Joyce Park - my "Bloggywood" idol ;) (by the way, she's married)

My 3-page long kudos to Lady Gaga created the false impression that I'm her fan.
So I have to re-emphasize that I have never been a fan of any singers or any Hollywood or Bollywood celebs.
Yes, I may drool over Matthew McConaughey and enjoyed listening to Whitney Houston's songs, but no other celebrities turn me on as much as South Park (I've never watched South Park) Joyce Park of "Bloggywood"

Joyce Park - a PHP developer turned entrepreneur

Joyce Park was unfairly dismissed by Friendster back in 2004, and went on to develop her own IT startup - Renkoo.

Renkoo created the Booze Mail and Haikoo Zoo Facebook applications. 

Prior to Renkoo, Joyce was a member of the software engineering teams at Epinions, KnowNow, and Friendster. She is also active in the open source community, as a leader of the mod-pubsub project, founding member of Dojo Toolkit, and longtime PHP developer. 

Joyce studied history at the University of Chicago.

Joyce's blog: http://troutgirl.wordpress.com

News excerpt:

With Friendster like this, who needs enemies?
By Stefanie Olsen
Staff Writer, CNET News
(Source: http://news.cnet.com/Friendster-fires-developer-for-blog/2100-1038_3-5331835.html)

Friendster, known for breaking new ground in online social networking and promoting self-expression among peers, fired one of its employees in 2004 for her personal Web log, or online diary.

Joyce Park, a Web developer living in Sunnyvale, Calif., said her managers told her Monday that she stepped over the line with her blog, Troutgirl. They declined to elaborate, except to say that it was CEO Scott Sassa's ultimate decision, Park said.


"I only made three posts about Friendster on my blog before they decided to fire me, and it was all publicly available information. They did not have any policy, didn't give me any warning, they didn't ask me to take anything down," said Park, 35.

Critics of Friendster's move called it "silly" in light of Park's boosterism of the company.
"Especially for a social networking company, it seems to reflect a particularly poor understanding of the medium," said Wendy Seltzer, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. 

What is "kanasai"? What is "ganas"?

This is Janice - the most natural Brand Guru I have ever met

While most of us have to learn Marketing/Branding strategies, she was born with the knack of spreading infectious fads among friends, classmates and even teachers!

- before we even graduated from our Advertising class
Back in Taylor's College - where we met 8 years ago - she popularized the word "kanasai".

 Janice in Macau

Before I met her, I have never heard of the word "kanasai"
If you asked me back then, I'd probably guess that it's a Japanese word
After all, it rhymes with "samurai"
But actually, it's a Hokkien (Chinese dialect) word that means "looks like shit"
"Kanasai" featured so infectiously in her daily vocab that the entire college of English-speaking students started using the"kanasai" every 5 mins in their conversations

Kanasai is a very versatile word.
For example,... if you think a dress is ugly, you may say - " This dress is so kanasai"

If you don't like the taste of a particular food - "It tastes so kanasai"

Being a pretty girl, she had many admirers whom she'd bluntly describe as "kanasai"

After a while, we became a bit lazy and we shortened the word to "ganas" (in Malay, the word ganas means aggressive... It also has the connotation of sexual aggressiveness)

I had to laugh thinking about how we blatantly coaxed her to share stories about her "ganas" admirers in our girl gossip sessions

Well, she had finally met a nice gentleman (5 years ago) who's not "kanasai" :)
But Samantha and I suspect that he can be "ganas"

 

Janice and bf in Singapore

They look so cute together:) keke

Shopping for (Asian aphrodisiacs) Sea Cucumbers and Dong Gwai in China

My Dad just came back from a week-long Guangzhou trip.

My earliest recollections of Guangzhou were that of a sight of butchered dogs hung upside-down in a wet market, and my Mum's aprodisiac-shopping-spree.

 Sea cucumbers or "Hoi sum" - a priced Chinese traditional aphrodisiac
(Image source: http://img.alibaba.com/photo/11305256/Sea_Cucumber_Joko_Sawah_.jpg)

My Mum (a demure and shy lady) would buy at least 10kgs of sea cucumbers, deer horns and Dong Gwai (traditional Chinese viagra for women) each. I wonder why she bought so much of those stuff. She didn't even need them. The mere sight of cheap Asian aphrodisiacs was enough to get her all excited.

