The secret world of hair

BBC Radio 4 - Thinking Allowed, The secret world of hair

"‘In South India, there are various temples where one can go and sort of make a vow to the god or goddess that that if something good happens, then you will come to the temple and you will offer your hair. So whole families will sort of pledge their hair, and then they'll go en masse to particular places. So the biggest temple is, and the most famous one is Tirumala, in Andhra Pradesh where there's actually 650 full time barbers.. the barbers are all sitting around on the floor, and the pilgrims will come and sit directly opposite them. So you walk into this space, you leave your shoes outside and the floor is wet, and it's covered actually in other people's hair, because there's always that sort of feeling of, of slipping on the hair...

They sell hair. So the hair gets then sorted out into different lengths and the longest length which is over 30 inches, sells for about 230 pounds a kilo. much shorter lengths will sell for much less then. The very short hair clippings will be 40 p… 20 million pounds a year [for that particular temple]... wherever I traveled, whether it was in Chinese factories or these hair sorting workshops or these temples there was this fear that people might be taking hair and sort of stuff it, particularly that women were stuffing it into their bras. This was the, and when we left the temple complex, you know, our bags were searched and even my purse was searched just in case I'd put a few strands’…

‘The most popular hair. Because you were saying before that I mean wigs and hair extensions, the majority are manufactured in China, when people are purchasing it, they don't necessarily purchase it as, it isn’t labeled as Chinese hair. Because although Chinese hair as I understand it is perhaps the ,best people don't think it is.’

‘Well, Chinese hair is thick and strong, and therefore it's very resilient to things like bleaching and dying. But the Association of Made in China is quite a negative association in the market. So Chinese traders know that they can't really sell it as Chinese and companies will not market it as Chinese. So you've got a lot of sort of fictional-... the provenance of hair is just a sort of mythological fantasy cooked up by several people along the way as the hair sort of moves out of, into China and is then somehow turns into European hair. So you have this odd, odd Chinese hair dyed blonde that becomes that really really prestigious item, European hair’...

‘You had a woman or maybe a couple of women who almost talked about the fact that their loss of hair was something rather more severe than the loss of a breast.’

‘Yeah, that's right. So those who did lose the hair found it really distressing, particularly the speed at which it happened. And it had come out in great clumps. One woman said that she'd been more affected by the hair loss than, than the loss of a breast because it was so visible. And it's so rapid after the surgery as well. And there was a woman who hadn't lost her hair, who said that she considered herself to have got off lightly.’...

‘Before it all happened, I went out, I bought my wig, the sexiest wig I could possibly find. I wasn't going to look like me. I was going to look like somebody else. Had got this rock chick hair. I decided I was going to have about seven. I was going to have red ones and green ones. I don’t know, just do the things that you'd never normally do. It's not forever. It doesn't matter.’

‘That that was not a very typical response. I mean, you know… like when I suggested to my partner, my wife, sort of go blonde and look like Marilyn, that was not, that was not on. So this was not a very common response.’

‘It wasn't. She was the only one that said that. She was also the only one that felt that losing her hair was was a good thing because it meant that the chemotherapy was working. But yeah, she chose to treat her hair loss as an opportunity to experiment with her identity. And she saw it  as a temporary thing, and I thought it was interesting that she chose a rock chick, like a stereotypical strong female character and perhaps somebody that she could personify’...

‘Cancer patients have been a double bind because when they experienced stigma whether or not they lose their hair’...

‘[She] still does work in a library, and because she had mistakes and she wasn't able to do the lifting and carrying part of the duties, but she said that she actually got bullied by her colleagues who felt she wasn't pulling her weight. And I thought that was really interesting because she wasn't conforming with the stereotypical cancer patient so therefore she missed out on benefits’...

‘Amongst some orthodox women, they consider that it's necessary to cover your hair, because hair, once you're married, because hair is sexually alluring. And, and they would also consider that it's a mitzvah, it's a sort of commandment that one should follow. And, but what has happened over the years is that women began to cover their hair, not just with headscarves, but with wigs, so effectively using hair to cover hair. And, and this has led to all sorts of sort of debates about you know, how human can your hair look, how glamorous can it be?… it's usually after the first night spent with the husband that the wig will be-… what's happened as sort of wig technology has increased and there's more and more possibilities for glamorous wigs. Then women tend to, I mean many of the women I spoke to said, you know, that they found covering their hair one of the most difficult religious sort of requirements that they followed, and therefore if they were going to do it, they wanted to take this as an opportunity to get better hair. So they were investing an enormous amount of time and energy and attention in getting very beautiful, very naturalistic wigs, sometimes with baby hairs inserted in the front to make it look like you know, the hairs growing from the head…

2004, known as Sheitelgate was the moment when a rabbi in the Orthodox Jewish community. In fact, he was based in Israel, but he became very concerned about the origins, you know, where is this hair coming from that Jewish women are wearing to cover their hair? And he sent some rabbis to go from Stamford Hill in London, to India, to inspect Tirumala, the very temple that we were talking about earlier, to look at, you know, what is the status of this hair that's being given to the gods and of course, they came across very contradictory responses. The pilgrims saw their hair as an offering, the most wonderful offering they could give, the Brahmins was saying no, no, it's a waste product. It's an act of purification. So yes, of course you can use it. And the barbers were saying this is a religious duty, and so on. And so basically they banned, the rabbi in the end decided to ban the use of Indian hair on the grounds of it's a sort of idolatrous association… he called on people to burn their wigs, because he felt that, you know, if you gave it to a charity shop, then it could be bought by another Jewish woman. And then this was also an abomination and therefore better to burn the things. But of course, this was not very popular amongst Jewish wig traders.’…

‘In Stamford Hill and Brooklyn and across the world, women were going out from the streets burning their wigs and covering themselves with bathing caps and bath towels, crying as they did. It was like it was throwing their Pekingnese dogs off into a bonfire… a wig can often cost 1000 pounds, 2000 pounds, I mean and upwards if it's a human hair sort of handmade wig’"

Women and the Salon

BBC World Service - The Documentary, The Salon

"A woman trusts 2 people with her head. The first person is a psychologist. And the second is the hairstylist...

[In Japan] 'As women who work at the department store, we are particularly told not to dye our hair red or blonde. Also, we have to tie our hair back so it doesn't fall down when we bow. Every day at the morning meeting, there is a check to make sure we look respectable.'

There's only one acceptable colour of hair for women in Mamie's [sp?] workplace, and that's black. So she heads to the salon to have her grey roots dyed black again...

My husband had got me a dog without so much as a word. She's family. If it wasn't for Mini, I probably would have split up with my husband. We have lots of conversation through the dog. She mediates. When I'm with Mini, people always talk to me so I've made new friends...

