"LaoKokKok" 47-year-old man Wins Best Blog!

Source: News report and photo from Straits Times, 16th September 2009

Mr Chris Yew Weng Heng's blog at timesofmylife.wordpress.com won him the accolade of Singapore's best individual blog at the Singapore Blog Awards 2009

THIS nostalgia-themed blog is a favourite read of heritage buffs.

Writing under the online moniker of LaoKokKok (informal Hokkien phrase for old and crusty), Mr Chris Yew Weng Heng delves into the history of old buildings and streets of Singapore, records practices of yesteryear, or puts up pictures of items most people would have long thrown out on his blog.

His blog at timesofmylife.wordpress.com won the 47-year-old the accolade of Singapore's best individual blog at the Singapore Blog Awards 2009 on Wednesday night.

He was the oldest blogger to win as well, out of more than 1,500 entries in 10 categories received.

The awards, in its second year, were handed out by Singapore Press Holdings' bilingual youth portal omy.sg.

When he went on stage to receive his trophy, he received the loudest applause from the crowd, including a standing ovation from people of his generation, such as SPH's chief executive Alan Chan and Cultural Medallion winner artist Tan Swie Hian.

Foreign Minister George Yeo was the guest-of-honour at the event.

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Mr.Keropok's Thoughts:

Wah Seh!!!! Mr LaoKokKok here is really an inspiration!

Age was never a barrier for him when it comes to engaging the cyber space. Though many may comment that his blog content are rather "old-fogey" stuff about heritage, but there's no doubt that this 47 year old guy dared to take the leap of faith and jumped out of his tech-sphere!

Seeing such an inspiration model re-ignited my long lost dream once again. I remembered 5 years ago when I started blogging, I envisioned that I would be one of the popular bloggers in Singapore, being an influential role model to the youths in this digital generation. However, that dream soon died as the busy schedule of life squeezed in...

UNTIL TODAY! It's time to resurrect my dream again!! ROAR!!!

Time to silence phones, game consoles and headsets on trains

Source: News article from TODAYonline | Voices

Letter from Sam Ang

THE SMRT has taken action against commuters eating and drinking on MRT trains. However a more annoying and pervasive daily problem is not about eating and drinking.

When I take the train to work in the morning, it is very common to hear irritating noises and music coming from electronic gadgets like handphones and handheld game consoles.

There are those who listen to music so loud that all those around them are forced to listen to it. The bigger audio headsets often give off loud noises and these should be banned. The worst scenario is to be seated next to someone wearing them.

Ring tones, too, can be loud but at least telephones do not ring all the time. On the other had, one can be sitting near or next to a someone listening to music that is blasting away non-stop for half-an-hour or more.

As in the case of eating or drinking on the trains, most of this noise comes from teenagers and young adults.

This problem is getting worse because the culprits have been getting away with it. It is time the SMRT takes strong action to stop this nuisance. The culprits should be fined because, as in case of eating and drinking, warning them is not good enough.

Everyone would like to sit in a quiet train in the morning and concentrate on the day's work ahead.

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Mr.Keropok's Thoughts:

To a certain extent, I share Mr Sam's sentiments. Honestly, it's really hard these days to see anyone today while on board public transport whom is not "plugged in" to something.

MP3 player, PSPs, Mobile phone bluetooth earpiece....etc. You name it, they've got it! Nothing wrong with that... but it gets especially disturbing when these behavior get out of hand and become a social nuisance.

What happened to those days when we could have some peace and quiet?

In this aspect, we should really learn from the Japanese. They may be plugged in most of the time, but they exercise social responsibility in not disturbing the people around them. If there's a spark of noise coming from your gadget, you will be stared upon fiercely by fellow commuters!

U.N. Report Advocates Teaching Masturbation to 5-Year-Olds

Source: News article from FoxsNews.com, 26 August 2009

NEW YORK — The United Nations is recommending that children as young as five receive mandatory sexual education that would teach even pre-kindergarteners about masturbation and topics like gender violence.

The U.N.'s Economic, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released a 98-page report in June offering a universal lesson plan for kids ranging in age from 5-18, an
"informed approach to effective sex, relationships" and HIV education that they say is essential for "all young people."

The U.N. insists the program is "age appropriate," but critics say it's exposing kids to sex far too early, and offers up abstract ideas — like "transphobia" — they might not even understand.

Under the U.N.'s voluntary sex-ed regime, kids just 5-8 years old will be told that "touching and rubbing one's genitals is called masturbation" and that private parts "can feel pleasurable when touched by oneself."

(Click here to read the full report >>)

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Mr.Keropok's Thoughts:

My goodness! Is there really a need for such a move? It seems like we are treating kids today more and more like adults! Although we often advocate that sexuality education should be started out at a young age, it must be done progressively and not such a huge jump!

Exposing kids to such level of sexuality education content at such an early age, I believe is definitely too early and may do more harm than good to them! What should be advocated at younger age groups should be about self esteem, good & decent dressing, uniqueness of oneself, dangers of media influence....etc Definitely not about Masturbation! If you are a parent, how would you feel if you caught your Primary School children masturbating?!?!

