Stop Pretending Cupcakes Are Brilliant

Was in stitches reading this hilarious piece about what to give up for the new year.

Charlie Brooker
The Guardian, Sun 8 Jan 2012 20.00 GMT

Of all the irritating "Keep Calm" bastardisations, the most irritating of all is the one that reads "Keep Calm and Eat a Cupcake". Cupcakes used to be known as fairy cakes, until something happened a few years ago. I don't know what the thing was, because I wasn't paying attention. All I know is that suddenly middle-class tosspoles everywhere were holding artisan cupcakes aloft and looking at them and pointing and making cooing sounds and going on and bloody on about how much they loved them. I wouldn't mind, but cupcakes are bullshit. And everyone knows it. A cupcake is just a muffin with clown puke topping. And once you've got through the clown puke there's nothing but a fistful of quotidian sponge nestling in a depressing, soggy "cup" that feels like a pair of paper knickers a fat man has been sitting in throughout a long, hot coach journey between two disappointing market towns. Actual slices of cake are infinitely superior, as are moist chocolate brownies, warm chocolate-chip cookies and virtually any other dessert you can think of. Cupcakes are for people who can't handle reality.

Vroom.. Vroom.. Vroom.. comes Michael Voon

Poem by Kao Chee Ming (Kindle - Vessel - DUMC)

Vroom.. Vroom.. Vroom..
comes Michael Voon
Round the corner 
to Dream Center 
Riding his Iron Horse the 2 wheeler,
like the famed masked 'Lone Ranger'
With jacket/helmet looks more like Power Ranger

We take his notes trembling with fear,
Hoping our names don't appear,
The longer he keeps going,
The more it gets embarrassing ....
When Voon booms;
"Eh, not happening"... you si liau !
When he dooms ..
"Why STILL not happening one"... you si kiau kiau ! ! 
But he let's you off with smirking grace. . . 
Never makes anyone embarrassed, gives face 

Lovely big eyes and demeanor at times like cartoon,
Endearing and sometimes talks with looney tune,
A man full of life to impart,
Soft and kind at the heart,
Multi talented in performing arts,
Also can dance ladies' part !!

Vroom Vroom sana, Vroom Vroom sini
Is he riding a 'kap chai' or Harley ?
Riding on ignominiously, 
his motor we never see.
Like his moniker "Mikey", 
Why he no "likey",
'Vai ?'
We still tak tahu lagi
He lives financially so simply
Phil 4:11 fulfilled contentedly
( Yet his muscles so fleshy ! )

He transforms asteroids into stars within 2 moons,
Old dogs and old cows he also boleh pun,
Come back soon 
Michael Voon !
Vroom Vroom Vroom !




God Bless You Abundantly Brother Kao Chee Ming!

Blessings Under a Rainy Ride

It's usually a few-minutes routine to change into my rain gear whenever rain starts to pour. This time it was along the Federal Highway before PJ Hilton.

I had stopped my bike under this LRT rail with another biker. So beautiful was the view I had decided to just stop for a moment, soak in the fresh smell of rain and took out my iPhone to snap this pic.

This week alone, there were already quite a few rainy days but it tickles me to enjoy these occasions. Life is such. God's love is just this simple.

ADAMS - Art Drama and Music Society

Dedicated to Mr Timothy Chee, Mr Thomas Choo, Bro Advisor The Late Brother Ultan Paul and all past ADAMS members.

Prayers on a Sunday

Prayers on many minds this morning: the people's peaceful march for a Just, Clean & Fair election process in Malaysia on July 9th, 2011.

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Latest Map of Countries Visited

The latest country visited was Brunei over a year ago. So much more of the world to see and new cultures to learn and experience.

10 Things to Learn from Japan

1. THE CALM
     Not a single visual of chest-beating or wild grief. Sorrow itself has been elevated.

2. THE DIGNITY
     Disciplined queues for water and groceries. Not a rough word or a crude gesture. 

3. THE ABILITY
     The incredible architects, for instance. Buildings swayed but didn’t fall.

4. THE GRACE
    People bought only what they needed for the present, so everybody could get something.

5. THE ORDER
    No looting in shops. No honking and no overtaking on the roads. Just understanding. 

6. THE SACRIFICE
    Fifty workers stayed back to pump sea water in the N-reactors. How will they ever be repaid?

7. THE TENDERNESS
    Restaurants cut prices. An unguarded ATM is left alone. The strong cared for the weak.

8. THE TRAINING
     The old and the children, everyone knew exactly what to do. And they did just that.
 
9. THE MEDIA
     They showed magnificent restraint in the bulletins. No silly reporters. Only calm reportage.
 
10. THE CONSCIENCE
      When the power went off in a store, people put things back on the shelves and left quietly!


Every secondary student in Japan is required to study Confucius's Analect. 
What is taught in the Malaysian school curriculum?

