009 diaries, nicely stacked at a fairly prominent spot. I took a closer look. There was nothing unusual about these diaries and in fact, they look much the same as those I used to have years back.

Looks like there are people who are still using these diaries.. hmmm.



I begin to wonder how I might put these diaries to good use if I have one. Other than using them as some glorified writing notebooks, I do not have a better idea.



These diaries are not cheap. An ordinary one will cost about S$10 and those elegant, leather-bound ones may hit S$100. Given one, I might just chuck it aside for I will not know how I might use it and whom I might give it to. After one year, I will see the dust-covered diary finds its way to the bin in an almost mint condition. What a waste!

It has reached a stage where I wish that no one would extend such a gift to me. I have no use for it. Period.

Save some trees.

F1 - Help!

F1 motor racing has been in the news lately, for the wrong reasons.

On 5 Dec, Honda abruptly announced that it is saying goodbye to the F1 sports. Honda took the decision primarily because of the downturn in the markets. Some figured that, Honda's approach for not going for sponsors could also have contributed to the financial strain.


Amid the doom and gloom, the FI boss believes that F1 sports has a sustainable financial future, although Honda's decision to quit will give added urgency to the need for cost reductions.


It is becoming very tough for teams to stay in the race. Lots of money has been spent to optimise every part of the chassis and to search for lighter and exotic materials for the parts. All the effort and money that went in usually drew no discernible difference to the show.

Following Honda's exit, there has been some rumors suggesting that another F1 team, Williams, will be next. However, the team's founder, Sir Frank Williams denied such talks.

Earlier in May 08, it was confirmed that French GP will be dropped out of the 2009 race, in the wake of falling revenues and rising contractual costs. Later in Oct 08, the Canadian GP too disappeared from the 2009 calendar.


In the current global financial crisis, F1 team sponsors are feeling the crunch. Many are struggling to stay afloat and looking for ways not to go belly-up. In times like this, sponsorship, aka, advertisement, would earn very little priority on the corporate budget. It is uncertain if more teams will be pulling out but one thing I am rather sure - the usual extravagance associated with F1 racing will have to be scaled down.


Ironically, the 2009 race will see a flashy newcomer. The Abu Dhabi GP will be rolling out its first race under the new 7-year contract and the organisers of the race promised that it will become the most luxurious venue on the F1 calendar.


The newly developed, state-of-the-art facility is situated on Yas Island, a 2,550 hectare natural leisure island located in close proximity to the Abu Dhabi International airport. In addition to hosting the F1 Abu Dhabi GP, Yas Island will feature signature hotels, theme parks, 300,000 sq m of retail area, golf courses, lagoon hotels, marinas, polo clubs, apartments and villas, and food and beverage outlets.

The Abu Dhabi GP is certainly defying the present gloomy moods.


In May 2007, a five-year deal was reached between F1 Supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, Singapore entrepreneur Mr Ong Beng Seng, and the Singapore Tourism Board. The Singapore GP was born. Within a year the Singapore GP team put up a spectacular show on 28 Sep 2008 and Mr Ecclestone described Singapore as the crown jewel of F1.

During the race period, many people in Singapore, including myself, tuned in to the live telecast and watched the race as if they had been F1 fans all their lives. The truth is, many of these viewers knew very little about F1 racing until it came to the island state this year.

There were a lot of interest and excitement at the race venue, right in the heart of the city. I was there on one of the three nights and the euphoria was not fake. After the race, the racing community continued to shower praises on the success of the first-ever night race.


Last month, the Marina Bay street circuit was named the 'Worldwide Motor Sport Facility of the Year'. Last weekend, Autosport, the leading motor racing magazine, presented it with the 'Pioneering and Innovation Award' in London. A few days ago, Singapore GP was awarded the trophy for the 'International Automobile Federation (FIA) Promoter of the Year'.

I would say that Singapore GP have had a very good start for the 5-year deal. The question now is, what can we expect for the next four races?


