Tiger..Lao Hor

Complimentary of Miss JB Die hard, I went to the Tigerlive tour at St James Power station. Prior to this, months ago, I went to its brewery. Yes, I am verymuch interested in how what I consumed is being produced.

The Tigerlive tour cost sgd18 per person, whereas the brewery tour cost sgd 5. Vast difference, but the experience is different as well.

Tigerlive is much more entertaining and the location is easily accessible. The Tiger brewry tour however is more on the manufacturing but its located at Tuas, near to the 2nd Link. Not to mention, the tour in the factory is HOT.

Tigerlive started by the tour on the medals it achieve, and a little bit of history, and then a 3D animated (they let you wear 3D glasses) cartoon on how beer is made. You will be brought from room to room, its pretty impressive. The brewery tour is pretty much on how they manufacture the beer. You'll see hot pipes, steam, big kettles, and very very fast beer cans being filled up with beer.

Neverthless both ended up with a free flow of beer. Tigerlive states that only one beer, but in actual fact, you can have more i think. I had 3. :) . This is the highlight of the event. The super cold beer at the end of both tours are super duper nice and smooth and FRESH. I like the Tiger pub at the brewery though.

I would suggest the tiger brewery tour, but they need minimum of 15 people to organize the tour.

The Tigerlive venue is Boiler room at night, which is the R&B club amongst the St James outlets.


How to enjoy Tiger

Fact 1: Tiger beer is a beer to accompany with barbequed, charred or grilled meats.
Fact 2 : Drink beer from a mug to get the best of its flavors and not from the bottle.
Fact 3 : Add sour plum (mandarin : suan mei) to the beer, it will make the beer sweet.
Fact 4 : Drink the beer ICE cold but do not add ICE.

the human civilization didn't change much conceptually

It dawns upon me that there are some similarities between the age old feudal system once adopted in ancient civilizations i.e. the dark ages civilizations, the chinese dynasties, and etc.

As much as we evolved from the times of kings, rulers, emperors, ditactor to people power, capitalism still emerge as the champion. My perception might be narrowed, but thats how i felt as the drone in the corporate earth.

If you ask me , whether America is the most powerful nation in the world, I would answer that corporate America is most powerful of all. Look around you, unknowningly, almost every country is invaded by corporate America. Mc Donalds, Starbucks, Walmarts, Microsoft, ....and the list goes on. The most practiced ideology, democracy is fueled by corporate donations, or people once from the corporate world.

In comparison, kings, rulers, emperors are like the Chairman of the company, some of them CEOs. Then they have the board of directors, are like the Lords and Dukes. The corporate raiders , sales and marketing are like the knights and generals which lead a bunch of workers , soldiers. In the end, they are controlling the country. The marketing influences us into leading the lifestyle they want us to be, buying things they sell. They have their presense in almost every household.

Mergers and Aquisitions are like kingdoms invading each other. Wars will be like price war, i.e. Apple vs PC.

The structure is the same, the CEO and the Board of directors decides on the company policy, similar to the King and Lords, who decides the law.

What about us ? we work for the corporate, we generate $$$$ but get paid $.

Just an insight, indeed there are flaws in this insight....but then its a interesting thought, I think.

Men will always be lead by FEAR and GREED. well..generally with some exceptions.

Leaders uses FEAR and GREED to control. Ponder.

So to be indeed free...overcome FEAR and GREED.

My heart bleeds for Malaysia too

At work, sleepy, unwell, and I came across this article over at Malaysia Today. This is my first serious post.

If you are a Malaysian and you care , read this first...Click me .

I'm a non-malay Malaysian working overseas. ME , Myself and I too witness how Malaysian Education system victimised us all.

I came from a lower middle income family, with only my mum bringing me up. I was sent to a missionary public school and then a national school for high school. During my school days, I too witness the diminishing numbers of old non malay teachers and the increase of graduate teachers who happens to be malay. Nothing bad about that because they are nice , good teachers.

My first brush with discrimination was during my application for university. I was denied entry. My results wasn't fantastic but I am way much better than some who did not so good. And thinking naively enough i've met the requirements stated in the prospectus of the university and I should easily gain entry. Before that, I was told there is such thing called the quota system and refuse to believe it. I've heard that the quota for entry is 60% bumis and the rest is for us "yang lain-lain" . Everybody knows about this, but yet no one dares to talk openly about it as it fears to spark racial violence. However, there is a ways to get into university if you want to escape the difficult Form six and the expensive colleges. And that is if you chose the unpopular courses in which you'll stand a higher chance of getting in. Ironically, thats great...who cares as long you get a paper and then a stable job....than to pursue something that really interests you. The other alternatives are not promising either, to suffer form six , which if you don't get all A's , you'll end up in courses like food engineering or forestry OR you can spend huge loads of money to colleges and twinning courses in the city, and then pay the interests when you come out to work.

Anyways ...

I end up gaining entry my 2nd try ( well, I dislike form 6 and I don't have money for colleges). I've learn alot about the racial-quota system in university and like most of us, we accept it and not to talk or fight it. From loans , scholarships to grades, exams tips, etc. Of course I do not have proof as these decisions are not transparent. Its all so dodgy. I am shocked to find that islamic studies, syariah laws are compulsory subjects in university.

Anyways, completing my education with loan from the government, I left the country to its neighbouring country. Why ? the money is better and secondly, I am given a equal opportunity here although I am a foreigner. I don't get extra benefits of its citizentry but I think I am treated better here than back home.