'For some women, an important aspect of womanhood is being a mother'...
'Another aspect of a woman's identity could be her sexuality'
'One could be her religion'
'Now imagine a woman who's struggling to come to terms with all 3'
'What does she do?'
'She gets a haircut'
'What I'm saying to myself with my hair is body ownership. I choose. It's the only part of you and your body that you can shape and really personalise. It's my body, it's my hair. It belongs to me. I can say yes and I can say no'...

'The voluptuous Westernised version of sexiness is beyond their reach as Japanese. So instead of sexy, they go for cute'
'Typical Japanese figures are not really sexy, are they? Maybe about 1% of us can be sexy. Girls are short, so are boys'
'Perhaps because we are cute to start with. Westerners can look good. They are cool'
'They just wear H&M and just look so cool'
'The Japanese are cute, so perhaps we are emphasising the Japanese cuteness.'
'I'd actually like to look more grownup, but with my face and I'm short, so it doesn't really work. So I try to most out of what I have and be cute'
'We Japanese want to look young'...

[On Brazilian hairstyles in South Africa, costing almost $400] 'I need to consider Tracey's brothers as well. Their needs and some of their wants'

This is Tracey's mother, Hope. When it comes to Tracey's looks, Tracey pays for everything. Nails clothes, shoes, hair...
'The cost of Brazilian is the cost of what some people pay for rent... just so she can look good... Tracey and myself take the huge chunk of my income: 20% would go to Tracey and myself. For our hair and our clothes and beauty in general... Young girls go for good things. And good things require money, so as a parent if you can't afford to give your child what they want, they'll look for men that have the money to support them, and that I can't have that in my house. I need my child to concentrate on school.

Time for rich men will come in the near future. Maybe 10, 15 years from now... My child needs to look good, my child is an extension of me. So you look at my child looking good, you expect the mother to look just as good or better'...

It was difficult as a woman to find someone to cut her hair as short as she liked it.

'I used to go to barbers' shops before and they always did a bad job. The looks you get when you walk in because you're a woman turning up at a barber shop, historically a place where men go to get their hair done, you'd kind of feel unwelcome'

'And why didn't you go to hair salons?'

'Oh, god. They're even worse. Firstly they charge you astronomical prices for like a 2 minute job and also when you say short you never come out with the shortness that you asked for. It's like their definition of what short hair should look like'


The reason women get charged more is because they're more fussy (despite the lady who got short hair complaining it was discrimination for women to be charged more than men)

The Politics of Hair in Singapore

From Harrying Long-Haired Men to Embracing Casinos | Singapore Armchair Critic

"Kitaro was not the only casualty of our government’s revulsion at long-haired males. Back in the 1970s, Cliff Richard, Robert Plant and others also suffered the indignity of being turned away at the Singapore immigration. Some complied to get in.

Ludicrous as it may sound, this insane policy was enforced from the 1970s because our holier-than-thou government had equated long-haired males with gangsters and morally depraved persons who had succumbed to the undesirable influence of the western hippie culture.

An Anglo-Chinese school spokesperson was convinced that long hair would transform our youth into hippies. The then Permanent Secretary of the Education Ministry was reported as saying, “It is in the national interestfor our youth to have short hair.” (“Bringing back the ‘botak’ look,” ST, 29 July 1970).

Perhaps taking inspiration from China’s ongoing Cultural Revolution, the Singapore government actually launched a campaign in May 1973 to coerce and humiliate men into keeping their hair short (“The long-haired may get the sack,” ST, 8 Oct 1974).

Unions, chambers of commerce, associations, government institutions, schools, private companies and evenhairdressers were mobilized in the nation-wide effort to get rid of long-haired males. Management-labor enforcement teams were set up in firms to make periodic checks on men and they had to submit reports to the Home Affairs Ministry regularly, detailing the names of those who flouted the rule and the disciplinary action taken.

Under this “snip snip drive,” if you were a citizen and a man sporting long hair, you would be served last at all government offices (see image below), refused entry into institutions such as schools and fire stations, and would have a hard time getting employed.

If you were a civil servant, refusing to trim your mane could cost you your job (“5,700 long-haired men warned,” ST, 11 Dec 1974)...

The government’s recent decision to block access to the Ashley Madison website... If you believe this is a move by the government to uphold our moral and family values, you are grossly mistaken.

As some astute netizens had pointed out, it all boils down to economics. Unlike the gambling industry that has more deleterious effects on families and society but contributes more than 3% to our GDP, there is no government revenue to be collected from the extra-marital dating site.

If we look deeper, economic calculations also drove the 1970s campaign against long-haired men.

Ostensibly, the campaign was presented as a moral battle against the creeping influence of undesirable “western” culture. In truth, the young nation then needed its people to slog for its economic survival, and thus slovenly long-haired males, as a embodiment of the anti-materialism hippie lifestyle and values that would undermine productivity and retard Singapore’s economic development, had to be swiftly brought into line.

So do not be beguiled by the government’s rhetoric: what has always underpinned PAP’s policy is neither morals nor conservatism but GDPism. This has never changed from day one...

“Why we declared war on long-hairs by Raja,” ST, 16 Jan 1972:

“What the government was attacking was hippism or ‘the lifestyle which matted locks concealed,’ he said.

“This lifestyle could destroy Singapore because hippism ‘is a new version of opium of the people.

‘It is the kind of Opium War an enemy would launch for the successful conquest of a country,’ said Mr Rajaratnam…

In a way, the champions of the shaggy dog look were right. More than sartorial and tonsorial styles were involved.

‘They know and we know that behind the sartorial style, which has become a target of official displeasure there is a lifestyle the critics are loathe to discuss either because they do not understand it or because they are attracted to it,’ he said.

‘They are not defending tonsorial styles but a lifestyle which has its own social, political and moral values.’”"

The significance of male hair: Its presence and removal

Raj Kumar Singh: The Backlash! July 1998

"1. A man's reasons for abstention from hair cutting practices all relate to his assertion, intended consciously or subconsciously, that he is not the servant of other men.
2. When people in positions of (non-religious) authority demand that a man cut his hair or shave his face, their purpose is to require the clipped man to openly demonstrate his obedience and subservience to them.

This paper seeks to provide a multi-disciplinary review of the literature that relates to the significance of the hair presentation of the adult male. Further, it proffers the theory that the extent to which we desire short haired, bare faced men is the extent to which we seek the stereotypically presumed attribute of submissiveness found in the female combined with the assumed strength and dependability ascribed to the male...

Individual men place great value on their own hair as habitually presented, and social-psych research shows that we hold bearded men in more positive regard than bare-faced men. Further, we see long-haired men as being dominant and unbowed, (Kentshmith, 1973 at pg. 579) and religious prohibitions against haircutting and/or shaving are not uncommon among the world's religions.

