"...people assume there is something profound about having a relationship based on witty conversation and intellectual discourse. there isn't. it's just another gimmick, and it's no different than wanting to be with someone because they're thin or rich or the former lead singer of Whiskeytown. and it actually might be worse, because an intellectual relationship isn't real at all. Witty banter and cerebral discourse is always completely contrived."
Because generally women have spending power now, we do not hesitate to pay more to satisfy our inner needs. We do not hesitate to pay more for that brand of peppermint foot rub lotion because of its brand's campaigns on domestic violence or ethical treatment of animals. We have a soft spot for brands that awards women who struggle to make a difference to mankind. We wouldn't mind buying Dove's firming lotion because it brought forward real women who are just like you and me. They tell you life's about living. So, who cares if the firming lotion works or not?
Faith Popcorn, a marketing guru said that women look for brands to join, not just to buy. Many brands, which have products bought by women, offer a fantasy element. They have messages. While men brands offer an extension of the public self, women brands offer mediation for the private self.
She has come a long way to have her place in the world. She battles career and when she's home, her maternal instincts take over in caring for her children or cooking a warm meal for her family. She wants to make a contribution for everyone else in the world. She leads multi-lives. Brands that recognise her inner battles, win her over. She feels satisfied she has made a little contribution for women imprisoned by domestic violence while buying a lipstick to be beautiful for the world she faces everyday.
"... veering away from the realms of reality into flights of imagination was strictly prohibited so ... like one of those messages, I've managed to confine myself into a bottle and have bobbed up and down for a long time now on the crest of other people's expectations. Desperately yearning for the bottle to break but not quite sure what I'l do if it does." - Excerpt from Preethi Nair's Gypsy Masala
Was reading somewhere that even though Creative Technology came up with MP3s, Apple conquered the market, not because of technical superiority but marketing genius. Steve Jobs is my Idol, I tell you. I love anything innovative (read: different) and creative (read: quirky) so I spent the entire afternoon at MAAD (Market of Artists and Designers) at the Red dot museum located at Maxwell Road. Original artworks are for sale and these are actually created by budding designers and artists who are there to sort of "gauge" the demand for their artwork and simply to network. The exhibition / market is on every Sunday till Aug methinks.
Me: I took up sign language once. Him: Yeah, me too. Me: *in sign language* A - B - C - D - E ... shucks, forgot 'F'. What's 'F' like? Him: *middle finger*
I was in New York City. We had just finished dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. Su had lent me her husband’s camcorder. I had to use it ‘cos my camera batt ran out pretty fast and it was unexpected (hate it when this happens!) We were rushing to catch the subway home when the camcorder I was holding, slipped right out of my hand and crashed against the sidewalk. My heart stopped, cos it wasn’t mine. Just as we were going home I was thinking of the camcorder and how I simply hate using camcorders without even being aware of it. They have to be held by the right hand. If I did it using my left, I would be shooting my face instead of whatever that was worth shooting at that moment. From the moment I was starting to be aware of things, I had to learn to adapt living in a world made for right handed people. For starters, my dad used to smack the top of my left palm whenever we were eating rice using our hand and I used my left. Indians (as well as in some other Asian culture) have always believed left hand is the “unclean” one. It’s impolite to eat and accept things using the left hand. I have gotten comments like, “Oh! You’re left-handed, lefties aren’t very bright.” HUH? At Primary 3, when we were allowed to use pens to write in school books, I was dead excited, cos I thought writing with a pen signifies adulthood, but at the end of each school day, I’ve always had ink smears on my book and on a portion of my left palm. Teachers were not sympathetic, they said I was untidy. So i had to tilt my book (45 degrees to 90) so that there wouldn’t be any smearing, not only the book was tilted, my neck was too. Now we know why Leonardo Da Vinci (my fellow lefty) wrote from the right side of a sheet to the left and in mirror images. Brilliant. And then, golf. That was classic. While others faced right, I had to face the left. I wasn’t only facing right; I was facing the whole world, an entire stretch of amateur golf players. On the bright side, at least no one gets to see my butt. The list goes on. The computer mouse, ya-da ya-da (… the associated right brain hemisphere that is said to be more active in left-handed people has been found in some circumstances to be associated with genius and is correlated with artistic and visual skill.”) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left-handedYup, and what is consoling is that I am in the good company of some of the world’s greatest creative geniuses – Beethoven, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Charlie Chaplin and Paul McCartney. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t have dropped the camcorder if I had held it using my trusty left-hand.
