(In association with the Year of the [tag]Dog[/tag], this post is for man’s best friend, that lovable dog) So far, the year of the canine hasn’t really gone to the dogs yet, so to speak. Well, maybe I shouldn’t speak so soon, it’s only the third day, that’s hardly even the end of the first day, in dog years. While I was reading my dog-eared copy of the newspaper, I couldn’t help noticing the many pictures of the cute little dogs sent in by readers. So adorable, no wonder they call it puppy love. Other than that, there wasn’t anything else interesting, except the new national watchdog group. Well, I…

Wow, Lillian Too is really living it up, man. Last week, I heard her on the radio on this morning talk show where she was giving out tips to callers on how to handle the Year of the Dog (I can safely say a leash, flea collar and muzzle were not involved). Now, the past few days, she is on almost every local TV channel and newspaper talking about feng shui. Side note: For my non-Malaysian readers, (yes, all two of you) Lillian is a successful modern day feng shui master who has made millions through her own TV show, hundreds of books published every year and product endorsements. However,…

It’s less than half and hour to the dawn of the New Year, it has been a tiring day to say the least. Tomorrow looks to be an even more strenuous day, but its all in good spirit. I spent a good part of the morning contributing to the jam on the North-South Highway. The jam was unexpectedly bad, but I’m more relieved that I am safely through and that there weren’t any major accidents on the way. On the journey, I had a lot of time to enjoy the scenery and observe my fellow road-users, they usually interesting insights to our Malaysian culture. Wingz was right. My cellphone didn’t…

Most people are taking the tomorrow off to start the long new year break, so let me take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year and a good holiday! Anyway, for those taking the week off, here’s some good news for you to chew on… if you’re a five day employee (like those bank employees), there are only 17 days to work in February. Chap Goh Mei, falls on 12th February, a Sunday. The English counterpart, The Feast of St. Valentine’s falls on Tuesday, two days later. After City Day on 1st February, the next public holiday is on 11th April. Long way more, my friends. Anyways, drive…

For those not celebrating [tag]Chinese New Year[/tag] or are unable to feel the festive spirit, I apologize for the recent deluge of CNY-related posts here in the past one week. Now then, on to business. Some burning questions some of us may have to answer. And these things you won’t find at Wikipedia or Answers.com. [tag]Top Ten[/tag] Burning Questions Most People Have To Answer Before Chinese New Year Should we go back to home town on Friday morning, Friday evening or Saturday morning? If Friday morning, then I have to take leave, I’m not sure my boss would approve my leave on such short notice. But Saturday morning the traffic…

Ah, most of us will be having the Tuin Neen (year end) dinner at home this Saturday night. The veritable [tag]Chinese[/tag] tradition, with lots of food and chatter. But the chatter, well, it can sometimes be more important than anything else… [tag]Top Ten[/tag] Things Overheard During [tag]Chinese New Year[/tag] Dinner At Home “Eh, you were also born in the [tag]year of the dog[/tag], right? That makes you 36 years old this year! Or is it 48? Wah, old maid already, ah? Still no boyfriend aa?” (Simon says: Just say that you’re 60 but look like 24.) “This is the 8th yee sang dinner I’ve had so far. Last week my…

This coming year of is the year of the golden dog, so I’m told. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept of the [tag]Chinese Zodiac[/tag], there are 12 animals. I’m not too familiar with the correct sequence, but the 12 are rooster, dog, rat, dragon, horse, tiger, goat, boar (the politically correct name), monkey, snake, ox and rabbit. There are also 5 elementals in the mix – fire, water, gold, wind and metal. This goes together with the 12 animals, a good calendar will tell you which year it is. I wrote a piece last year on how they decided on which 12 animals made the final cut, you can read…

As matter of coincidence, I watched three [tag]Greek[/tag] [tag]movies[/tag] over the past 2 weeks. No, when I say Greek movies, I don’t mean Greek-speaking modern cinema, but [tag]Hollywood[/tag] sword and sandals epics ‘[tag]Troy[/tag]‘ and ‘[tag]Alexander[/tag]‘. And the third one was the comedy ‘[tag]My Big Fat Greek Wedding[/tag]‘. That one was quite funny, actually. OK, disregarding the third one, let’s talk about ‘Troy’ and ‘Alexander’. I used to be very interested in Greek [tag]mythology[/tag] as a kid, reading everything I could find about the Greek (and Roman and Norse) Gods. The stories on the mortals heroes like Achilles, Jason, Perseus and Theseus were not as interesting as the ones involving the…

Every time when the [tag]Chinese New Year[/tag] fanfare rolls around the corner, I’m always reminded of my [tag]grandmother[/tag]. Not my maternal grandma, my paternal one. My maternal grandma was a chain-smoking and swearing woman, I’ve talked about her before. If anyone would have met her, they would know which of her traits i inherited. Nope, the lunar new year brings to mind my paternal grandmother, the late matriarch of the clan. She passed on about when I was in college. My whole experience of Chinese New Year was defined by my stays with her in the old house, along with the clan during the first 3 days of celebrations. There…

I just watched S.W.A.T. on DVD the other day. I remember the old TV series when I was a kid, I kinda had good memories of it, although the other day reading the online reviews of the movie, most of them liked the movie but said the original series was kind of lame. Well, I liked it, but what I know, I was probably two and a half years old at that time. I really loved cops shows and S.W.A.T. always had interesting stakeouts or hostage situations. OK, talking a bit about TV shows from the 70’s and 80’s. Most baby boomers like me remember the 80’s as the golden…