There are many of us , working abroad, survivors of the system. I still hear from family and friends, how form 6 5A's student was denied entry into a local University and being accepted in Singapore. I scoffed, at such system that rejects the gem and attracts the brick.

The system is like a drug for the bumis, (they can't live without it and now they want more) and it makes us non-bumis stronger as we survived it. I need to add positively that the systems does churned out good people, but generally on the larger population, it failed. The intentions are good but it was implemented poorly.

Malaysia Boleh....but boleh apa?

I long for the times when we were younger where racial differences were being cast aside and being children we share the common goal , to have play a simple game of galah panjang, jengket and police and thief.

Asian Flush ...

I am not sure how many heard about this Asian Flush. Here is a term I quote from Wikipedia...

"Alcohol flush reaction, (also known as Asian flush disease, Asian blush, Asian glow and ALDH deficiency) is a condition where the body cannot break down ingested alcohol completely, due to a missense polymorphism that encodes the enzyme, acetaldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2) [1], normally responsible for breaking down acetaldehyde, a product of the metabolism of alcohol.[2] Flushing, or blushing, is associated with the erythema (reddening caused by dilation of capillaries) of the face, neck, and shoulder, after consumption of alcohol."

To put it simply, most asians can't drink as well as their other peers from other ethicity. I said most because it plagues more than 50% of asians. Asians as in Chinese, Indians, Malays, Japanese, Koreans, and etc. Simplu because we possesed a inantive enzyme which fail to break down acetaldehyde. And this acetaldehyde causes dizziness, nausea, headaches, an increased pulse, occasional extreme drowsiness, and occasional skin swelling and itchiness. It also known to cause hangovers.

So, contarary to the belief that redness in the face shows good blood circulation, one is very wrong. The one is suffering from Asian Flush and its not good for the body. Acetaldehyde is known to be carcinogic and its increases risks such of liver and esophageal cancers and digestive tract cancer.

We still can drink, just need to be slowly for the liver to metabolize the alcohol properly. As a rule of thumb, a drink an hour.

Good news though, there are available supplements nowadays in our market. However, none of them I know is sold here in Singapore yet. Closest to it, which I Am using is Alka-Seltzer, SGD 8 plus a box. So far it has proven to be useful. Its available at Guardian Pharmacy, reccomend by my fellow drinking kaki.

Shopping

Hop into any shopping malls, you will see 8 out of 10 retail outlets sell items for women, excepts Funan IT mall and Sim Lim Sqaure of course. Every 3 outlets, there is probably a shoe shop, or a handbag shop.

Shoes...Pretty Fit, Vincii, Nine West, Charles & Keith are among the popular brands.

Bags... Guess, Coach, Gucci, Dior, and..you can always see a women carrying a LV every 5 meters you walk along Orchard.

As a man, I can't understand why women likes shopping so much ? They flustered when there is a sale happening, they gleamed with pride when they get a good bargain, they feel good when someone noticed they are wearing something they just bought(guys, hint : compliment if they are wearing something new).

And its not something new. As a kid i used to accompany mum shopping. Its dreadful, and utterly boring. Not to mention embarassed when you are near to the brassiere section. And often now, I see poor boyfriends waiting either inside or outside the shops staring into the open space, some looks retarded, God bless them. Girls will fight back saying its an act of showing affection to their girlfriend/wife.

I have a theory. Its from the movies. Movies influenced us alot. Movies showing Audrey Hepburn shopping till today Sex and the City showing Carrie with her Manolo shoes and bags. Many people started smoking too, because it looks cool like James Dean.

If the movies starts to show Beckham shopping, maybe you'll see men with shopping bags in the near future.

I love Comedy Central

I love Comedy Central. I love Stand up, they are hilarious and geniuses.

If only singapore would have allow it, I would sign up for Cable. Now, I just have to be satified with youtube and the www.comedycentral.com.

Singapore Stand ups....only a few and their shows are expensive.

New Year Resolutions

New Year besides partying and holiday making, its also a time for resolutions for some of us. I figure its to add meaning into the New Year celebration.

I managed to keep 53% of my resolutions I made in 2006. When I was listening to Anthony Robbins tapes, what he said about New Year resolutions. He question why we have to make/review them once a year, why don't we make and review every few times a year. Company does performance and financial reports every quarter. Why don't we ?

We should renew and review our resolutions every quarter.

Some would say, why having them when you don't keep them.. as usual, lose weight, be a better man, learn this, learn that, forgive that, etc. Get real,our lives should not be lived each day by day without a sense of purpose or goals. People who don't make resolutions are afraid to voice out their dreams and goals, because they lack confidence in achieving them. Life is short to be lived like that.

I think we should call New Year resolutions, Quarterly resolutions.


Resolute my brothers..

New Year : 2007 AD

10..9..8.....4...3...2..1...Happy New Year !!!

I ushered in the new year with foam, confetti, party poppers ,champagne and crazy friends. Its fun although I was soaking wet and suffocating from much aerosol. Glasses with champagne clinging before that were unable to be consumed anymore because of the foam now floating on top of them.

We continued to MOS (Ministry of Sound). Its so packed that the telecom networks are jammed within the area. VIP friend of ours got us in..skipping the queue, it sure feels good to be priviledged.

The only downside is when the party is over. The queue at the taxi stand is freaking long. Calls into the taxi booking line is JAMMED. Some people even offered extra cash to taxi drivers to cut queue. Some taxi drivers took but some didn't.

Weel, we managed to call a cab back after 45 minutes.

I slept for 2 hours...then i left for a wedding ceremony.

What a New Year...