White Ang Pow for Chinese New Year 2012

Standing from left to right: Dr.Collin Tiew (MCA Seputeh division ex-committee member and Sri Desa branch ex-chief) and Ibrahim Ali (President and Founder of Malay Right Group Perkasa)

It has been a hot news that on 29 Jan 2012, Dr. Collin Tiew brought a group of old folks to attend a Chinese New Year open house organised by Perkasa in Pasir Mas, Kelantan, only to receive their "white gold in advance". With such controversial photo of Collin with Ibrahim Ali handling out white ang pow to old folks, one may think that Collin was subjected to "death sentence" under the circumstances but he should have acted out timely to stop this giving on spot. Instead, he resorted to complain and apologize in a public interview after the event. It takes two hands to clap but one hand to slap.

White or red outside, no white inside matters most rather than turning away the greater than expected guests empty handed due to running out of red ang pow. What say you?

Happy Dragon New Year 2012

#1 Video in Chinese dialect (Hokkien)

Translation:

1st aunty: Ah Hoon, I haven't seen your children for a long time.
Ah Hoon: They are very busy. So much work to do. My daughter is a lawyer.
1st aunty:  Lawyer? Good for you to have a son and a daughter.
2nd aunty: How about your son? (to Ah Hoon)
Ah Hoon:  He? He is very busy. His business now is producing Ling Zhi (herbal mushroom) to America and Hong Kong. He also knows Andy Lau!
Eng:          Andy Lau, Andy Lau! (to 1st aunty)
Ah Hoon:  He also bought a house in Damansara (premium land)
1st aunty:  Damansara is not bad.
Eng:          Good.
2nd aunty: Your son is better than my son. He is a doctor, staying in London. He's a specialist in cardiology. He is so good at making money!
1st aunty:  So good!
2nd aunty: So how is your daughter? (to 1st aunty)
1st aunty:  Whenever I phone her, she is super busy. She works at auditing company, owns some company share. Her company is so famous that I don't even recall what its name is. Nevertheless, she earns RM450k yearly!
2nd aunty: Yes, yes. My son performs one operation with an earning of GBP20k! He performs two operations daily.

1st aunty: Eng, how about your son?
Eng:         My son? My son is good. He is coming to fetch me.
1st aunty: Fetch you?
Eng:         Yes. It's so troublesome that he always come to take me along whenever he travels to somewhere.
2nd aunty: Who is coming? (a car stops near them)
Eng:         My son. My son arrives. I am leaving now.

Eng's son: Mom, how are you?
Eng:         Good.
Eng's son: Mom, today we are going to Cameron (highland)
Eng:         Cameron is cold, isn't it.

As the car is leaving, the other 3 aunties resume their meal at the compound of an old folk home.

Singapore Chinese New Year 2012 @ Chinatown

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#2

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2011 Xmas in Singapore Part 3

#1 Video: Alley Talk @ Outdoor Theater Esplanade 

#2 Marina Square

#3 Marina Square

#4 Marina Square

#5 Suntec City Convention & Marina Square

#6 Bugis Junction

#7 Bugis Junction

#8 Bugis Junction

2011 Christmas Eve Revelry @ Orchard Singapore

#1 Video: The Coca-Cola Christmas Countdown Party 2011
featuring Edwin Goh, Kimberly Chia and Ian Fang (方伟杰)

@ Cathay Cineleisure Orchard Singapore

#2 Video: Revelry @ Meritus Mandarin Orchard Singapore

#3 Snow Fight @ Meritus Mandarin Orchard Singapore

#4 Snow Fight @ Meritus Mandarin Orchard Singapore

#5 Snow Fight @ Meritus Mandarin Orchard Singapore

#6 Snow Fight @ Meritus Mandarin Orchard Singapore

2011 Xmas in Singapore Part 2

#1 Paragon

#2 Paragon

#3 Paragon

2011 Xmas in Singapore Part 1

#1 TANG Plaza & ION Orchard

#2 ION Orchard

#3 ION Orchard

Mid-Autumn Day 2011

Today is mid-autumn day; 15th day of 8th lunar month in Chinese calendar. I woke up at 7am, took a simple breakfast of Gardenia Mango & fruit filled bun with Milo malt drink before going to work. As usual I listened to my favorite mp3 while commuting a 1 hour 15 minutes journey from the central to the west part via buses and mass rapid transit. At work today, doing some sharing on my working experience, self practicing on new assignment and helping out with a client's assignment.