Throughout my teenage years, my parents and I visited China & Thai approximately 10 times, and on each trip, we had to bring a spare bag for my Mum (gotta delete this. Else, she's gonna hit my head with a saucepan) the aphrodisiacs.

My siblings and I grew up eating aprodisiac every other day. While it was okay for my siblings (10-11 years older than I am) to take those powerful stuff, I was seriously underaged for those lethal ingredients.

 

No wonder my friends Janice and Samantha always complained that I'm "hamsap" horny

Helloo...that's not a fair accusation

I'm a saint. I studied in St Teresa Convent School for 6 years!

 

I have no horns

Seriously no horns

"Worm cheese", anyone? ;) - Cazu Marzu, the "illegal cheese"

I'd probably fail as a Psycologist
Never in my lifetime will I ever, ever understand why anyone would find "Casu Marzu" appetizing

 (Image source: http://incontiguousbrick.wordpress.com/2007/07/15/grossest-food-ever-casu-marzu/)

The name sure sounds very classy - like some kind of a fashion designer brand
I have to admit that it can look "classy" too
Auckland-city.blogspot.com proudly presents the "Casu Marzu 2009 Winter Collection"

Giant meatball stuffed with rotten cheese and writhing maggots a la sashimi-style, served with fresh garden salad and maggot sauce

(Image source: http://blog.hotelclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/haggis.jpg)

 

Snowball-style Casu Marzu

(Image source: http://www.culinaryschools.org/cuisine/10-disgusting-delicacies/maggotcheese.jpg)

Nasty Casu Marzu impersonating as New York Cheesecake

(Image source: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3137/2752694625_0c3f59a12a_m.jpg)

 

The dangerous cheese impostor also take on the form of vanilla ice-cream

(Image source: http://www.channel4.com/food/images/mb/Channel4/4Food/ontv/FWord/series4/episode_6/gallery/f_word_episode_6_gallery_05--gt_full_width_landscape.jpg)

Hash-brown lookalike

(Image source: http://img2.photographersdirect.com/img/91/wm/pd2023677.jpg)

Thanks, Casu darling! You have just spoilt my appetite for quiches. Why do you have to look like my favourite food?

 Mash potatoes? OMG... what else can you be, Casu? You'll probably make Madonna jealous with your continuous image makeover

The moral of the story:
Remember to check your ice-creams and cheesecakes before putting them into your mouth next time ;)

Well, I probably won't be too worried about eating New Zealand ice-creams. The kiwis aren't famous for their appreciation of Casu Marzu.
But I probably would be worried about eating gelatos - Italian ice-creams
Casu Marzu is an Italian delicacy - originated in Sardinia, Italy
(Dang, I love gelatos...)

 

(Image source: http://img383.imageshack.us/i/maggotcheese2dg9.jpg/)

Excerpt from Wikipedia:
Casu Marzu (also called casu modde, casu cundhídu, or in Italian formaggio marcio) is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese, notable for being riddled with live insect larvae. Although outlawed there for health reasons, it is found mainly in Sardinia, Italy on the black market. 

Casu marzu literally means "rotten cheese" in Sardinian and is known colloquially as maggot cheese.

Derived from Pecorino, Casu marzu goes beyond typical fermentation to a stage most would consider decomposition, brought about by the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei. 

These larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese, promoting an advanced level of fermentation and breaking down of the cheese's fats. The texture of the cheese becomes very soft, with some liquid (called lagrima, from the Sardinian for "tears") seeping out. The larvae themselves appear as translucent white worms, about 8 millimetres (0.3 in) long. 

When disturbed, the larvae can launch themselves for distances up to 15 centimetres (6 in). Some people clear the larvae from the cheese before consuming; others do not.
 
The Washington Post included a Wall Street Journal article on casu marzu as one the "weirdest news" stories of 2000

I guess I will be forever curious about what Casu Marzu tastes like
I'll have to ask my Dad some day
 Wouldn't be surprised if he's tried them before
My Dad's a typical Chinese man who'd eat just about anything "that has a backbone"
No, wait a min... he's even ate stuff that don't have backbones!!!
- like fat earthworms (in Beijing), crickets, cockroaches (Thailand and Myanmar), dog meat (China) ... before he retired from the tourism biz. He probably had more culinary adventure in a month than most people do in a lifetime). Yucky yucky! Thank goodness he didn't persuade Mum to conduct some gastronomic experiments at home.