Yet, on the more practical level, we largely demand that men present with bare faces and shorn cranial hair if they are to obtain life sustaining employment and are to be presumed good, productive members of society; therein lies the proverbial rub...

Do we speak of requiring a man to get a "haircut" if, for example, he is to be considered a good prisoner, soldier, or worker, or should we admit that we are requiring him to "cut off a bodily appendage"?

Do we say that a man can make an affirmative decision to "grow a beard," much as the expert, dedicated horticulturist can grow petunias in the desert? Or do we say that male facial hair growth is the default category and acknowledge that men can only become and remain bare faced when they "scrape off their faces with a piece of steel" on a daily basis?

Our common use of such terms and phrases as "haircut" and "grows a beard" clearly points up the fundamental, societal bias we have against acknowledging positive value in men's hair...

In shaving, a man reduces himself to the status of being "clean shaven," to use a phrase that is firmly ensconced within our lexicon. The corollary, of course, would be to remain "dirty bearded." The phrase "clean cut" takes this concept a step further and implies that if a man does not cut his cranial hair to a short length and scrape his face daily, then he is unclean.

Classically, of course, it's believed that that which is unclean should be shunned...

More specifically, the presentation of cranio/facial hair is arguably our most powerful symbol of individual and group identity. (Synnott, 1987 at pg. 381) Hair has been significant to human beings at all times and in all cultures as a symbol of strength, sexuality and magic and has been treated as a significant part of the body. (Rabinowitz, 1984 at pg. 270) Hair not only symbolizes the self, but is the self in that it is a part of the human body. (Synnott, 1987 at pg. 404) Accordingly, changes in appearance involving hair can be expected to have a major psycho-social impact on the individual who has undergone the change. (Alley, 1988 at pg. 17)...

Males express their ideologies and status in their hair. (Synnott, 1987 at pg. 397) In ancient times, the Teutons or Germanic tribes refrained from hair cutting and shaving in order to clearly differentiate themselves from their forcibly shorn slaves. (Pellegrini, 1973 at pg. 22) This was also the case for the Celts. In this day, long hair and facial hair are often seen to be symbolic of ideological opposition to "the establishment." (Synnott, 1987 at pg. 401)...

The Christian Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians indicates that it is unnatural and degrading for a man to wear long hair. (Paul, 60) Through Canon #67, laid down at the Synod at Elvira in 309 A.D., it was forbidden for a woman to have anything to do with long-haired men, under penalty of excommunication. (Laeuchli, 1972) Thus, any man desirous of recognition as a good Christian, as well as one simply seeking the consortium of a religiously respectable Christian woman, was provided with a motivation to cut his hair...

Military regimes across time and cultures have been well known to require the removal of cranio/facial hair for initiates. For example, new members of the French Foreign Legion had their hair cut down to half a millimeter; allegedly to keep them free from lice - in reality to bestow on them a feeling of nothingness. (Rom, 1973 at pg. 22) When after their basic military training they felt integrated into this establishment, they were allowed to grow their hair again. (Rom, 1973 at pg. 22) Upon subduing the Gauls, who esteemed long hair as a distinct honor, Julius Caesar required them to cut their hair as a token of submission. (Kentsmith, 1973 at pg. 573) For the same purpose, the Chinese Manchus imposed the partly shaven head and pigtail upon the Haun men when their dynasty was conquered. (Kentsmith, 1973 at pg. 573) Forced hair removal was effected against collaborators during the German occupation of France. (Synnott, 1987 at pg. 402) Haircutting was a punishment for adultery in India and among the ancient Teutons, and for other crimes in Assyro-Babylon. (Rabinowitz, 1984 at pg. 271)

Why do those in authority want men to shave their faces and cut their cranial hair short? It has been posited that the hair of prison inmates and soldiers is kept cut as a reminder that "you are not a free person and cannot do as you please with your own body." (Rabinowitz, 1984) Shaving produces effects like other means of fostering a youthful appearance because a "clean-shaven" face mimics the surface quality of the pre-pubertal face. (Guthrie, 1976 at pg. 30) Therefore, requiring a man to shave can have the effect of reducing his status, and his self-perception, toward that of a child. Moreover, we live in a world that has, cross-culturally and over time, viewed men collectively as being cold, aggressive, strong willed, and dangerous. (Martin, 1987; Rosenkrantz et al, 1968; Broverman et al, 1972) Women as a class, on the other hand, have been generally presumed to be warm, submissive, obedient and nurturing. (Martin, 1987; Rosenkrantz et al, 1968; Broverman et al, 1972; Sapadin, 1988) Forcing or coercing a man into daily shaving can be seen as assigning to him the less threatening, feminine role. Most to the point, and as stated earlier, because our facial presentation effects how we perceive ourselves, it can be expected to have a bearing on how we behave whenever others are present. (Alley, 1988 at pg. 2) The man, then, who presents as quasi-boy / pseudo-woman can be expected to act in the submissive, obedient, non-threatening manner that we stereotypically expect of little boys and females.

As to the significance of cutting a man's cranial hair, numerous investigators have agreed on one symbolic meaning: castration... cranial hair removal is intended to make the male an un-man and, in the case of the judicial prisoner, to obtain vengeance or pay-back for wrongs committed.

But how do we account for the men, non-military and unconvicted, who voluntarily maintain their hair at a short length and who shave on a daily basis? First, we must acknowledge that hair removal can hardly be considered voluntary in a society where generating a monetary income and positive regard among one's peers are generally dependent upon it. That having been said, we note simply that people will normally succumb to within-group cultural pressures to conform to an appearance expectation, even at a cost of discomfort or disfigurement...

As to he who is "his own man" and who yet chooses to shave his face and shear his scalp in the absence of any explicit coercion or force, perhaps the best explanation of motive is found in the word inertia. An anecdote (Fadiman, 1985) is told of George Bernard Shaw that relates the time he was approached by an advertising executive of a company manufacturing electric razors. The executive had hoped that Shaw would endorse their new product by shaving off his beard. By way of reply, Shaw explained the reason why he, and his father before him, had chosen not to shave by saying that when he was about five years of age, he had been observing his father shaving one day and had said to him, "Daddy, why do you shave?" Shaw's father looked at him in silence for a full minute before throwing the razor out the window while exclaiming "Why the hell do I?" And he never did again, as the story goes...