I aborted my original plan of taking a night sightseeing in Chinatown after work due to tiredness. Thus, I do not manage to take photos of Chinatown night view of Mid-autumn Festival. Don't have any mooncake too to spend my mid-autumn night. Instead, I am having a apple juice and a Pandan custard bun for my supper.

Chinatown Daylight Mid-Autumn Festival

The Realms of Heaven, Hell and Within

The commencement of seventh month of lunar calendar today marks the ghost month in Chinese belief. Ghost and spirits of the deceased including deities are believed to make visits to the realm of the living in this month.

Deceased spirits are sent to a series of halls in Hell. The First Hall in the Hells, judgements are conducted and punishment are meted. These souls will be punished and have their karma reduced. If souls are able to balance their bad deeds with good ones, they will be sent to the Tenth Hall to await rebirth. Those who have done more bad deeds will have their sins shown before them in the mirror and thereby sent to the Second Hall to await punishment.

#1 The First Hall of Hells

King Chujiang is the ruler of the Second Hall. In this Hell, there are as many as 16 places for punishment. Those who have committed countless killings and atrocious crimes in their former life will fall into this hall until they have completed the punishment.

#2 The Second Hall of Hells

King Songdi rules the Third Hall of Hells aka Great Hell of Black Ropes. In this Hell, there are as many as 16 places for punishment. People ended up here because they are not dutiful and filial to their parents, instigate lawsuits and hence, suffered from the punishment of eye-gouging and bone scraping.

#3 The Third Hall of Hells

King Wuguan is in charge of the Fouth Hall of hells. In this Hell, there are as many as 16 places for punishment. People are being sent to this hell because they refuse to pay tax or rent, deceive people of their money and personal belongings.

#4 The Fourth Hall of Hells

King Yanluo is in charge of the Fifth Hall of Hells aka Great Hell of Wailing. In this Hell, there are as many as 16 places for punishment and people go through the punishment such as hooking of heart and throw as food for the snakes and cutting of body into halves.

#5 The Fifth Hall of Hells

King of Bian City is in charge of the Sixth Hall of Hells aka Great Hell of Screaming. In this Hell, there are as many as 16 places for punishment. In one's present life, those who are not filial will be punished having their bodies cut into halves. They will fall into Sixth Hall after death to suffer from throat piercing by hot burning nails, or the hell wardens use a metal pillars to pound the offenders. After the punishment has ended, they will be sent to the Seventh Hall for interrogation of other committed sins.

#6 The Sixth Hall of Hells

King Taishan is in charge of the Seventh Hall of Hells aka Great Hell of Heat and Fire. In this Hell, there are as many as 16 places for punishment. This hell is for those who have committed the aforesaid crimes, such as killing, stealing, slandering, wrongful thoughts and deeds, conducting untruthful speech, causing separation of others, and yet have not a single thought of remorse. The punishment include being sent to boiling oil. After the punishment has ended, they will be sent to the Eighth Hall for interrogation for other committed sins.

#7 The Seventh Hall of Hells

King Dushi is in charge of the Eighth Hall of Hells aka Great Hell of Intense Fire and Heat. In this Hell, there are as many as 16 places for punishment. Those who are not filial to their parents or cause vexations to their family will fall into this Hell to suffer. After the punishment has ended, they will be sent to the Tenth Hall to rebirth as animals.

#8 The Eighth Hall of Hells

King Pingdeng is in charge of the Ninth Hall of Hells aka Avici the Hell of Incessant Suffering. In this Hell, there are as many as 16 places for punishment. Those who committed hideous deeds of murders, atrocious crimes will be sent to Avici Hell where they will suffer immense heating and burning until all the innocent lives that he had taken been reborn. When the punishment ended, they will be sent to the Tenth hall to be judged and take rebirth in one of the six realms; Heaven, Human, Asuras, Hungry Ghosts, Animals or Hell.

#9 The Ninth Hall of Hells

The Tenth Hell aka the Hall of Great King Zhuanlun deals with the five kasaya periods of chaotic world while the king reigns over all other souls brought from other halls of Hell. He will judge the fortunes and misfortunes of each offenders before sending them to the Four Great Continents for rebirth. Depending on the amount of good or bad deeds, these souls will take rebirth in various forms and they will have their memories erased by drinking the soup from Meng Po to start a new life.

#10 The Tenth Hall of Hells