Favourite Mock Ad: The Break Up ak.a. Bring the Love Back

Here's one of my favourite ads
- a pretty popular (award-winning) video clip among Marketing/Advertising seminar speakers back in year 2008:

Title - "The Breakup/Bring the Love Back"
- it's a dialogue between "Advertisers & Consumers", cleverly scripted in a "couple-fight" setting.

Highly entertaining
Witty witty witty - definitely a must watch!!

The Break-Up' - also available on www.bringtheloveback.com - is about the relationship between a conceited advertiser and a consumer.

The plot:
The Advertiser (man) and the Consumer (woman) have agreed to meet in a restaurant.
The man's feeling perfectly happy, until the woman makes a painful announcement: she wants a divorce.
In the course of their conversation she makes it clear to him why she is leaving him. And he makes it very clear that he doesn't have an empathic bone in his body.
At the end of the movie the woman walks away disappointed but determined. The advertiser stays behind alone.

The clever script:
Advertiser (Man) seated in a restaurant and admiring his own reflection on a spoon as the Consumer (Woman) appeared

Advertiser (Man): Hey there... Long time no see, looking good

Woman removed her jacket and took a seat opposite the man

Consumer (Woman): Yeah... Let's just keep this simple. I want a divorce
Man: Right now?
Woman: I think you heard me just fine


Man: Come on. This is me. What's wrong?

Woman: We don't talk anymore

Man: I just put a million in a TV commercial to talk to you.
Woman: Exactly. You do all the talking. I never even get a chance...


Man interjected
Man:
Woman: Sure, if I wanna say "Order this product..."
Man: See
Woman: It's not exactly a dialogue
Man: What about the print campaign, hmm?
You can't tell me you missed the billboard at Times Square. That's like a 2,000 ft declaration of LOVE
Woman: You're saying you love me but you're not behaving like you love me
Man: I don't know. The agency said I sound genuinely funny, cute and genuinely charming. 
(Raising his voice in the restaurant)

THEY SAID YOU WOULD LOVE EVERYTHING I DID
(Woman was embarrassed)

Woman: Shh! Keep your voice down. You're not doing a radio commercial
Look, whether you're funny or not, it's just... I've changed and you haven't. I mean, we don't even hang out in the same place anymore
(pause)
You're not even listening, are you?

Man: Coupons! You want coupons, don't you? Look, come by the store. I got two words for you: LOYALTY, REDEMPTION
(Man used his hand as an imaginary gun and "shoot" the woman - in an attempt to signify that the Advertiser has won over the Consumer)
Am I right? That was it? Wasn't it? Let's just TALK

Woman: If you knew me, you know I don't care about that
Man: Sweetheart, I know everything about you. You're 28 to 34, your online interests include music, movies,  and... laser hair removal
You have a modest but dependable disposable income.
Am I the only one not getting the problem here?


Woman: Umm, I'm outta here
Man: C'monnnnnn. Don't be like that
I tell you what. Come back here tomorrow, I'll give you a chance to win a Bahamas vacation. 

(As the screen faded off, the Advertiser (Man)'s voice continued looming in the background
It's a small chance, minuscule, but tactically still a chance


(I'll transcribe the whole thing someday;) need a break at the mo)

Prince looks like Michael Jackson

All of you must be having MJ overdose by now...
so, instead of paying a page long tribute to the King of Pop, I'll just add a short note about something cute:-

Prince ... or Mr Roger Nelson
looks like Michael Jackson

Even their names rhyme
Both are celebs...big time

This is Prince

(Image source: http://www.80smusiclyrics.com/artists/images/prince1_50.jpg)

This is Michael Jackson

(Image source: Wikipedia)

They looked so alike that I once thought they're siblings

Oppss... I don't think Prince will be very pleased with a commoner like me for highlighting that
He almost sued his fans back in 2007

So, enjoy this blog post while you still can ;p... because when Prince starts coming after me, I will have to get rid of this post

"On November 14, 2007, it was reported that the satirical website b3ta.com had pulled their "image challenge of the week" devoted to Prince after legal threats from the star under the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act). b3ta co-founder Rob Manuel wrote on the site: "Under threat of legal action from Prince's legal team of "potential closure of your web site" - We have removed the Prince image challenge and B3ta apologises unreservedly to AEG / NPG and Prince for any offence caused. We also ask our members to avoid photoshopping Prince and posting them on our boards.""
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician) )