The expectation of short hair and scraped faces on men has long since been the norm for this nation's employers in general. In holding the clipped male to be the preferred object of our workplace desire we show, not so much our disinterest in females in our society, but rather our particular interest in submissive men as producers of material benefit. We, as a society, prefer men in the workplace because we perceive men, as a class, to be more dedicated to employment activities to the detriment of their familial or other inter-personal relationships. (Rosenkrantz et al, 1968; Broverman et al, 1972) Further, we see them as being more dependable than females in that we expect them to be medically indisposed less often. But we also presume that men in general are domineering, willful and aggressive by nature, and these are clearly characteristics that are found to be dysfunctional in a production level employee. (Martin, 1987; Rosenkrantz et al, 1968; Broverman et al, 1972) Women, on the other hand, are stereotypically presumed to be more docile, more amenable to following orders and accepting authority in an unquestioning manner. (Martin, 1987; Rosenkrantz et al, 1968; Broverman et al, 1972; Gilligan, 1982 at pgs. 16 & 17, e.g.)

The clipped male seems to present the best of both genders in that, first, he is obviously a man and so brings to the employer the supposed dependability and dedication that we expect of a member of the male sex. Second, by scraping off his facial hair he communicates to the employer that he intends to be as docile and obedient as would a female be presumed to be. (The validity of this hypothesis is lent support by so many of today's business women inasmuch as they are careful to appear for job interviews in clothing that is masculine on top, shirt-like blouse and suit jacket, but feminine on the bottom with a skirt short enough to expose artificially hairless legs.) The cutting short of cranial hair is a further sign of male submission to, and emasculation before, the prospective employer; one needn't be a Freudian psychoanalyst to appreciate the import of the fact that the removal of cranial hair, as symbolic penectomy, has never been required of women by our society's employers, prison wardens, or military authorities."

Old Spice

Why Men Shouldn't Use Women's Shampoo

(This pisses Jezebel off, so you know it's good)

Amusing comments:

"I did have a transman room mate who used all the man flavoured shower/shaving products, and it seemed to be a simple way for him to identify male"

"My BF's hair is longer than mine and it's glorious as fuck.
I call him beautiful all the time. I LOOK UP new words to make sure he understands that he is a beautiful ass man in all his pulchritude and that it's like he has an aureole of titillating tresses that are simply rapturous to the touch."

"I once spent the night with a Sikh guy just because he had long hair. Long, black, wavy, thick, shiny hair all the way down to his gorgeous butt. In fact, I made a stopover in London just to see him. I didn't know him at all apart from having chatted with him on the internet. He looked a lot like Naveen Andrews as Kip in "The English Patient"."

"when I moved in with my boyfriend I was surprised/kind of annoyed when his shampoo ran out and he started using all my lady products. He even started using my conditioners and was like "Oh my God! My hair is so soft! This is what this is for?!" So now I buy hair products for two. "

"I would love if my husband had slo-mo lady hair. He has dumb long hair in a ponytail that he only brushes when it's wet."

"My boyfriend did this, too. We don't live together, but I stay by him often enough that I left shampoo, conditioner and soap there (he uses Irish Spring and it makes my skin too dry). One day I go to his house right after he gets out of the shower, he goes to hug me and I stop, kinda sniff him and say "you smell...like me." To which he replied that my shampoo and conditioner are the best things EVER and my soap makes his skin all soft. *Sigh."

"Oh come on, not everything has to be an issue. This is more of a parody of the commercials themselves, and it's hilarious! Learn to laugh."

"my boyfriend recently worked on a dove for men commercial and they brought tons of product on set to use. turns out they didn't really need to use any of it so they donated all 3 boxes full of stuff to men's shelters. in short, i don't care about this commercial."

"I did see Fabio in Whole Foods once and I'm pretty sure he travels with an invisible wind machine aimed at his hair."
"I'm pretty sure Fabio is never an aside to any conversation, especially when it's about hair."

"my buddy's half-sister makes $72/hour on the internet. She has been unemployed for nine months but last month her pay was $18223 just working on the internet for a few hours"

Observations - 12th August 2012

How to get $6 all day parking at Marina Bay Sands: pretend to be from New Creation Church.

"ur ex is pretty. really. by sg girls standard"
Me: "hahahahahaha damning with faint praise"


Someone told me that restaurant food in Philadelphia was cheaper in Singapore. I suggested that places with similar concepts and pitched at similar levels didn't cost too differently, but the quality was different: restaurant food in Singapore is quite bad.

Theory: Thai restaurants with a portrait of the King are good


Sociology graduate: "you just blame the social institutions for all the social problems in soci"

Amused contrasting the reaction to the lack of French actors in Les Misérables with the reaction to the lack of Japanese actors in Memoirs of a Geisha.

Colour is an appropriate analogue to race not just conceptually (gradients) but lexically (just because we come up with the categories using subjective criteria doesn't mean categorisation is nonsensical; one person's magenta is another person's red).


Americans talk even when they've nothing to say. East Asians keep mum even when they've something to say.

Rollercoasters are only fun/scary when you scream. Not when you're singing motets.

Forgot to remove hair clip before entering shower #longhairproblems

Amused by a Malay saying Malays are very fake so he prefers befriending Chinese.

Amused that in Singapore Muslims are not allowed to cohabitate with the other sex ($500 fine and/or 6 months jail) (it's in the Administration of Muslim Law Act)

I couldn't find the literal translation of "gey zhua" (doing something extra) online. Apparently it's "extra squirt" (for peeing)

Sometimes the best way to help the mentally ill is to get them committed.

Amused that one would get engaged a year after one's wife dies.

Told telemarketer I don't do spas on principle. She was asking me to ask my wife when I hung up. Should've said I was gay. The next time I get offered a free spa, I'll ask if they do happy endings.


Me: "Men are like wine"
"Sour, bitter and overpriced?"

"If u watch Annie i wld hv thought geena ratio wld be higher ma. Its not Tranformers the Musical"

RT @hellovirnnnn "I looked around at my girlfriends and realized that the truly happy ones were those with men they never saw themselves with."

QUILTBAG: Quit Using Idiotic Liberal Terminology Because it’s Asinine and Gay

"So everything has got more expensive except Tissue Paper. 20yrs ago, it was 3 for $1. Today 2 aunties came by seperately, selling 5 for 80c"

RT @THEDAILYFUCK: I called my girlfriend a whore during sex once, She made me pay for that afterwards

RT: @sickipediabot: My goth son died doing what he enjoyed doing most.
Trying to kill himself.

RT @capricecrane We're happier when we're young because we don't know any better.

RT @dk: What about LTA? They should fine themselves too RT @STcom LTA fines SMRT $2 million for December breakdowns

RT: @TravLeBlanc: I'm a big believer in karma so if I'm ever a dick to you, you probably did something horrible in your past to deserve it.

RT: @MinuteSexe: 43% des Américaines qui démenagent à Hollywood pour devenir actrice terminent dans l'industrie du porno. #MinuteSexe

RT @ImLeslieChow: "Dont worry the spider is smaller than you" "Yeah? So is a grenade!"


RT @FlareonRRRAGE: @maarimekko isn't the point of fasting to do so without complaint? To deny your desires in the face of temptation?