It is difficult to tell how long the current financial crisis will persist. Some say it will find its way into 2009 and perhaps 2010 as well. The outlook for the global economy is bleak and F1 racing is not immune to its repercussion.

Come 2010, new players, Korean GP and Indian GP are expected to join the elite world of motor racing and some wonder if these new entries are ill-timed.


Meanwhile, Singapore GP has started their recruitment drive for race officials. If you are thinking of getting involved as a volunteer, just smack some simple details in their online registration form from 8 Dec 08 to 23 Jan 09. Interestingly, they will check that you do not suffer from color-blindness right there within that form.

Let's hope that the 2nd Singapore GP on 27 Sep 2009 will not be less lustrous.

Happy Birthday, Scrabble!

Today, the popular word game Scrabble turns 60.

Scrabble is also known in many other names such as Literati, Alfapet, Funworder, Word for Word, Scramble, Skip-A-Cross and Spelofun. It is a game where, up to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a board marked with a grid. It is a simple game with simple rules but it has been storming the world in the past six decades.

The game was first invented by architect Alfred Mosher. He did not get copyright approval until 1948 and changed its name from Lexiko to Scrabble. Now, the game is sold in 121 countries in 29 different language versions and one hundred million sets have been sold worldwide.
The game is available in many board versions that include, original Scrabble, Scramble Scrabble, Travel Scrabble, Pocket Scrabble, Junior Scrabble, My First Scrabble, Deluxe Scrabble, Dora Scrabble, and Simpsons Scrabble. It does not matter the version, the game definitely has charmed millions of players, which include many A-list fans such as US President elect Barack Obama.

The first world Scrabble championship was hosted in London in 1991, and has been held on alternate years ever since. I have the opportunity to participate in some much reduced scale competitions and I understand the thrill. Interestingly, the game attracts players of very varying profile making it difficult for one to stereotype a scrabble player.


One thing I have noted, not all good players have similar proficiency in English. Players are often preoccupied with the acceptability of the words rather than the meanings. And to settle arguments about which words are 'legal', an Official Scrabble Players Dictionary and Official Tournament and Club Word List have been published.



Even though I play the game competitively, I do not consider myself a lexophile. In fact, lovers of language (or lexophiles) may not be the best at this game. If you think that you will shine in Scrabble just because you are a good speller and have a huge vocabulary, you are in for some humiliation. Many top players in the world cannot even manage beyond a simple command of English. It is also common to find adults being bashed by much younger players. As strange as it may sound, Scrabble is a game of tactics, memory and luck.




In the era of Intenet, Scrabble too found its way in the cyberspace. The online version, known as 'Scrabulous' was highly popular in Facebook until it was removed in the middle of this year. The online game was seen as illegal by Hasbro, which owns the North American rights to the word game. They took the creators to court over copyright issues. However, on the 60th birthday of Scrabble, Hasbro decided to drop the lawsuit. The reasons are unknown.
The 60th birthday bash was looking a little bizarre in some parts of the world.

Scrabble enthusiasts have celebrated the game's 60th anniversary by playing in some of the planet's most extreme environments. The devotees were reported to have demonstrated their word power next to lions on the African savannah, underwater with sharks in the Bahamas, and while skydiving at 13,000ft.

Over in New Zealand, games were played in sub-zero temperatures atop Nuns Veil Peak by hikers and in Anglesey, two fans challenged each other to a match on a near-vertical rock face. If those were not crazy enough, a game was hosted in a Florida swamp involving an alligator and the host was planning to put the board on an alligator's back.


Scrabble is anything but an extreme sports. These parties obviously have gone way too far for a sedentary game. Nonetheless, these unusual celebrations only demonstrated the kind of enthusiasm in the Scrabble community. May the game continue to bring fun to all the word game lovers.

Happy birthday, Scrabble!

Give Me A Smile(y)

If you do not know what an emoticon is, you should know about smiley.

Emoticon is a blend of two words, 'emotion' and 'icon'. It is a symbol, usually made up of text and punctuations meant to represent a state of emotion. It is also fondly known as 'smiley'.