The Lakehouse Hotel, a Tudor-style country house is a heritage of Malaysia’s colonial past.
Discovered by British surveyor, William
Cameron on a mapping expedition in 1885, the fame of Cameron Highlands grew during the colonial era. British expatriates would frequent the highlands to relax and escape the lowland tropical heat and British planters soon realised the potential of its fertile mountain slopes for growing tea, then a prized commodity. 
Today, Cameron Highlands is still home to many tea plantations and no trip to Cameron Highlands would be complete if you miss the tea plantations.
The Ye Olde Smokehouse Hotel, also a charming country house, serves the best scones I’ve ever had. They come with Devonshire cream, strawberry jam and spoon twirled butter. Very pretty. We had our afternoon tea at the beautifully tended garden enjoying the cool breeze and far from the maddening crowd. It would have been perfect if not for the overpriced tea sets and rusty table and chairs.
Ma favorit la bas Population: You While boyfriend was playing Civilization 4 I decided to go to the store. He asked if I would bring him back something, I said no, and he said: "And I was just going to name this city I conquered after you. I guess I'll have to call it Bitchburg."
Important: This entry may contain information that is confidential, privileged or unsuitable for overly sensitive persons with no sense of humour or irrational religious beliefs. Kidding LAH (!) There is a reason why I’m not particularly fond of socialising with my classmates. Just a chosen few. This B**** simply went to the refreshments provided on Friday evening and went *point* “FAT!” *point* “FAT!” *point* "FAT!" A substantial amt of people were gathered there because everyone waits for break time. We all work, aright? So probably we’re all starving and we don’t need unsavoury comments from B**** who basically whiles her time away by going for manicures, pedicures, exercises at posh gyms, has her flat butt massaged(!) but still have visible giggly bits in the body. So! she better well avoid the refreshments. Wait a min, if she’s avoiding the refreshments, she shouldn’t be there in the first place. Anyone who knows me well enough do know food gestapos rile me big time. Fine, count calories, keep it to yourself. But no, food gestapos verbosely analyse every mouthful by its fat grams and carbohydrate content. They comment in superior tones at what other people eat. Don’t go around reminding people who know how to live what they eat. We are not unpaid extras of Your Neurotic Life. Hey 6 raisins = 90 calories! *roll eyes* Fine, THANKS for the info. There's just so much going on in the world like the life of 11 year old Gulsoma, an Afghan girl who was sent off to be married at the age of 4. As a child bride, Gulsoma was a virtual slave in the household of her “husband”. Link: Gulsoma's painful life. BUT, for these people I come across everyday, the world revolves around them. Singaporeans. *hmmph* *walk away stomp feet*
Brilliant!
Once upon a time, a girl asked a guy "Will you marry me?"
The guy said, "NO!"
And the girl lived happily ever after and went shopping, dancing, camping, drank martinis, always had a clean house, never had to cook and farted whenever she wanted.
After accidentally shooting a fellow hunter, we hope that Vice President Dick Cheney and the whole hunting fraternity will reconsider hunting for the benefit of both humans and animals.
Happen to chance upon this T-shirt ad by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). PETA is no stranger to controversial ads ... and I think this one is hilarious!
I love consistenly good coffee anytime. Starbucks' Mocha Valencia gets my vote. It's orgasmic. Chocolate orange heaven. Warm mocha, bitter chocolate with a sprinkle of zesty orange flavour.
This ad guy from Bates was the guest lecturer for our most recent lecture. He gave Starbuck's a brief mention. It sold not just coffee he said, but a lifestyle. So Starbucks was marketed as "The Third Place". It goes like this. Home is the "first", Work is "second" and because a mug of coffee buys you unlimited time, Starbucks is "the third". Clever! i'd say. Mr Bates is also a PC illiterate. The projector was Mac incompatible so all his slides were a mess. He was unequiped yet engaging.