Sigh.. sad to say... but "Why can't Kids be Kids anymore?"

Sexy or Nude Camwhoring - Will You Do It?

Got this poll result off STOMP and was shocked by the statistics!

I'm not sure what the poll population was, but STOMP being a popular website for netizens (espacially youths and young adults), I'm sure it probably would have a sizable number.

Check this out!

9.23% Say they would guard the pictures taken with their lives. (Means they would still do it)

12.12% Say they would do it for their partner because they trust their partner!

23.78% Say "Why not? You're only young once!"

Which adds up to a total of 45.13% willing to do camwhoring for sexy or nude pictures!

Call me old-fashioned or conservative, but I really hope we could take a step back and think first before doing such thing. Of course there's nothing wrong with taking photos of ourselves, but compromising pictures of ourselves is a totally different story!

Think about this. What would happen if.....

You lose our handphone and person who picked it up abuses those photos stored inside?

Your laptop got hacked and maybe you would see a repeat of the "Edison Chen" scandal again?

One day your partner turns against you, using the compromising photos to blackmail you?

Someone downloaded your sexy photo off your social networking photo gallery and put them on a pornographic website?

The way to resolve this is not about taking protective measures to protect and secure your handphones, laptops and social networking accounts. But rather, choose not to take such pictures in the first place!

What would people think of you when they see such compromising pictures of you? Think about what you might lose.

How much do we serious think taking such pictures would improve our relationship with our spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend?

Don't be naive and think that it's just for fun. There will always be consequences for actions we take in life. And in this case, the consequences may not be desirable to bear and may leave a scar for remaining of your life!

Be Street Smart, don't be Stupid!

People Never Crumble in a Day

Slow Fade
by Casting Crowns

Be careful little eyes what you see
It's the second glance that ties your hands as darkness pulls the strings
Be careful little feet where you go
For it's the little feet behind you that are sure to follow

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade

Be careful little ears what you hear
When flattery leads to compromise, the end is always near
Be careful little lips what you say
For empty words and promises lead broken hearts astray

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day

The journey from your mind to your hands
Is shorter than you're thinking
Be careful if you think you stand
You just might be sinking

It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
Daddies never crumble in a day
Families never crumble in a day

Oh be careful little eyes what see
Oh be careful little eyes what you see
For the Father up above is looking down in love
Oh be careful little eyes what you see

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Mr.Keropok's Thoughts:

Heard this song on Sunday in church and the lyrics really captured and echoed in my heart. Indeed, we are who we are today because of choices made in our everyday journey of life. The truth remains: Make right choices and we will enjoy the rewards and joy. Make wrong ones, and we have to accept the consequences that come along.

Why is it that some people are always so positive and have that UP attitude in life despite facing much trials and challenges? But why are there some others who gets depressed easily and are always eating worms whenever difficulties befalls? Is it because some of us are just WEAK in our minds?

YES. Some of us are weaker or stronger in our minds, and that's why some of us are more resilient when challenges come by. We are weakened in our minds because of the choices we make everyday.

Analogy....

If you keep eating junk food everyday without exercise, you will definitely be in bad health state.

If you keep smoking everyday, you definitely increase your chances of getting lung cancer.

Sooo.....

If you keep thinking negatively everyday, dwell in negative thoughts, hopelessness and buy in to hurtful things that people say, your emotional will also gets weakened day by day and soon you will become negative as well!

It's a Slow Fade... Thoughts invade... Choices are made... A price will be paid when you give yourself away... People never crumble in a day.

Explicit Advertisement in MRT Train Cabin

The latest "annoyance" to my daily morning MRT ride to office is this advertisement. This is just one of the many. There is even one which shows the outline shape of the male penis!

My Goodness!!! Such sexually explicit advertisement blatantly blasted in such a strategic position in the MRT train cabin. Just imagine the morning rush hour where kids and teens are on their way to school and they stare at such advertisements.

What do you think is going through their minds? Gosh! Talk about Social Responsibility?

Honestly I feel that the relevant authorities should step up in their censorship on the kind of advertisements allowed to be put on public transports.

If this progresses on, I shudder to think what kind of advertisements would be up in public view in 10 years time... *yikes*

What Do You See?

The Donut or the Hole?
The Glass Half-Filled or Half-Empty?
The Black Night Sky or the Little Glittering Stars?
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Mr.Keropok's Thoughts:

How we view these simple things in daily will be a reflection of how we view life.

Ever thought how come some people are just so positive and seemingly have that resilient attitude that never gives up? While some others just crumble easily in the face of crisis. Was it because some of these people went through tedious hardships and boot camps of life?

Well... possibly. But I believed it probably started when in the simple things of life they chose to see things in a different light.

We are who we are today because of our past. And how will be in future depends on what we choose to do and see today!

So What Do You See?