one really should have an emergency wardrobe of clothes one size larger to cater for these gastronomically-rewarding festive occasions.. (on this remark, a muslim friend reasons: "aha, that's why we fast for a month before we go head-on into a month of open-houses!")
the deepavali and hari raya open-houses during the past few weeks have been nothing short of fabulous (free flow of satay!! need i say more? :)) and, needless to say, rather generous on the waistline!
and guess what, there's a malay wedding coming up next week. the gastronomic odyssey continues!
Monday, November 29, 2004
Saturday, November 27, 2004
open season
the essay season is here!
econs!
statistics!
marketing!
trips to the library!
hut! hut! hut!
econs!
statistics!
marketing!
trips to the library!
hut! hut! hut!
Monday, November 22, 2004
runnin'
you know you've got a bad case of the sniffles when...
- you can't smell the freshly cooked dish of belacan & petai in front of you
- you can't hear what people around you are saying unless they turn it up a few decibels
- your pals start to fuss over you and start changing group-discussion plans to suit your fragile disposition (dang, i thought i could skive discussions for once! :-D)
- the customer service lady on the phone addresses you 'Sir'
- you can't smell the freshly cooked dish of belacan & petai in front of you
- you can't hear what people around you are saying unless they turn it up a few decibels
- your pals start to fuss over you and start changing group-discussion plans to suit your fragile disposition (dang, i thought i could skive discussions for once! :-D)
- the customer service lady on the phone addresses you 'Sir'
Friday, November 19, 2004
"1984"
ever seen Apple's earth-shattering "1984" ad which ran only once during the Super Bowl but which was phenomenally influential?
To quote a description from somewhere on the Net (cos I'm too lazy to paraphrase):
"In the third quarter of the 1984 Super Bowl, a strange and disorienting advertisement appeared on the TV screens of the millions of viewers tuned in to the yearly ritual. The ad opens on a gray network of futuristic tubes connecting blank, ominous buildings. Inside the tubes, we see cowed subjects marching towards a cavernous auditorium, where they bow before a Big Brother figure pontificating from a giant TV screen. But one lone woman remains unbroken. Chased by storm troopers, she runs up to the screen, hurls a hammer with a heroic grunt, and shatters the TV image. As the screen explodes, bathing the stunned audience in the light of freedom, a voice-over announces, "On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce the Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like "1984." "
our Marketing lecturer made quite an impact on the class describing the above ad (which half the class was not really aware of since they were still screaming kids in the year 1984). the guys seemed particularly interested in the description of a leggy Brigitte Nielsen in tight-fitting white t-shirt and red shorts [yes, such detail.. see the impact of the ad?] running in with a sledgehammer. a copy of the ad was downloaded from the Net, and the guys were rather disappointed to find that the 80's perception of a voluptuous leggy 6-foot blonde didn't quite match their current expectations. ha ha. anyway, if you're a george orwell fan AND a mac addict, you might identify with the ad. (there's a streaming version in the above link.)
To quote a description from somewhere on the Net (cos I'm too lazy to paraphrase):
"In the third quarter of the 1984 Super Bowl, a strange and disorienting advertisement appeared on the TV screens of the millions of viewers tuned in to the yearly ritual. The ad opens on a gray network of futuristic tubes connecting blank, ominous buildings. Inside the tubes, we see cowed subjects marching towards a cavernous auditorium, where they bow before a Big Brother figure pontificating from a giant TV screen. But one lone woman remains unbroken. Chased by storm troopers, she runs up to the screen, hurls a hammer with a heroic grunt, and shatters the TV image. As the screen explodes, bathing the stunned audience in the light of freedom, a voice-over announces, "On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce the Macintosh. And you'll see why 1984 won't be like "1984." "
our Marketing lecturer made quite an impact on the class describing the above ad (which half the class was not really aware of since they were still screaming kids in the year 1984). the guys seemed particularly interested in the description of a leggy Brigitte Nielsen in tight-fitting white t-shirt and red shorts [yes, such detail.. see the impact of the ad?] running in with a sledgehammer. a copy of the ad was downloaded from the Net, and the guys were rather disappointed to find that the 80's perception of a voluptuous leggy 6-foot blonde didn't quite match their current expectations. ha ha. anyway, if you're a george orwell fan AND a mac addict, you might identify with the ad. (there's a streaming version in the above link.)
