mrbrown.com

IS Magazine: Readers' Choice Awards 2011

Wow, I am Best Blog for the Arts and Entertainment category in this year's IS Magazine Reader' Choice Awards!

Thanks to all who made this happen. Wish I could've joined the party that night! I am very honoured.

Elections come early for my estate

If you can't vote at the next elections, you can always vote for your block's paint colors.

(via my instagram)

MediaCorp says sorry for CNA Japan earthquake email

Comments on this post are closed.

Looks like MediaCorp has apologized for their CNA Marcomms' earthquake email. (See ST report)

Mr Edwin Koh, Senior Vice-President, Marketing & Sales Planning, MediaCorp said:

"We apologize unreservedly if we had been seen to be insensitive to the gravity of the situation. The staff concerned has been counseled to be more circumspect; we hope the public will be forgiving and we can focus our attention and efforts on the affected victims of this most unfortunate tragedy."

How do you consider it an "unreserved" apology if there is an "if" after that? And what does the SVP mean "IF we had been SEEN to be insensitive"? So does that mean, we apologize if you think we've been insensitive but if you don't think we've been insensitive, we don't apologize?

And why was the staff concerned counseled for this? Doesn't the buck stop with the head of Marketing?

And what is up with last bit? Does it mean if we don't forgive them, we are getting in the way of them focusing on the tragedy? Is a "Let's move on"?

For once, I'd like to see a straightforward apology, something like this:

"We apologize unreservedly for being insensitive to the gravity of the situation. We hope the public will forgive us. We are sorry, we screwed up."

But of course, that would be asking too much.

I leave you with a comment from Yama, a reader from Japan:

"I have read this mail twice.

Firstly I have read as an outsider. I found it's distasteful.

Secondly, as a Japanese, that's who I am, it hurt me badly.

Lucky that not many of us staying here read the Straits Times as I know from the fact. We don't need extra pain like this at this moment for sure.

I would like to thank your Government for sending your rescue team.

And thank you for being compassionate toward us.

All those who make use of the disaster, it is fine to do so.It's no problem if you think what is wrong with making money out of it (though it is really shameless thought).

But please do it behind us.

We are really trying to stand up again, please do not try to kick from our back."

CNNGo column: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and the three magic words

Latest CNNGo.com "Say What? with mrbrown" column: Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew and the three magic words

Excerpt:

When I read the headline, “MM Lee: I stand corrected,” I gasped.

I looked around me to see if I was still in the same universe or if I had been moved to a parallel one; I watch too much "Fringe".

I felt the walls to see if there was rip in the space-time continuum.

I confess, I do not know if checking walls is even the right procedure to check for rips in space-time.

Nope, I was still in this world. But there it was, MM Lee Kuan Yew said that his remark about Singaporean Muslims being harder to integrate than the other religions was, well, out of date. (cont'd)

Japan got earthquake, quickly book your CNA commercial slots NOW!

Comments on this post are closed.

Update: Mediacorp has since issued an apology. Kinda.

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You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me.

Really? An 8.8 earthquake and a massive tsunami has hit Japan and this is the email your Vice-President for Marcomms sends out, Channel NewsAsia?

Excerpt:

Be a Part of Channel NewsAsia’s Breaking News Coverage on the Japan Tsunami

Channel NewsAsia: Massive Tsunami Hits Japan after Massive Quake
A massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake shook Japan in the early afternoon today, unleashing a powerful tsunami that wrecked havoc along the streets of coastal towns. Book your spots in the Weekday Evening News Bundle as the channel brings viewers comprehensive coverage reports on the disaster with extended versions of news bulletins tonight.

… Call our sales representatives now!"

And it's "wreaked havoc", not "wrecked havoc".

Yes, this is a real email. I did not make it up.

Obama wonders if he should apply for next Singapore Presidential elections

Singapore President's latest pay rise: S$890,700 (US$702,100)

Obama's salary: S$507,400 (US$400,000)

Congrats to next President for his almost $900,000 pay increment!

Personally, I don't think the ST headline captures the significance of the news. I mean, come on: "Changes to President, Istana expenditure"?

That's not just a change! Adding $1000 to his salary is a change.

No! You want a headline like:

"Next President gets nice pay hike of $890,700!"

or something short and sweet like:

"Ka-ching!"

I also noted the extra $610,000 to be set aside for the Presidential Swearing-in Ceremony. That part I am not so sure. Seems like a lot of money to set aside for swearing.

Come on, say it with me: "Getting paid... like a BAW$$!"

Excerpt:

PARLIAMENT on Thursday approved the allocation of an additional $1.25 million to the Civil List, which specifies the salaries of the President, his personal staff, and expenditure.

The amount set aside for the President's salary is $4,267,500, up from $3,376,800. The entertainment allowance remains unchanged at $73,000. The amount for staff salaries increases by $471,600 to $4,532,400.

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said these increases were to cater for an additional staff officer to support the work of the Council of Presidential Advisers, a Butler Manager to meet the increased demand for butler services at the Istana, and to meet higher variable payments on account of strong economic growth.

New ride: Raleigh MV-7

I suddenly realised I haven't written about riding for a while. Riding my bicycles to work and most places has become such a daily routine for me that it is something I take for granted.

As an update, I have since given one of my mountain bikes away, sold the Dahon Curve to a friend, and bought this Raleigh MV-7 Mini-velo (mini-bike). It doesn't fold but it has 20-inch wheels and an entry-level 7-speed Shimano drivetrain. Not an expensive bicycle but very fun and functional to ride.