Emoticons are commonly used in emails, web forums, instant messengers and online games. There are hundreds of widely known emoticons but the most common one has to be the "smiley face" :-) which is used in the context for humour, laughter, friendliness and occasionally sarcasm.
How could a simple sequence of characters embed so much emotion which, under normal circumstances, would require a fair bit of verbal and body languages to express? I am truly amazed by the power of emoticons !


Online communication takes on a newly evolved social etiquette which was not known before the Net era. For example, when chatting with people online, it is considered polite to type AFK (Away From Keyboard) just before you hop into the kitchen to fix your supper. This is to avoid any misunderstanding that you are ignoring them over a prolonged time.
When it comes to conveying your emotions, it gets even tougher if only plain text is used. There is always a thin line between say, an insult and a joke. In this aspect, emoticons come in handy to help set the boundary. Of course, nothing beats seeing actual facial expressions over the webcam, provided you do not mind seeing your chat-mate's laggy grins and frowns.

Take a look at how a simple emoticon sets the emotions apart. Surely you can tell the difference between these two expressions:

• You are an idiot :-)
• You are an idiot :-(

It is generally believed that the emoticon was invented by one Scott Fahlman whose original post was found in the Carnegie Mellon University computer bulletin board in 1982. He suggested using :-) and :-( to represent jokes and non-jokes.
After 26 years, emoticons now represent more than just facial expressions. They have become more sophisticated and you can now throw a cow 3:-o to your buddy or present a rose @>--> -- to show your love. The use of emoticon is also no longer confined to simple strokes of characters. They have 'grown up' and pop art, still or animated, is now ubiquitous.

In the early days, emoticons were thought to be reserved for the naive teens on Instant Messaging. Today, emoticons are appreciated by the entire online community and it is no longer seen as juvenile to use them. If applied appropriately, emoticons can help to avoid serious miscommunication for a variety of adult social interactions.

In a perfect world, we would have all the time in the world to compose emails and attempt to make it clear through our language that we are being cheerful and friendly. Considering that we are doing these things at the speed of light, it is absurd to expect anyone to tirelessly craft elaborate messages that carry the right tone of emotion.

Scott Fahlman probably did not realise what he had done when he came up with the first smiley. He later wrote: "I had no idea that I was starting something that would soon pollute all the world's communication channels."

He was quite right. Today, the power of emoticons has grown stronger and they have become so indispensable in any normal online communication. However, the use of these non-text symbols in written communication does attract a fair share of criticism.

Some users cannot construct a simple sentence without the help of an emoticon or two. They tend to pepper too many smileys in their online communication thinking that it might help to emphasise their mood and they think that, "Yeah :-D emoticons and smileys are cute ;) so no worries :D let's use more of them. ;-) "
If you are one of them, take note that, as with exclamation marks, overuse of the smiley is generally being frowned upon.

The days in which emoticons were considered as unacceptably casual as flip-flops at work are over. Today, they are seen as useful and perhaps even valuable, in a commercial sense.

Russian entrepreneur, Oleg Teterin said that the trademark for the ;-) emoticon has been granted to him by Russia's federal patent agency and he would chase firms using the symbol without permission.

He added that, "legal use will be possible after buying an annual licence from us." It is kind of amusing when he assured that it will not cost much to use his emoticons as it will 'only' be tens of thousands of dollars.

He did not stop at the wink as he also reminded that since other similar emoticons - :-) or ;) or :) - resemble the one he has trademarked, use of those symbols could also fall under his ownership.

I find it appropriate to express my skepticism at this juncture with an emoticon ... :-/

The idea of trademarking such emoticons appears to be ludicrous to me. It would be interesting to see which retards would pay that kind of money just to use a set of punctuation marks. Mr Teterin said he has no plan to track down individuals who use his emoticon. So, am I supposed to be thrilled that I can now 'wink' at at no cost?

Oh heck! Why not ? ;-)

Running With A Mind Of Steel

'Marathon' is a formidable word I very much respect.