canine capers
sparky's "I'm a Cute Pup with a Warm Fuzzy Nose, So Feed Me" pose, caught on camera - giving the close-up-of-nose 'The Dog' graphics a run for their money!
coming soon:
the Howling-at-the-Old-Newspaper-Van stance (if i can ever sneak up on him before he realizes he's being caught on candid camera!)
Tuesday, November 09, 2004
pests
a PEST analysis of people who should be banned from Earth:
(PEST, in the context of business strategy, refers to Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors. The acronym happens to be quite fitting of the topic!)
on Political factors:
- George W. Bush
on Economic factors:
- telemarketers who tell you they will only take 2 minutes of your time. [this results in misallocation of scarce resources (i.e. time)!]
- an extension of the above - telemarketers who call your home, find out that you're not in, and then coerce the poor person at home to giving away your mobile number by saying that they are your "friend".
- direct-selling salesmen who tell you they will only take 2 minutes of your time..
- come to think of it, any unsolicited salesperson (with apologies to all you irritating sales people).
on Social factors:
- it used to be people who asked when i would get married. it's somehow evolved to people who ask when i will convert the empty room in the house into a nursery. and by the way, i'm not even married yet.
on Technological factors:
- people who forward you a ludicrous virus warning (you know, the stuff that wipes out your entire C drive, deletes all dll files, the existence of which is confirmed by IBM, AOL, Intel, Netscape and Microsoft) and when gently told it's a hoax, indignantly reply "sure, that's what they say, but there is no harm in distributing these warnings - you NEVER know! better safe than sorry! prevention is better than cure!"
- people who forward you an email with six pages of old email headers and the long-awaited actual e-mail content reads "this is a good luck charm... "
- people (of any age) who refuse to touch a PC [if my once PC-illiterate retiree dad can now check stock quotes online and engage in online discussions with automobile interest groups, YOU have no excuse! ;-) ]
- the people who, when told "Help, MyDoom has infected this PC", reply, "Your what?" [i know i've repeated this too many times.. i guess i still haven't gotten over it ... :-D]
(PEST, in the context of business strategy, refers to Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors. The acronym happens to be quite fitting of the topic!)
on Political factors:
- George W. Bush
on Economic factors:
- telemarketers who tell you they will only take 2 minutes of your time. [this results in misallocation of scarce resources (i.e. time)!]
- an extension of the above - telemarketers who call your home, find out that you're not in, and then coerce the poor person at home to giving away your mobile number by saying that they are your "friend".
- direct-selling salesmen who tell you they will only take 2 minutes of your time..
- come to think of it, any unsolicited salesperson (with apologies to all you irritating sales people).
on Social factors:
- it used to be people who asked when i would get married. it's somehow evolved to people who ask when i will convert the empty room in the house into a nursery. and by the way, i'm not even married yet.
on Technological factors:
- people who forward you a ludicrous virus warning (you know, the stuff that wipes out your entire C drive, deletes all dll files, the existence of which is confirmed by IBM, AOL, Intel, Netscape and Microsoft) and when gently told it's a hoax, indignantly reply "sure, that's what they say, but there is no harm in distributing these warnings - you NEVER know! better safe than sorry! prevention is better than cure!"
- people who forward you an email with six pages of old email headers and the long-awaited actual e-mail content reads "this is a good luck charm... "
- people (of any age) who refuse to touch a PC [if my once PC-illiterate retiree dad can now check stock quotes online and engage in online discussions with automobile interest groups, YOU have no excuse! ;-) ]
- the people who, when told "Help, MyDoom has infected this PC", reply, "Your what?" [i know i've repeated this too many times.. i guess i still haven't gotten over it ... :-D]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