RT: @GodlessAtheist: If your faith can move mountains, it should be able to withstand criticism #atheism

Conversations - 25th May 2012

Frigid Girl: women cant take honesty
Or blatant frankness
If women lie to themselves i see no reason why they wld expect smth
else frm others
:P


Someone: *** went ballistic on subhas anandas' comment on hardcore prostitution deserves no protection

eh how do you keep up with feminists
i ended up deleting the post cos i realise the sticking point wasn't the legal unfairness but the 'sexism and female victimising'
and after that no amount of logicking went thru
because 'they have a heart' and we haven't one apparently

Me: I know why she went ballistic. because she saw "hardcore prostitution deserves no protection" and like a pavlovian reflex she pounced
in her mind "hardcore prostitution deserves no protection" = "prostitutes don't deserve legal protection"
however in this case the "protection" is not protection from being exploited, abused etc
it's "protection" on account of her age, of being a minor and thus being judged unable to consent to commercial sex
however her actions indicate she was aware of what she was doing
see, the law on no commercial sex for below 18 is intended to protect girls from being exploited
however in this case she wasn't exploited


MFTTW: he's gay right

his profile pics are all self-taken and in the same pose
this is a common theme amongst gay men i know on fb


Me: I dont mind comments
just not annoying ones

I love it when people compliment my hair =D

Frigid Girl: ya you're past the age where ppl will compliment you without an agenda in mind

Me: sad.

what agenda could they have

Frigid Girl: compliment you to make conversation

Me: like that called agenda ah

Frigid Girl: for the sake of filling up awkward silence

yes
i do it all the time just to fill up awkward silences

Me: ...

Frigid Girl: better than talking abt the weather


Someone: *** was looking at a wedding prep website
dunno if ^^^ proposed...

Me: hurr
women look at wedding stuff all the time, no?

Someone: hahahahahahaahahahah


MFTTW: why can't [Tiong Bahru Bakery] be run by same people as skinny pizza
it's just a corporation what

Me: everything in sg is part of a chain or franchise

MFTTW: why you so idealist

Me: I like diversity and competition in the ecosystem

MFTTW: hur hur

Me: singapore everything chain
then chain moreprofit making
so yakun uses krimer

MFTTW: but indie things are usually cock
I don't drink ya kun

Me: why indie things usually cock

MFTTW: cos they are good for a while then realize business model not sustainable then they start to cut corners
becos it is inevitably set up by some yuppie couple who are on second careers to "pursue their dreams"

Me: and chains cut corners from the start so you dont get taken in?

MFTTW: chains are... you know what you are getting

the prob in sg is that nothing stays good for long
it always goes downhill

anyway if the corporation can bring in someone good
then it's a good thing whst

like maybe gontran cherrier has no business acumen
then we would not have gotten to try his baked goods otherwise

Me: likewise, without eduardo we'd never get to try kum's kosmetiks


Frigid Girl on River Valley High School: if they find out if you're dating
they expel

Me: so date outside?

Frigid Girl: no even if your'e dating a guy from outside the schoo'
the fact that you're dating = expulsion
commie is as commie does

Me: wut.
was that rule applied to anyo you know

Frigid Girlno cos they always made us break up
the trick is
the moment some counsellor found you (inside OR outside the school)
they will report you
the discipline headmistress will confront you
and then call your parents
then the parenst will haev to make a choice
if they agree to the rship, kid will be expelled
if they don't (more often than not), kid has to break up
apparently dunman has similiar rules
if not more strict

Someone on the above: "Basically there were a few ways of getting caught. One of which was to wear the RV uniform and you can await rabid ex-alumni of RVHS students who would complain about the smallest transgressions to get you. I recalled one of them complained how an RVian couple were making out on the MRT train like an "octopus". Or you could choose to date around the school and got caught by the discipline mistress.

Either way, most people just dated without wearing uniforms. Not difficult to evade.."


MFTTW: last week i was at holland v carpark

as i walked down the stairs
i passed a guy carrying his gf on his back up the stairs
she didn't look hurt or ill... but she was wearing very stupid looking
high heels
when he reached the top of the stairs she jupmed off and gave him a
peck on the cheek
:(

Me: why? *** won't do that for you?

MFTTW: -_-
well firstly yes *** definitely wont do that
secondly wtf

Me: hee

MFTTW: i remarked loudly to *** "i guess now you know why girls say sg men
have no balls"
but i don't think either of them heard
sad

Me: and if he didn't do it he'd be accused of not being gentlemanly
you can't win
*men can't win

MFTTW: ha. such a sad lot you men have.

An MMS I got

Text: "There is a future for you on Japanese TV!"

(wah lao who uses MMS nowadays?)

Pink-haired student invited back to school

(Reuters) - A school that barred a sixth grader after she dyed her hair pink with her parents' blessing to celebrate her good grades lifted its ban on Tuesday following an outcry from civil rights advocates.

After missing three days of classes, pink-haired Brianna Moore headed back to Shue-Medill Middle School in Newark, Delaware, on Tuesday after administrators reversed their decision after a call from the Delaware branch of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

"We're on our way right now," said Kevin Moore as he drove his 12-year-old daughter to school.

At his daughter's request last week, he helped dye her hair a shade called crimson storm, which has a pink hue, as a reward for improving her grades.

But when she showed up for school the next day, she was sent home and told not to return until her hair met school policy mandating a "natural color, brown, blond, black, natural red/auburn."

The ACLU soon got in touch with attorneys for the school district and asked, "Don't you think this is unconstitutional?" said Kathleen MacRae, ACLU executive director in Delaware.

Moore was invited back to school with assurances she would not be punished, said Wendy Lapham, school district spokeswoman.

"The hair is not going to be an issue," Lapham said.


Meanwhile, in Singapore...

Product Placement in Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings

Observations - 27th June 2011

"I have not lost my mind - it's backed up on disk somewhere." - Unknown

***

One of my fantasies: will $1 to lots of people so they will come to my will reading and be pissed off.

It takes two hands to clap but only one to slap.

At a wedding I was at recently I swear one of the women doing the readings mentioned St Paul's letter to the Philippines.



News stories that reference stories readily available online but which don't provide links are very irritating.

Trying to find the origin of something on tumblr is like looking for Prestor John


I suspect a main reason people hate Windows is enterprise software. So it's not really Windows's fault.

A centralised system also means a centralised point of failure


It is ironic that Singaporeans despise PRCs for reasons similar to why Singaporeans are disliked in developed countries

I wonder why we need screen doors on all our MRT lines, but they don't in Paris, London, New York, Tokyo and many other cities.

Entrepreneurship in Singapore is about taxi driving and private education.