This famous foot race over a distance of 26 miles or 42 km, definitely has its charm for there is no lack of suitors. Every year, more than 800 marathons are contested at different parts of the world and the elite runners seem to have an insatiable appetite and want to have more.

I am not a runner and I do not even do any sports competitively. Running has never been my forte. On record, I have participated in cross country runs and scored A's in NAPFA 2.4km runs, and yet, I know running is not for me.

I have been egged by many runners to join the fun of running. I was told that I would not need any sports talent and that I would just need to go with tons of mental strength and physical stamina. Are they telling me that I have no sports talent and I should just be happy to be able to run? Well, I choose to take it positively that I show some promises to demonstrate great determination, a quality which is much needed in a Marathon race.


'Marathon' was originally not a race but a place in the ancient Greece in 490 B.C. Legend has it that a messenger named Pheidippides, was bringing news of Greek victory in a battle with the Persians. He ran from a town, Marathon, to Athens to deliver the message before he collapsed and died.

When the first modern Olympics was inaugurated in 1896 in Greece, the legend was revived after 2500 years. Spiridon Louis, a Greek postal worker crossed the finish line at the end of the 40-km distance. His clocked 2h:58m:50s and became the first winner of the modern Marathon.

Marathon was initially an all-male tradition and women were not allow to participate. In 1967, Kathrine Switzer entered the Boston Marathon and became the first woman who run in a numbered entry. Attempts were made to yank her out but she finished the race. No one knew her exact timing as she reached the finish line when all the officials had left. Although it was never on her agenda, she was all over the headlines the next day.


It was not until 1984 that the women's marathon was introduced. The race was won by Joan Benoit of the United States with a time of 2h:24m:52s.


The distance of the race was not fixed until 1921 and since then, the official distance for a full Marathon is 42.195 km. This distance seems astronomical compared to the 2.4 km run I did for NAPFA test. Every day, I drive to and back from work and I do not even cover that distance. It will probably take me days to complete a full Marathon!
The 7th Singapore Marathon was held recently on 7 Dec 08. This is an annual event held on the first Sunday of December. It attracted 6,300 participants when it first started in 2002. Over the years, the number grew impressively.

Last weekend, the race attracted a record turn out of about 50,000 runners. Kenyan, Luke Kibet, came in first with a time of 2h:13m:01s, setting a new record time.

In this race, the Kenyans took the top 3 positions for Men's Full Marathon and 1st and 3rd places for Women's Full Marathon. An amazing feat! Just four months ago, another Kenyan, Sammy Wanjiru won the gold medal in the men's marathon in the Beijing Olympics, breaking the Olympic record. The Kenyans also dominate the winning lists in many other similar races.

What is with these Kenyans?

First of all, many of the Kenyan runners were born and raised at high altitude. Running at higher elevations builds greater lung capacity, because athletes grow accustomed to the thinner air. This area also possesses a fairly mild climate that allows for year-round running.

There is, apparently, a running culture in Kenya, particularly among the Kalenjin tribe. Although Kalenjins represent just 12 percent of Kenya's population, they comprise about three-quarters of the nation's elite runners.


Kenyan training regimes are notoriously difficult and many young Kenyans view distance running as a ticket out of poverty. In the Singapore Marathon, Kibet earned a prize money of US$35,000 which makes him a rich man by local standards.

Physiology and genetics may also factor into the Kenyans' accomplishments. The Kenyans had a born advantage and speculated that it might have something to do with their "birdlike legs.

The Singapore Marathon was the second race of the 'Greatest Run on Earth Series'. The first leg was held in Nairobi in October. The other two will be held in Mumbai on 18 Jan 09 and Hong Kong, on 8 Feb 09. It will not be surprising to see the Kenyans rule the remaining 2 legs again.

The Marathon is a tough sport but it holds a certain cult-like allure that draws increasing number of participants. To many runners, the race is not about winning. They are in it to keep fit and achieving self-fulfillment by completing a personal challenge. Just crossing the line was a big enough prize.

This article is a tribute to all the Marathon runners who, to me, possess the mind of steel.