I added some bits I had left over, like a brown Brooks B-17 Special saddle and Dia-Compe brake levers, and also bought a cheap inverted handlebar, smaller Tekto brakes, and 1-inch-wide Maxxis Overdrive Elite tires. Not a very expensive makeover as well.

My daily ride is still my Dahon Mu P24 folding bicycle, my workhorse. But it is nice to have a little variety in life.

While looking at mini-velos, I also happened to stumble upon my own site while browsing one of my favourite bicycle sites, Cycle Chic™ from Copenhagen. My site was on the list of Cycle Chic™ Suggests. I am most honoured.

Cycle Chic™ is still one of the leading sites that promote Style Over Speed, a philosophy of riding that I most agree with. I visit the site just to see beautifully dressed people riding their bicycles, instead of the usual sports-and-lycra photos.

You can go on and on about the hot and rainy weather, the road conditions and the inconvenience of riding in Singapore but you won't convince me. I've been doing this for almost four years now and enjoying every minute of it. Every time the COE goes up, or the ERP charges increase, I just laugh it off. Every time the public transport system strains harder under the increased population load, I give thanks for my two wheels getting me where I need to go with minimal fuss.

Yes, I get some exercise too. But that's not my main reason to keep riding. I do it because it still is a lot of fun. Nothing beats the feeling of the cool night air, right after it has rained, wrapping itself around your face as you drive your bicycle at a leisurely pace.

I will leave you with this article from Grist.com, entitled "How bicycling will save the economy (if we let it)". While it is based on the US economy, the lessons there also apply for Singapore.

MM Lee: "I stand corrected"

The government would like to stress that, just like the Sengkang hospital and the recent Budget, this is NOT an election sweetener.

No news on whether there will be a sequel of his book: "Hard Truths 2: the I stood corrected edition".

Opposition parties glow with confidence

Someone please tell Steve Chia his Facebook page photo look like those kind from dodgy property agent namecard.

Kthxbye.

I am Gum Dong Liu Lei that MOE quote me but…

Update: the agency who did it wrote to apologise for their oversight.

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Thanks for liking my tweet enough to use it for your half-page newspaper ad, Ministry of Education. But hor, next time ask me first, can? Or even tell me beforehand?

This was my FULL tweet:

"http://mrbrwn.co/fcBPAj Mrs Chong, a Gum Dong Liu Lei video from MOE. Nice but why cannot leave comments?"

So your Youtube video cannot leave comments but your newspaper advertisement of your Youtube video suddenly displays "comments" from the likes of me? Ironic, no?

The least you could have done was list my site's URL or even my Twitter username so people can find me online for more of my witty banter lah.

Next time you like that again, it will be public caning for you, ok? Am I make myself clear?

But I still like your Mrs Chong video, for the record.

SC2 commentary with Singapore flava!

My tribute to Kelly who does Starcraft 2 commentary and who recently found some notoriety for her English skills.

The baby-carrying has begun

Should ask if PM can babysit for you too. That would be a great help.

CNNGo column: mrbrown revives bygone Singapore slang

Latest CNNGo.com "Say What? with mrbrown" column: mrbrown revives bygone Singapore slang

Excerpt:

It all started with “Tebaboom."

Someone in my twitter feed used this word and immediately, nostalgia kicked in and brought me back to my childhood where we used this word to describe an explosion.

As in: “Pewpewpewpew! Tebaboom!”

It can also be used like this:

“I ate so many chicken nuggets, I was going to tebaboom.”

In some circles it is also pronounced “Chibaboom.”

After the buzz of hearing “Tebaboom” being used, I decided that we needed a revival. A revival to bring some well-loved Singlish phrases and words back into our daily conversations. So in the dead of night, I sent out the word "Tebaboom" under the hashtag #wordstorevive into my Twitterverse, and my Twitter friends joined in with contributions… (cont'd)

the mrbrown show: the big pow wow

The Opposition parties meet for their traditional pre-General Election pow-wow! Listen in at mrbrownshow.com!

Play "the mrbrown show: the big pow wow"

Singapore Democratic Alliance: 幸福 or 辛苦?

Pardon my poor Chinese but is that right way to write 辛苦, seen here on opposition party SDA's banner?

Or is that correct but it is some special font for Traditional Chinese text?

Or maybe 幸福 + 辛苦 = 幸苦 and means bitter sweet?

And if one reads this banner in its entirety, did the SDA mean to say, "The stronger the PAP party becomes, the more the people suffer"?

Or did they mean to say "The stronger the PAP party becomes, the more the people have prosperity"?

(Hat tip to reader Xin Hui for the heads up)

The Teppanyaki Chicken McGrill: A look behind the scenes

I paid a little visit to the King Albert Park McDonald's today to see how the new Teppanyaki Chicken McGrill is made. This was my first time in two decades in a McD's kitchen (I worked in a McD's for a spell before NS) and I was quite looking forward to it.

The kitchen has computers and the newer grills now, but there is still the same ruthless efficiency that I experienced when I worked there. The first thing that struck me about the McGrill is the sourdough bun. I am told these are specially baked at their bakery for this sandwich and dusted with wheat flour.

After being toasted, the special sauce is applied.

A leaf of fresh lettuce…

Some juicy tomato slices…

The chicken thigh patties are grilled here…

"Smile, you're on mrbrown's camera!"

Hot off the grill!

Time for the chicken thigh to join the rest of the sandwich…

And packed into the box, ready to go!

I had to hustle out of the kitchen as soon as I got my shots because the lunch crowd was coming in and it was going to get hectic.

I wonder if I can still slide across the floor like I used to do in my younger days. Probably not. I was much lighter when I was 18.