Seen: "In terms of appearance: I do love long hair. The longer the better, in fact. This is not mandatory, I’m just sayin' (Wow, this bitch is even ranting about the hard-hitting issue of male hair length, but...) If you did have long hair and you think cutting it somehow made you more of a 'grown-up' or as part of some ridiculous pressure from this sexist double-standard, please proceed to stick head in meat grinder. I have seen the most horrific bleached, dyed, split end straw mess on female heads, but if it's anything less than perfect on a guy one often hears inanely horrified commentary that somehow maturity and hygiene levels are inversely proportional to how long your hair is if you are in possession of a penis."

Just because I think you would look better with a boob job doesn't mean you should be forced to get one, or you should be happy if some mad plastic surgeon drugs you and you wake up with one.


I am annoyed by false dichotomies. No one advocates expulsing ALL foreigners from Singapore, or ratcheting up government spending to 200% of GDP.

From a seditious article: "There is no defamation suit because in court the correct details of the incident will come out" I wonder if the author(s) will be sued for defamation...

The office of MP is not a lifetime achievement award (@struthious yeah I would vote for [my sweeper] over LKY)


I swear Pearl necklaces are as popular an accessory now as hoop earrings were in 2004.

"Round, warm, silky smooth, soft, bouncy" - Sounds like good fishballs.


Seen on anti-smoking material: "Be inspired by the brave stories of those who have quit smoking". This is the feebleness of 21st century "Bravery".

An inspirational quote I saw: "Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows." (Helen Keller) How can she be credible saying that? Do people even undertand the drivel that they repeat?!


RT @MrAniki: #Singapore, you have to step up your game. There is a long way to go http://t.co/fWKqDhW #fail

RT: @leraine: Don't complain about how guys just look at you as a pair of tits and a vagina if you're like "I've got tits and a cunt, where's my Gucci?"

RT @sebastien_mc: On ne dit pas « Sodomiser ses copains » mais « Elargir le cercle de ses amis » !

RT @joshlim If you take out all the vowels from female, you get FML.

RT: @markleggett: Whatever doesn't kill us makes us stronger but more likely it will make us much weaker and horribly disfigured and bitter and fearful.

Observations - 7th January 2011

"All science is either physics or stamp collecting." - Ernest Rutherford

***

I HATE links to links. Then either another link or a summary/teaser with a link. They make me dizzy. Putain !

Men plan to get wealth and power. Women plan for their weddings.

Never trust a critic who never has anything bad to say. Or the reverse.

More than one person has remarked to me that eye surgeons do not themselves do Lasik - even those who offer Lasik. Supposedly it's because after a few years you may need glasses again.

ChineseClass101.com claims that it's the Southern Chinese who're obsessed with getting rich, not the Northerners. I am skeptical.

Mysteries of the universe: what is the difference between moisturiser and hand cream?

Someone should leak a sex video of Julian Assange and see him defend "free speech" (though the police records being leaked and he complaining was amusing enough)


All good things must come to an end, but shit can go on falling.

"I think forgiveness in itself is another example of a universal human value that's been claimed by religions as their own... Whether religions stress the necessity of forgiveness for inane issues that need no forgiveness at all is a separate issue altogether. In that case, forgiveness becomes a passive-aggressive way of controlling behaviour."

The proverb that goes "He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever" only works in school. Elsewhere, people will forever know that you were dumb. Alternatively, we can find another proverb with the opposite meaning: "Even a fool, when he holds his peace, is counted wise: and he that shuts his lips is esteemed a man of understanding".

RT @ladyxtel: Don't give up. Keep holding on.
Me: Unless you're a stalker


PRCs all praise Singapore. I don't blame them. If I PRC I'd like Singapore too

A UOB telemarketer asked me if I had any friends who might be interested in his credit cards. I told him that I was sure that they all got calls already. I don't know if he got it.

Apparently normal white girls take their husbands' names when they marry. Meanwhile this is rare in Singapore. What was that about a patriarchal society?
Addendum: "Bb" in comments - "Sgp women only take their husband's name if it's an 'upgrade'. I do not know of any Sgp woman who did not take the opportunity to 'upgrade' to a new married name. On the other hand, white woman married to Sgp/Asian men mostly take their husbands' names. I only know of one (white American, married to Japanese) who did not and I think that was only because she would not have changed her name no matter what, even if she had married someone with a 'Western' surname. So, what does that say abt Sgp women?"

Because of the way the law is written in Singapore, caressing someone's chest counts as "assault" or "criminal force". I am informed that "assault in most commonwealth countries include causing fear of violence in the victim".

I am very amused by @xtravangaz's innovative use of social media! (I was thanked for my compliments. When I asked if I would get a discount, I was told that Belinda was having a discount)


Buffets in Singapore are advertised as eat all you can, not all you want - because people eat more than they want

I'm not sure what annoys me the most about Singaporean 'food blogs': bad English, faux-artsy pictures or gushing sans food critiques


An SMRT recruitment ad says they're looking for Leaders. So who's following the bus and taxi drivers?

"Being the one cabbie that never gets asked to follow another cabbie. Which leads me to the unmistakable conclusion that I must be the cabbie all the other cabbies are following"


@msvindicta: "When you've already won her heart, you don't need to win every argument."
Me: And when you've already won his ***, you don't need to win ANY argument

Twitter tip of the year RT @rahrahrah: this is awsum. i blocked @zodiacfacts and i dont get them even when people RT! YAY.
"yeahhhhh these horoscope tweets are annoying! you read can already la, RT for what sia. Do i care if you have a high sex drive?!!!"
Me: "Care if you want to bang him :)"
"but its usually girls who RTs zodiacfacts. oh so mayb they RT-ing for the boys hahaha"

"Women fall in love by what they hear. Men fall in love by what they see. That's why women put make up and men lie."

RT @eisen Girls, do you know what I'm thinking when I'm looking at your hair? I'm thinking how my hair is better-looking than yours. Hahaha!!!

RT @jemauvais: wonders why AWARE isn't kicking up a fuss that there isn't any 'My Girlfriend, Our Army' ad....

RT @markleggett What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Quadriplegics can bench press crazy amounts.

RT @dweam: Gotta love this quote: "Cleavage is like time, squeeze hard enough and you will get more." LOL!

RT @esti_d some Sg bloggers are too emo or socially aloof. Would it kill you to make a polite reply? They should be like @gssq

[On humans] "We are special because we eat full already got nothing better to do then to come up with meanings for life."

Conversations - 11th December 2010

"Liberals are very broadminded: they are always willing to give careful consideration to both sides of the same side." - Anonymous

***

Someone on conning women: gab. i said i lied.
i *USED* ***'s stories.
as mine.

Me: ...

do they probe
and dont you feel dirty inside

Someone: dirty? dude, i do business.


TC: so which parts of france u think?

where would u recommend i go?