Past Reviews

Past REVIEWS thru the years....

-------

“Michael did an excellent job with the choreography. The dance movements were not typical...imaginative and very unusual...”

Dance Review, Jeff Billinger, The Criterion (March 29, 1984)

“...a tango routine performed by Michael and Karen Stubbs Huff was brilliant, drawing extended applause...”

Review on The Boyfriend, Gary Massaro, The Daily Sentinel (July 27, 1984)

“...he’s got a real flair for performing... incorporating both cultures into his works...”

Feature, Courtney DeBruin, The Daily Sentinel (May 2, 1985)

“...astonish the eye and ear...a true entrepreneur of the heart and mind.”

Feature, Criterion (Nov 6, 1985)

“Michael’s non-speaking part (as Woodstock) is full of bird-like manoeuvres that are especially funny...”

Review on Snoopy, The Daily Sentinel (Dec 13, 1985)

“Michael performed a solo number (as Mike). You’ll remember him. He’s the guys with springs in his feet...”

Review on A Chrous Line, Gary Massaro, The Daily Sentinel (April 11, 1986)

“Michael...a Malaysian, gave a particularly impressive performance...”

Review on A Chorus Line, Carrie Golus, The Criterion (April 1986)

“...rare to have been listed (on Who’s Who) for several years running (3 times)...”

Who’s Who Press Release, Mesa State (May 27, 1987)

“OVERACHIEVER”

Fifi Lim, News Straits Times (Nov 8, 1987)

“Voon...clearly outshone everyone else when he danced.”

Review on HipHopera, Wilson Henry, Sunday Mail (Oct 4, 1998)

“It was nonetheless Michael Voon who played the bartender Derrick who impressed most. Playing a slyly sagacious figure, he had great moments particularly when delivering the very wise rap piece “Donno Don’t Talk”. His was a cleverly conceived character, poised, not only to provide comic relief, but also the necessary wisdom of utterance.”

Review on HipHopera, Eddin Khoo, Sunday Star (Oct 11, 1998)

“...praise should go to Michael Voon, who besides acting, also choreographed the dance sequences which had the audience in stiches.”

“...it is Michael Voon with his typical chinese accent and funny antics that made him the darling of the lot.”

Review on HipHopera, Boey Ping Ping, Sunday magazine, The Sun (Oct 11, 1998)

“...boasted distinct lines of movement that possessed a clear logic and powers of evocation...”

“...Voon’s playful humour and his keen sense of rhythm...”

Review on Chicken Parts V, Eddin Khoo, Arts, Sunday Star (March 7, 1999)

“Michael Voon...proved to be the piece de resistance of the show. Michael held his audience rapt...”

“Dancing with an infectious delight and unrestrained comedy...his talent and mischief stole our hearts and received thunderous applause.”

Review on Chicken Parts V, Sherry Siebel, Day & Night (March 15-21, 1999)

Michael Xavier Voon's supercharged performance as 'Launcelot' was a

show stopper. Shakespeare usually inserts a character like Launcelot

into every plot - a minor character with a major solo scene - a

versatile actor's dream cameo vehicle for "Best Supporting Performer"

award.

Review on The Merchant of Venice, Kay Poh Chee, Artseefart.com (July 6, 2000)

More Montages!

Storyteller • Diaries Ensemble • My Wok

Colorado National Monument

Photo Montages

JUST TRYING SOME cool free apps on iPhone. This one is called Montager.

Underwater Photography for KLCC Gallery. Photos by Michael Loh.

Mesa Repertory Dance Company: "E=" • "10-is-N-E-1" • "Diaries in Solo"

Hip-Hopera the Musical Season II

Hip-Hopera the Musical Season II

The WOW Factors in a Dance Routine - Just Dance Magazine

Thinking of Food at 5am

Stinky Tofu
(Pasar Malam Taman Connaught - Wednesdays; Taman Sri Muda - Fridays)



Fried Kuey Teow
(Pasar Malam everywhere!)