Nouriel Roubini a.k.a. Dr. Doom, the Celeb Economist

Ladies & Gentlemen,
Meet "Dr Doom" - Mr Nouriel Roubini - a professor at New York University (NYU)
Early 2008, when he talked about the "impending economy recession" that we're all too familiar with right now, his students thought that he was going cuckoo

(Image source: http://www.marketobservation.com/blogs/media/blogs/Statistics/NourielRoubiniApril182008.jpg)

But, with the then surprising fall of Fannie Mae (Gosh, how can you name a bank Fanny? That's awful) and Freddie Mac giant banking institutions (because Fanny Fannie Mae is always mentioned alongside Freddie Mac, I can't help but think about something phallic whenever I see/hear Freddie Mac), Roubini became an instant celebrity!
Now, people all around the world wants to know what Nouriel Roubini has to say about the economy

I have to confess that I have been a bit of a Roubini New junkie, and that probably is one of the reasons why I have been a bit (unnecessarily) apprehensive about the current economy and banking institutions in New Zealand

Career
(Source: Wikipedia)

For much of the 1990s, Roubini combined academic research and policy-making by teaching at Yale and then in New York, while also spending time at the International Monetary Fund, the Federal Reserve, World Bank and Bank of Israel. Currently, he is a professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University. He spent much of his time working on emerging-market blowouts in Asia and Latin America which helped him spot the looming disaster in the U.S. "I’ve been studying emerging markets for 20 years, and saw the same signs in the U.S. that I saw in them, which was that we were in a massive credit bubble," he said.

Roubini's take on Year 2009:-
At a conference in Dubai in January, 2009, he said, the U.S. banking system was "effectively insolvent." He added that the "systemic banking crisis.... The problems of Citi, Bank of America and others suggest the system is bankrupt. In Europe, it’s the same thing." To deal with this problem, he recommends that the U.S. government "do triage between banks that are illiquid and undercapitalized but solvent, and those that are insolvent. The insolvent ones you have to shut down." He adds, "We're in a war economy. You need command-economy allocation of credit to the real economy. Not enough is being done," he felt at the time.

Good quality Kiwi bread

Was having a lil' Consumer Price Index comparison talk with my friend Li Li who has been residing in Auckland since 8 years ago.
We're debating about the higher average income and higher taxes in New Zealand, the higher car prices in Malaysia (a Toyota Vios costs NZD$40k in Malaysia) , the cheaper dairy products in New Zealand (a NZD$3.99 tub of Yoplait yogurt costs NZD$11 (MYR21) in Malaysia)...
She lamented about the higher cost of bread in New Zealand, but I still think you get a better value for your money here in Auckland compared to Malaysia.
- Fresh and natural ingredients are used
- Kiwi bakers don't cheat or skimp on flour by adding more cancer-causing chemicals such as bread improver and bread softener
- The variety is just amazing!
You can find at least 50 types of bread in a typical supermarket

Fresh loaf of fragrant rye bread (bought from Countdown supermarket, Auckland City), NZD$3.50 (MYR7.50)

 

Signature Range Rye Bread 750g (Less than NZD$2.99)

Signature Range Mixed Grain Bread (I think it's less than NZD2.99) 

In Malaysia, a normal loaf of rye bread that you can get from Countdown will cost 3-5 times the NZ price at a gourmet bakery in a posh 5-star hotel in Kuala Lumpur (eg, Renaissance Hotel)
All supermarkets in Malaysia (except for Cold Storage) offer a limited choices of bread; white bread, wholemeal bread, burger buns... and unfortunately, most bread contain a hazardous level of cancer-causing preservatives (propionic acid), artificial flavouring, colouring, bread softener and bread improver. Awful!!!

In fact, the bread in Malaysia are so unhealthy that we had to resort to making homemade bread

Homemade brioche with fresh Iranian dates:) My Dad's favourite

These are photos of my sister’s eldest son when he was 3-yr-old:-). He’s very very fussy about food. I was delighted that he tried the homemade banana bread without any coaxing and so, decided to take snapshots of him eating em;-)

He's cute, aye?;)

New Zealand Premium Scallops

Don't worry ;), this is not another pornographic review of New Zealand seafood 

Apologies for the overdose of seafood review, but my Mum in KL is so worried that I haven't been eating enough seafood that I have to explain to her that we do get seafood here in Auckland - and that kiwis don't just drink milk all the time even though there are more cows here than us human beans

I'm a regular consumer of "Premium Quality New Zealand Ready-to-Cook Scallops" from Countdown and Foodtown supermarkets
The name sounds nice, aye?
(Oh crikey, what's wrong with me? I'm starting to sound like a kiwi after having been here for only a month, aye)
They're quite easy to cook
- pretty similar to other types of scallops except that the NZ scallops come with the soft orange bits that taste like cooked testicles

Of course, I haven't been able to find the fierce looking pike mackerels that I really liked back in Malaysia...