Me: what do you like to do/see

TC: i dunno

chill out haha
cheap food
wander around

Me: aiyah you want to chill out, have cheap food and wander around - go KL lah

TC: -_-


Someone: those who support wikileaks are those who have a sorry excuse of an education.
hur hur

Me: no
only those who give bad reasons

Someone: all those on my followlist who are supporting assange either havent been enlisted, or didnt make it far in acadamia

Me: gah
you know most arts academics are left wing right

and what does enlistment have to do with anything

Someone: as much as you deny it, Army changes a boy
or it used to.

into a man

Me: bah
not all changes are good

singaporean men are very immature
a lot of it is because of Slavery


Me: I don't understand perming
apparently it's to add "life" to hair

TC: yar

i find my hair v boring
always sstraight
either short or long but straight

Me: shave lor

TC: -_-
i want hair


i wonder if its too feminine for me

Me: hurr hurr
you want a masculine cut?

TC: lol no
i mean i might not be able to pull it off

Me: orh

TC: when u say orh
shd i continue or does it mean u are bored and rather talk bout smth else haha

so trivial my hair

Me: if I'm bored, I will let you know

oh come now
you should know that hair is one topic I am not unenthusiastic about

TC: haha true
but long permed hair is such a cliche on girls

Me: a few years ago it was long rebonded hair that was the cliche

yah that's why I say go and shave it all off


Me: the attitude that Slavery creates towards women

Someone: HAHAHAHAHA

Me: my notes are somewhere
but basically slavery encourages sexism

Someone: -_-

Me: and encourages men to see women as useless
and sexual objects
and their property

you disagree

Someone: ? no. women ARE sexual objects to me.

Me: hurr hurr

pls lah they dont know meh
lotharios all think that way

generally if you feel like sleeping with a guy, you shouldn't

Someone: women are all hypocritical creatures
as long as you don't mention the fact that they are sluts
they will be a slut.

Me: hurr hurr and what about men

Someone: men got excuse. just apologise and say, "I was thinking with the wrong head."
and people will understand.

Me: this ties into my previous point about how men are considered pigs by default. their default state is fallen
whereas women are considered virtuous by default

"I've known what it is to be hungry, but I always went right to a restaurant." - Ring Lardner

***

"[Erich Maria Remarque] had just married an old friend of mine, Paulette Goddard, all woman, magnificently distributed, as feminine as she is female.

One night when we were having dinner, I said to Erich (not seriously): 'How do you get along with this wild woman?'

He replied: 'Beautifully. There is never an argument.'

'Never an argument?' I asked incredulously.

'Never,' he replied. 'We will have an appointment one evening, and she charges into the room crying, 'Why aren't you ready? You always keep me waiting. Why do you ...?!'

I look at her with astonishment and say, 'Paulette! Who did your hair? It's absolutely ravishing.'

She says, 'Really? Do you really like it?' 'Like it?'

I reply. 'You're a vision. Let me see the back.'

By the time she has made a pirouette her fury is forgotten. Another time she turns on me in rage about something, and before a sentence is out of her mouth I stare at her and say breathlessly, 'My God! You're incredible. You get younger every day.'

She says, 'Really, darling?' 'Tonight,' I say, 'you look eighteen years old.'

And that is the end of her rage.'

I was as amused as I was admiring and I said to him: 'Erich, one day I will have to write a song about that.' The song was 'How to Handle a Woman' which ends:

The way to handle a woman is to love her,
Simply love her; merely love her,
Love her, love her."

--- The Street Where I Live / Alan Jay Lerner


Somehow, the moral I took away from these anecdotes was something else...

"Why do writers write? Because it isn't there." - Thomas Berger

***

Richard Stein's Book "Split Ends: A Woman's Life with Her Hair"

"Yielding and soft, sumptuous and colorful, decorative, and dangling, it invites a lover's touch. It's fun to fondle, play with, and disarrange. Messing it up is the symbolic equivalent of undressing the other's body. A woman quickly learns that cutting her hair without warning her lover first is a bad mistake...

I once tucked a perfect curl of my hair, tied with a lavender ribbon, between the pages of a poetry book I was returning to a friend. The curl marked my favorite love poem, and I felt as if I were charging the book with my life force. I knew I was giving him a powerful talisman. Hair is sacred to lovers, but also to society...

Once, stricken by despair, I phoned a girlfriend and, when I calmed down enough to speak, sobbed out my woes. "Oh, boy trouble," she said in a tone of voice that meant Hell, we can deal with that. "I was afraid you'd got a bad haircut."...

When long haired women have children, they frequently cut their hair short. Pleading convenience, they explain it merely as a practical move. But it is, I think, more symbolic. In various cultures and religions (among nuns and some Jewish, for instance) women are expected to cut their hair short so that they will no longer be attractive to men. A freshly bobbed new mother might be saying, in essence, I'm going to focus my life now on nurturing my family; I'm not available for flirtation. At the end of World War II, collaborators were de-sexed and shamed by having their hair chopped off in what was, essentially, a form of social circumcision. Mothers often wish a daughter to cut hers short when she reaches puberty, but fathers want a daughter to keep her hair long forever...

Each generation, needing to feel a sense of identity, sets itself apart through hairstyle. Because there are only so many things one can do with one's hair to shock society, styles seem to reappear after a decade or so. Those who lived through love-ins and antiwar rallies probably find it as strange as I do to see construction workers now wearing ponytails and headbands or a policeman with long sideburns. Or a corporate man in a conservative suit wearing a ponytail. It makes me do a double take: the look is hippie, but the politics and philosophy are different. History, myth, and literature are filled with dramas in which hair plays a central role. Most often it symbolizes strength, as in the story of Samson and Delilah; or sexuality, as in the fairy tale about Rapunzel; or selfless love, as in the famous short story by O. Henry; or fetish magic, as in American Indian lore; or a religious portent, as in the Aztec myth from which Cortes profited -that a god would appear from afar and be recognizable by his blond hair. I won't argue that hair brought down the monarchy in eighteenth-century France, but it may have helped to focus society's rage. At Marie Antoinette's court, both men and women were said to use barrels of flour to whiten their elaborate wigs. Reputedly, this waste so outraged the common people, who were starving for want of bread, that they cut their own hair short in protest and, ultimately, condemned royal hair and heads to the guillotine...

Long hair is suggestive. It implies excess, extravagance, rampant sensuality -literally, a lack of restraint...

People so often complain that their hair to is "wild," that they "can't do anything with it," that it's nothing but "split ends" and "strays," that it's hopelessly "fly-away." Perhaps we fear that, like ourselves, and like our feelings of love, despite our constant efforts, it will always be just a little bit out of control."