Nasi Kukus Ayam Berempah
(Taman Cheras Indah, nightly after 7pm)

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MXV Blog is Up Again

Thanks Isaac for helping me manage my blog's technical details.


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Crick in the Neck

X-Rays taken of neck after Dr Shue regarding scheduling of femur operation to remove titanium screws. Looks like my neck is not straight. Will get diagnosis next to see is my migraines and neck stress are due to that.




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Give credit where it is due

Give credit where it is due

BY TERENCE FERNANDEZ

DON’T get to watch much television but my friend Leon did not allow me to have my lunch in peace when we met last Thursday, as he was going on and on about this movie he caught on HBO, Flash of Genius. I chanced upon it on Saturday and decided to see what the fuss was all about. Halfway through the film, which stars Greg Kinnear, I was thanking Leon. It is the true story of Robert William Kearns, or Bob Kearns, the inventor who came up with the intermittent windshield wiper. He had tried to sell his idea to Ford, Chrysler and General Motors but all three did not show any interest, although Ford had asked him to prepare a cost analysis.

Despite the rejection, these companies proceeded to install the intermittent windshield wiper which Kearns had patented. It was at the launch of the latest Ford Mustang that Kearns discovered that his idea had been stolen as the intermittent windshield wiper – which Kearns invented based on the blinking action of the human eye – became the car’s main selling point.

The invention was his “flash of genius”; patent law terminology meaning that an idea for an invention could come to someone out of nowhere irrespective of his skills, experience or knowledge over the matter.

Between 1978 and 1990, Kearns fought what is arguably the most famous patent infringement case in US history as he sued Ford. His fight for justice consumed him so much that his marriage ended in divorce. The film almost accurately depicted Kearns’s story, where he even represented himself as lawyers were reluctant to take on a powerful corporation and an American institution.

During the course of the trial, he was visited by a Ford employee who asked him to settle the case for US$30 million with no admission of liability by Ford. He rejected the offer saying what was more important was the recognition that he was the inventor of the mechanism. After 12 years in court, the jury found in favour of Kearns and awarded him US$10.1 million. Another suit he filed against Chrysler brought US$30 million.

Today, almost all cars in the world feature Kearns’s intermittent wipers.

In retrospect, I wondered how many of us would have gone all the way as Kearns did – fighting for one’s principles no matter what the cost. Perhaps in Kearns’s world, he was confident enough as he had the solid backing of the US Constitution and an infallible legal system.

How many of us would have walked away from US$30 million? Life changing money which can take care of several generations if managed well?

We root for people like Kearns because everyone wants to see the underdog win. Back home we have come across many Bob Kearns. People, who fought for their principles, suffered for it and were eventually vindicated. Like the retirees who spend their days writing letters and making the long journey to Putrajaya to get their pensions and succeeding when they are near death’s door.

Or the politician who went to jail for speaking up for a sexually abused girl and is today heading a state government?

The activist who faced jail for exposing abuse of detainees at a detention centre for foreigners only to have the government withdraw its case against her?

But it also brings to mind that Kearns’s case is one of “lembu punya susu, sapi punya nama”. Not an uncommon issue. How many of us take credit for other people’s work?

The department head who gets to gloat about his KPIs and receives a prestigious award at a five-star function when it was his staff who did all the work while he was at the golf course. Or in reverse, the department No 3 who is made to face the music because someone higher up fouled up.

Look at the structures of some departments – both private and public – with all their deputy heads, assistant directors, principal assistant directors and vice-presidents gives one the impression that the top wants the title of No 1 but not the responsibilities and the work that come with it.

It is sad when giving due credit is sometimes akin to donating a kidney. Perhaps it is politically expedient for some to deny the contributions of some because it helps to maintain the natural order of things and you wouldn’t want to disrupt a sensitive eco-system.

Having such an attitude is not only unfair to those wronged and uncredited, it is also disruptive to progress when people are not recognised for their skills and contributions.

Intellectual theft is not only limited to property and ideas. It is a crime when it also usurps one’s passion and dilutes one’s contribution to society. So yes, while there are many Bob Kearns in our backyard, how many among the likes of the Ford Motor Company that he had to battle are out there?

THE firms mentioned in this article strictly refer to the ones exclusive to the Bob Kearns case and in no way refer to local affiliates.


Feedback: terence@thesundaily.com


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