But then again, I've never had better-tasting scallops anywhere else in the world :))
& they are affordable too
- approx $6 per packet

What is a disco stick?

I've never really been a fan of any singers in my entire life. But in the recent months, I was intrigued with a photo of a singer named Lady Gaga wearing a transparent "bubbles" stage costume - which appeared in The Star, a Malaysian mainstream newspaper.

(If I say I'm impressed with any celeb, you've gotta take me seriously;) Because I have never paid any attention to Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, or owned any CDs apart from Whitney Houston's)    
- as such, I am reviewing her work very objectively, and void of the intense fan devotion that would usually cause biased judgements

(Source: http://blogs.nypost.com)

Well, I was curious enough to google Lady Gaga's and chanced upon her fan site www.ladygaga.com and quite like the Flash design:) 
- an AI version of New York City 
If you move your mouse cursor on the screen, you will get a Flash view of NYC

I listened to some of her songs on YouTube, read her biography and found myself quite impressed with this young artiste! 

What's interesting about her work is that they're heavy on parody - eg. a love song titled "Brown Eyes" whereby the music video's done in a Salvador Dali style - very Freudian (she hugged a corpse as she was singing the song). You can view the video here:-
(It's in French, with English subtitles - provided an overview of all her songs in her debut album The Fame)


and there's also a song titled "Passion" written from the p.o.v. of a transvestite and sung in an effeminate voice;) lol - which I thought was brilliant
I mean, who else had ever really thought about writing a song for Ladyboys?
I only thought about Ladyboys when I visited Thailand
I do not discriminate and I personally feel sorry for the marginalised groups as I have some gay Asian friends who are very intellectual, but suffered discrimination in traditional workplaces. So, great job, LadyGaga - for doing something to help them out! :)

She has a very wacky fashion sense. 
IMHO, very artistic!
Some snapshots of her bizarre costumes...

A snail-inspired outfit

An eagle-inspired metallic colour dress

Mickey Mouse hairdo

 

Look at those lips! :)

Purple colour hair

"Red Riding Hood" leotard

Geometry dress

My favourite:) Blue puffed-sleeves top

I was impressed because she's only 22 and she has a very good insight on how to capture attention in an uncanny way - injecting art into contemporary music and at the same time, bringing attention to social issues - the 'dark side' of city life that people are aware of, but rarely talk about.

Lady Gaga carrying a disco-stick - her favourite on-stage prop

She probably invented the word "disco stick"
- Well, maybe she didn't... but nevertheless, she did help popularize "disco stick" by giving it a new meaning. In her performances (particularly when she sings the song titled "Just Dance"), she is often seen carrying a rod which she refers to as her disco stick)

She french-kissed two Dalmations in one of her videos. Gross? ;p I actually thought it's quite creative (errm... I'll never look at Dalmations the same way again)

Although Lady Gaga does have her critics, I am inclined to believe that she is a very "original" artiste - and being a non-celeb fan, I believe that I'm judging her very objectively - and this blog post will perhaps, make you curious enough to do a bit of googling on your own;)

I'm just so enamoured with Lady Gaga's unique fashion sense and bizarre videos that I almost forget to mention that she has a very good voice - as good as Christina Aguilera's - Broadway quality!!:)

Cute baby chicks in poultry farm:)

For the next two weeks, I'll probably have to eat more seafood, lamb and New Zealand greenshell mussels
After falling in love with these cute baby chicks while touring Lee's Poultry Farm up on the North Shore, I can't possibly eat chicken without having a terrible nightmare

 

They're just so cute...

They're meant to be cuddled - not for the dinner table

Can you imagine that these tiny little chicks will grow 20 times their current size in 30 days from now?

Poultry farming entails huge responsibilities
You need a lot of patience, perseverance and dedication
... making sure that the temperature is always ideal

 

Regular checking of all machineries...

These are to ensure that all 57,000 birds per hatch will be of the same size - not an easy task!