"The bitterest tragic element in life to be derived from an intellectual source is the belief in a brute Fate or Destiny." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

***

Pictures from February:



"Authentic Malacca Wan Ton Mee. (Singapore Branch) Malacca - Opposite Ong Ya Kong Temple Banda Hilir"

Notice that this comes in two options: Without Chili and With Chili. So no, despite what Malaysians' carping may lead one to assume, Wan Ton Mee without Chili is acceptable.

Also, this was quite lacklustre, raising one or more of the following possibilities:

1) As a franchisee, the standard was below its home stall's
2) The ranting about good Malaysian food by Malaysians and Singaporeans alike is misleading
3) The home stall also sucks
4) This is authentic but not good


From Bumbu Restaurant:


"Please Stop At Two!"
The guy (R. Tan) designed the sign himself (he wasn't paid, unfortunately) when he was at the Ministry of Health (in the 60s IIRC 1960 or 1970)


Lemongrass Chicken Head (!)


Arabic spoils the look of this prosperous mirror.
Addendum: The restaurant also had no Chinese gods (though it had other Chinese decorative arts) so it could remain Halal.


From the National Geographic Store at Vivocity:


"Tahitians are amphibious and live in the water as much as possible."


A ridiculously expensive table. It costs S$42,200. Presumably because it is "unique".


"Controlled freezing chamber... Simulate the freezing conditions you may encounter on your trip or expedition. Temperatures inside the chamber reach 15 degrees Celsius"
I blame Americans' inability to convert to the Metric scale properly. No wonder the Mars Probe crashed.


"Photography is not recommended as we would like to respect the photographers' original works"
I love that they respected their visitors.



"Ben and Jerry's 3 Piece Melamine Set For Kids"
I'm guessing they designed this before Melamine became a dirty word.


In my series of bust enhancement ads,
BustStations: "International Japanese Model"
I love how they didn't even name her (in subsequent ads they did)
I also love how the fine print is printed in such a way as to be invisible
Incidentally I tired to win the vouchers for a friend, but they refused to give them to me and wanted her contact. I kind of expected it, but it was STILL scummy.


"C.M.I. Maritime Pte Ltd"


"Chicken Lever"


"Chicken Shawarma... contains a good deal of mineral called selenium that is... known to help infertile men improve the motility of sperm cells!... must-have for health conscious... Comes with fries"


Chinese Figurines at Ah Chew Desserts which display Asian Values (one's naked and one's in underwear)


"Due to economy crisis, CAKE HISTORY is giving a special offer to our value customer. Each bread is selling at $1 only!"
It sounds better in Chinese


"4 Heavenly Dish" (their Fried Platter Combination)


"Ve-Tsin Gourmet Powder". It has salt and MSG (Ajinomoto being branded as 'Umami Seasoning' is still not as bad)


"Hair Extension. 100% Human Hair"
Do people get hair extensions with artificial hair?


They levy GST on top of the prices - for takeout!


""We weigh your ice cream to ensure they're your healtier choice.....""
Nice way Uzumaki justifies being kiam siap. Notice that their definition of a double scoop is actually 1.5 times a single scoop.
[Addendum: TMM suggests their cone is 45g and each scoop 45g, but that's a very heavy cone]


"To whom it may concern
Milk Powder NOT from China
This is to certify that we do not use any milk powder from China to manufacture any of our products"
For once, Krimer comes in useful.
I love how Malaysia Dairy Industries makes Non-Dairy Creamer. Malaysia Boleh!


Notice how Ma Maison only has endorsements from Japanese magazines. Its status as "the finest Continental cuisine restaurant in Singapore" is thus doubtful.


Mannikins with "real" and textured hair


"[Pig:] To know me is to love me"


Proud Vermonster Team - with 3 girls and only 1 guy! I'm impressed.


Girls playing dumb kiddy game at Vivocity. Some things don't change with age


"All Ranovation & Repair"


Spider on Path


"Nature's answer to hydrated skin"
Besides the suggestion that this dehydrates you, it makes you wonder: if it's 99.9% water, why not just use water?


"WARNING. You are committing an offence if you employ foreign workers without valid work passes. PENALTY. Jail term"
Not the most reassuring thing to see on your lunch table


"An Nisaa' Muslimah Salon. Strictly for ladies only. Man not allowed"
Sexual discrimination!


"Toastbox: Hainanese Curry Chicken. Just one mouthful of the tender chicken with rich Hainanese curry certainly gave us a taste of the early Southeast Asian immigrants!"
This puts a whole new spin on "Tastes like chicken"...


"We're now hiring foreigners!"


Cookie & Monkey (Kids' rides): Your children will be baffled by the conditions

Hair

(Tips to Bunny Boy for introducing me to this Musical)

Delicious videos on YouTube:




Definitely too long for me

Unfortunately it seems most of them are gay:


User description:
sexylonghairedmen

"I'm a gay longhaired guy, sorry ladies!!! My hair is almost to my ass!!!! Nothing more beautiful to me than a guy with VERY long hair!!!! LONGHAIRED MEN RULE!!!!!!

Age: 47

I'm an admirer of men with sexy long hair! I'm a male and have been growing my own hair out for 10 years or so. There is something about a man with a long silky mane that is soooo sexy!

Country: United States
Occupation: longhaired freak

Interests and Hobbies: long haired men, extra long hair on men, men with long hair, shoulder length, mid back length, butt length, knee length, and longer!!! I also admire men with beards and tattoos. If you're a longhaired man please feel free to add me as a friend!!!!"

"The greatest mistake is trying to be more agreeable than you can be." - Walter Bagehot

***

The Winter's Tale was interesting (even if "Exit, pursued by a bear" got changed to "Get creeped up on by a bear and disappear in a flash of lightning"), but even more interesting was observing the Ang Mohs (Caucasians) and comparing them to those at Les Contes d'Hoffman.

Given the nature of the performance/performers, it was no surprise that I only heard American/British accents from them at the former and the French language during the latter (with the proportion of the former dwarfing the latter), but more interesting was that they thronged Circle 3 (i.e. the cheap seats) on both days. Indeed, tonight I saw more blonde and brunette hair in Circle 3 than the Stalls (or at least the part of the Stalls visible from my lofty vantage point).

Yet, during the intermission, whereas the Circle 3 Bar was closed during the Opera (supposedly because of technical issues; in fact I can't remember the last time it was open - probably during King Lear), it was doing brisk business tonight (with some people even bringing their wine in):



I also saw 3 long-haired guys sitting together - perhaps they were a support group (maybe the Québécois are more bohemian than Les Français).

After the play, I found that there was a "Lotus Limousine" stretch limo parked outside:




There was also a huge clusterfuck of taxis, virtuall all of them on call.

Meanwhile I saw about 5 ang mohs at the bus stop tonight, whereas after Hoffman there must've been 30 there.

I thus conclude that French expatriates are much harder hit by the recession than British/American ones.