Flogging a Dead Horse, or... The Little Nyonya

5th January 2009. That was the day when Mediacock.. oops, I mean, MediaCORP, ended its run of the drama series The Little Nyonya.

Today's date? 9th February 2009. Even 1 month later, you still can see commercials on TV featuring themes from The Little Nyonya.

When the show has ended, it has ended. What the fuck are you guys thinking?

I cannot fathom the hypothetical situation if a series like Prison Break, Heroes, House, or even Lost still running advertisements AFTER the series finale has ended. It would be a totally ridiculous and ludicrous situation.

Seriously.

If big shows like these organized a THANK-THE-FANS outdoor show, or world tour after the series... hmm wait. Now I'm the one sounding stupid for even coming up with that hypothetical scenario. OK, I know, so I shall stop.

But you don't, you dumb fools.

Flogging a dead horse, milking the dead cow, beating off the dead man. Whatever. It has been nearly 10 years since I last sat down and watch a local series from the pilot episode, to the series finale.

This stretch is still going strong. And I'm proud of it.

English-speaking bus drivers, please

Talk about feeling alienated in your own home country...

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HE can see only vague outlines. When he travels on buses, he needs bus drivers to alert him when his stop approaches.

UNHAPPY: Visually-impaired, Mr Nair is disconcerted that not all bus drivers understand simple English. TNP PICTURE: KENNETH KOH

But Mr K Saseedaran Nair was let down twice on the same day, two weeks ago, by bus drivers who failed to alert him about his stop.

The reason: Neither driver spoke English.

Mr Nair, 45, a former mini-mart owner, was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease known as Leber's Hereditary Optic Neuropathy syndrome less than a year ago.

It has severely affected his vision.

He felt helpless when he realised that the driver of the bus he was taking, SMRT Service No 187, did not understand a word he was saying.

He had boarded the bus at Lakeside MRT.

Mr Nair, who speaks English, told the bus driver he wanted to get off at Bukit Batok swimming complex.

But the bus driver, a Chinese national, replied in Chinese.

'I was taken aback that he did not understand even simple, basic English,' said Mr Nair.

After about three minutes, a passenger came forward to help, but the driver could not understand the other passenger either.

The passenger eventually advised Mr Nair to alight and take the next bus instead.

But that bus, which takes the same route, had a Chinese-speaking driver too, while the passenger beside Mr Nair also did not understand English.

Mr Nair then sought the help of two school children sitting in front of him.

He said: 'The driver communicated with them in Chinese when the bus was approaching my stop. They translated it to English for me and I managed to make my way home.'

Although it was the first time he had had such a problem, he felt the issue should be taken seriously by public transport operators.

Mr Nair said: ' People who work in Singapore need to know basic English.'

His concern: In case of an emergency, such as a passenger suffering a heart attack, how will the bus driver be able to assist?

He said: 'We are trying to place Singapore on a high pedestal in the business world, and we have foreigners coming to Singapore.

'But what will they think when they see that the drivers can't speak English?'

A SMRT spokesman said that the company does ensure that both its local and foreign drivers are tested on their English language proficiency.

According to SMRT, its bus drivers from China undergo a training programme that comprises courses in English language and English skills for customer service.

Local applicants must also take a basic English test.

And during an emergency?

The spokesman said: 'During training, they are taught to be proactive and seek help from other passengers if they face a communication problem, for example, if they are not able to understand the language or accent.'

SMRT has been notified about Mr Nair's case and is investigating.

Geraldine Yeo, newsroom intern

Chinese New Year, Year of the Ox, A.D. 2009

While many people start to take the chance to make new year resolutions, I suppose I won't follow suit by making such things on this blog, since that wasn't meant to be the original purpose of this blog.

While there are still many oddity and weird scenes I am seeing on the streets lately, I have become very forgetful as of late due to my new job.

However, a few notable things worth mentioning (this is, afterall, a nitpicking blog):
1) 23rd January 2009: Spotted a white dead cat with no blood on its body lying beside a drain.
2) 26th January 2009: Spotted a roadkill on the road. It seemed to have been formerly a white cat with some black markings on its body. Couldn't really make sense of it, since its head was missing.
3) 28th January 2009: Saw a dog owner dragging her dog into a feet-washing area near the beach. Dog was desperately trying to get out of the area; owner was lifting the dog up by it's leash like a crane dangling an iron chain tied around a stack of pipes.