An intoxicating morrocan lamp is a must have stand-out piece in my home. Light beams through the intricate cutwork patterns (sometimes thru colored glass) hand-hammered by a master artisan in Marrakesh. An erotic, fiery glow created by the unique lamp provides special ambience to any room. Coming in all shapes, sizes and colors, I'm still searching for the perfect one.
I am being told by many people to pursue what I really want and am good at. If the suggestion was water, I would have probably taken a few sips and sloshed it around in my mouth. I have realised that it had taken me 10 years to get back to what i had always wanted to do at the initial stages of my growing up years. I do not have regrets as I am the person I am because of my experiences. But I have also wondered ( ... and very often these days) what it would be like now if I had followed my heart.
(Right:)Portrait of a woman we were supposed to do in a basic- portrait drawing class. I was kicked out after 2 wks 'cos I was better than the instructor. haha! *just kidding*
"If you stand up and be counted, from time to time you may get yourself knocked down. But remember this: A man flattened by an opponent can get up again. A man flattened by conformity stays down for good." ~ Thomas J Watson
Here's some help: http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/quiz Anita's Interest Color: Blue People with blue Interests like job responsibilities and occupations that involve creative, humanistic, thoughtful, and quiet types of activities. Blue Interests include abstracting, theorizing, designing, writing, reflecting, and originating, which often lead to work in editing, teaching(N-O), composing, inventing, mediating, clergy(!), and writing. Anita's Usual Style is: Blue People with blue styles prefer to perform their job responsibilities in a manner that is supportive and helpful to others with a minimum of confrontation. They prefer to work where they have time to think things through before acting. People with blue style tend to be insightful, reflective, selectively sociable, creative, thoughtful, emotional, imaginative, and sensitive. Usually they thrive in a cutting edge, informally paced, future-oriented environment. You will want to choose a work environment or career path in which your style is welcomed and produces results.
I'm sure. Do you know that in Japan, journalists are assigned to individual politicians? Some journalists are even personal with them to the extent that they will be having breakfast in the politician's kitchen even before they are up. The honesty in their Canons of Journalism could be brought into question, which states that "..... the mission lies in the pursuit of truth." Hm ...
The new year gave way to a busy week which explains my light blogging. We began another intensive module on Asian Media and Global Communication. This is one of the more interesting modules, very extensive. Certainly looking forward to a similar one sometime in Nov, Contemporary Pop Culture conducted by the same course coordinator.
(Left): One of our presentation slides on Japanese Pop Culture
One down, 2 more to go. A 1000 word video review essay on Media Regulations in China, due on 20 Jan and A major essay on Indian Media (Bollywood! *shake booty*) which is due on 1 Feb. Due to time constraints, I'm still debating as to whether i should just stick to Japanese Pop Culture for the major essay 'cos at least i know something bout it after the presentation or read up on something which i have totally no clue on (No I think I DO know Arjun Rampal): Bollywood. Well! After spending ungodly hrs in King Albert Park's mac-ers, 2hrs of sleep and taxi fare of 20 bucks to SIM, we got ready to present our slides on How Japanese is Japanese Pop Culture this morning. My indifference to most things (Read: MOST *keepin in mind the Canon Ixus I-Zoom) Japanese, as opposed to most people here, didn't help. My team mates actually thought that we got the coolest topic and i was like yeah whatever. I never knew the term gunguro till i started reading up on Japanese fashion. These Japanese girls who're into Gunguro fashion are inspired by the Californian surfer look, especially the tanned skin. Some of them go a little OTT though, appearing with DARK faces and bleached blond hair.
Many people just don't seem comfortable with their own identities. I wonder if this is a form of Globalisation? Westernisation? Westernisation is an ongoing process of Globalisation. oh gawd. u know, if those lecturers talk abt Asian values in lectures again, i'm gonna bang my head against a wall. i think i've had enough of that. Especially after burying my head in you-know-i-know-who('s) memoirs.
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