While I will try to keep up and include more nitpicks in this blog (most people start one, and the interest/effort/enthusiasm) dies down after a short while, I have to admit that I have been seeing less on the streets. Not because the people on the streets are getting nicer/happier/better/, but because I seem to have become "mabok" (wooden; unfeeling) to such sightings already...

However, I will do my best to keep this up for you (yes you, whoever you are) who still views this blog. :)

Random Picture of the Day... #4

'India's 9/11': One week since senseless attack in Mumbai

This was a very interesting letter somebody wrote to the Straits Times on the 6th December, 2008. The letter is reproduced as-is, with comments from me in bold letters:

IT HAS been more than a week since the terrorists launched a senseless and audacious attack in Mumbai, the financial capital of India, last Wednesday.

Err... OK.

The targets of attack included two luxury hotels and other sites. Such an unexpected attack stunned the whole world and has been described as 'India's 9/11'.The terrorists killed almost 200 people and injured about 300 in the shooting spree. It was a horrifying scene.

I think we all read this in the news already. Thanks for letting us know nonetheless.

Among the hostages who were killed was a Singaporean, a 28-year-old lawyer named Lo Hwei Yen. She had been on a short business trip to Mumbai where she checked into one of the two hotels, the Oberoi Trident. She was expected to return home on Thursday, but unfortunately, she was taken hostage when the terrorists seized control of the hotel. She was shot dead by the gunmen who killed without no mercy at all.

We ALREADY know this, thanks.

Ms Lo, a lawyer with a promising future, was killed in her prime. No appropriate words can describe the sadness of her family and friends when they heard of her sudden and tragic death. So far, she is the first Singaporean to die in a terrorist attack while overseas. The planned and coordinated terrorist attack was carried out by 10 gunmen who wanted to kill more than 5,000 people. However, their attempt was foiled by Indian commandos who were called in to deal with them.The three days of rampage finally came to an end when nine gunmen were killed and one was captured alive.

You simply refuse to listen and go on and on about what we already know, don't you?

The blatant onslaught of terrorism that took place in Mumbai last week drives home a message which every Singaporean must bear in mind, wherever he is. It is that there is a need to be constantly vigilant because the terrorist attack that took place in Mumbai could also take place in Singapore.

OK. There is really no use in the people being vigilant if the people with the necessary power to uphold law and justice don't help out. Remember, Mas Selamat is "supposedly" still out there somewhere.

Since the increase in terrorism is now a fact of life, it is beyond the shadow of a doubt that there is no guarantee of safety anywhere in the world until the threat of terrorism is completely eradicated. Like other countries throughout the world, Singapore is vulnerable to any form of terrorist attack. As a matter of fact, every Singaporean must not let his guard down or the terrorists will be on a killing spree that will ruin Singapore. Hence, it is indeed wise to exercise caution. As the saying goes, 'discretion is a better part of valour'.

You're starting to sound like a priest at his sermon. We all know this already, like I mentioned above.

I was infuriated by the attack that claimed the life of Ms Lo, for which the terrorists are to be held responsible. How absurd and heretic to be under the delusion that mass murder enables a terrorist to enter paradise.

So what did you do? You penned up this letter... OK. And then? What did you do? You sounded so wise above, "discretion is a better part of valour...". I thought you should also know that "Actions speak louder than words". How ironic!

On the other hand, I must also express my sadness about the death of Ms Lo. As a Singaporean who loves peace and cherishes the harmonious relationship among people throughout the world, despite different nationalities, ethnic backgrounds and and religious faiths, I deplore indiscriminate ending of human lives. If everyone were to behave like the terrorists, the whole world would be a tinderbox. The consequences would be disastrous, with the whole world mired in endless bloodshed and violence that could eventually wipe out the entire human race.

You really don't need to hypothesize "if everyone were to behave like the terrorists", because that will NEVER come true. See below explanation:

1) Terrorists don't terrorize each other.
2) Terrorists only terrorize the innocent.
3) The innocent do not behave like terrorists.

Makes sense?

Bobby Yeo

Thank you for your letter Bobby, it was sincerely a good read. Then again, if we remove all the content that we all already know, what would be left of your letter would only be your name.

If you wrote only your name to the papers, and it was 5 years ago, I would bet my pants your letter with those two words would NEVER be published.

Today, it seems like regurgitating news written by reporters all over the world, deems you a placeholder in the column. You've won the day. Congratulations.

Problems and Ears

People don't want to hear about problems that you had which you are able to overcome and resolve.

People want to hear about problems that made you fuck up and screw you over in life.

To them, that can be a bit of humour in a sense.

Nobody wants to hear about your problems in life.

Random Picture of the Day... #3