Wonder Girls: Be My Baby

I have waited so long for Wonder Girls' comeback this year! They asked you to be their baby.



KOREAN version with English subs


ENGLISH version


CHINESE version


The Wonder Girls have been staying in the US for one year and faced numerous hardships. I'm glad that they came back stronger than ever!

I have supported them by purchasing their music on iTunes. Will you do your part to show your love?

NCG 2011 debate day 2

After watching debates on day 1 it's time for more fiery dose on day 2.

Malaysian students all around Australia flocked to Melbourne for both the debating competition and sporting events.


Gillian Gan as judge! She's National Chair of MASCA from Sydney.


To perform my job as a timekeeper effectvely, I brought my IPod touch.


First speaker of the proponent tabling a motion to be moved forward. They were given an interesting topic - should Malaysia go nuclear?

I was no ordinary timekeeper. I increased the competitiveness of the competition. It's fun watching fiery debates!


This is Yen Wei, a law student in Canberra. She packs a lot of punch!


It's nice to meet and network with interstate Malaysian students.

Are you interested to take part in future debates? Please contact your Malaysian students' association in your university for more details!

It's Graduation!

For three days in a row, I have been rushing to campus in the afternoon for graduation ceremonies.



Was expecting to graduate with my peers; that did not materialise because I wasn't able to graduate in time. I am cool with that, I am going to obtain my award eventually. I performed academically, as eyes are on me. I know who I am, with a scholarship award bestowed on me I cannot disappoint any of you.

Choosing to take Marine Phytoplankton of Australia has delayed my graduation but it was worth it. Learning a subject involving classification of living things took me to a different world from the usual medical based subjects in my third year; saving the subject for last really made the subject a memorable one.

I can graduate in time had I taken Marine Phytoplankton before I attempted my third year, but I would have felt clueless instead of brimming with confidence after going through thick and thin with tough biochemistry subjects.

There is no right or wrong time to take university subjects. Just make sure you know enough beforehand to handle it.

NCG 2011 debate day 1

It was the winter holidays between semesters! There were a fews events up so I took the opportunity to attend them. The first one was National Conference and Games 2011 Debating Competition organised by Malaysian Students' Council of Australia (MASCA).

It was held at Malaysian Melbourne Hall.


They needed timekeeper so I volunteered to be one.


The debates were run as Parliamentary debates. When a speaker is speaking, opponents can raise points of information. Proposer for the motion was named "Government".


Opponent to the motion was named "Opposition".

What was interesting was that whenever I became timekeeper for a match involving the Tasmania team, Tasmania would win. The opposite is true. LOL.


Say hi to Malaysian students from other Australia states! This is Clarice Chan from University of Tasmania.

More happenings of NCG 2011 debate tomorrow!

Sharon Kwan 关诗敏 K-pop cuts

This cutie pie Sharon Kwan is doing well in Taiwanese singing show Chinese Million Star 华人星光大道. She's now in the final stage of the show - what a great achievement.

I'm a fan of her since discovering her cute antics in covering K-pop songs. Here are cuts for you to enjoy!

#1: Gee + Oh! + Mr. Taxi



#2: Gee during Chinese Million Star



She was 15 when she auditioned for Chinese Million Star.

Dinner with Teresa Kok at Dragon Boat Melbourne

5 months ago, I attended a dinner with Teresa Kok, MP for Seputeh and State Assemblywoman for Kinrara. The dinner cost me 45 AUD (student price).

Teresa Kok was on a business trip to promote economic opportunities in Selangor. At the same time, she was also promoting job opportunities available as a result of development.



I met many Malaysians abroad in Melbourne, both students and migrants, eager to hear the promises and result of Selangor under administration of Democratic Action Party.



Selangor has prospered much since 2008. Opportunities exist in aerospace, automobile and biotechnology.



The dinner took place in Melbourne Chinatown.



At a restaurant I normally reserve for entertaining special guests.



Fried beef was my personal favourite. The beef was blended with black pepper, cooked with beans, with adequate taste.



And a pudding to finish off.



It was nice of Teresa to come Down Under to see how we're doing :)



Thanks to David Teoh, chairman of Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia (Malaysian special interest group) for organising the dinner.



With Julian Yong and Imran, my active M'sian pals!

Interested to dine at this Chinese restaurant? Here you are:

Dragon Boat Restaurant
Little Bourke Street
Melbourne
Victoria 3000
Australia

Tel: +613 9662 2733
Open from 8 am to 11 pm daily
Supper from 11 pm till late on Fridays and Saturdays

Fateful Love + IU's "You and I"

I knew I am facing attraction. The girl is attached. I can only keep those feelings to myself. It's not wise to enter into a competition for the same girl.

When I woke up today, I recalled of a true story told by my mom. A woman wanted to be with the man of her dreams but the man was married. After some time the man's wife died. The woman got to marry the man of her dreams.

If I'm given an opportunity to be with the girl I want, so be it. I will be happy for the fact that I can be with her, I don't care whether she's first hand or second hand.

IU has recently comeback with a title track You and I. The music video is what I call inspiring.



I have no regrets.

How much does it cost to train an SNSD member?

CEO of SM Entertainment Kim Young Min shared that each Girls' Generation member costs approximately 3 million USD to discover and train. You can read further on the report by allkpop and soompi.



The other day, Taiwanese new girl group Super 7 became the talk of the town for attempting to imitate the style of SNSD. Super 7 is not the first group to do it, that's a fact.

If you think further about it, you can convince yourself that imitation is the best flattery. There is no question about the ability of SNSD as entertainers. Besides, artists from SM Entertainment like Super Junior, f(x), TVXQ, TRAX, BoA to name a few, are top notch artists.

Anyone can imitate successful examples, but what's lacking in the imitates?

The sheer amount of money invested onto an SNSD member showed us the willingness of SM Entertainment to see success on their artists. But, talent is not the only aspect of an artist's training. Personality and other aspects of personal development are also part of the training.

The result? SM Entertainment produces high quality artists. The quality is so tangible and real. There is no element of faking on the artists. It becomes kinda a second nature.

If Super 7 wants to imitate, let them be. But SM Entertainment can say, "Hey, don't you forget that we've spent so much money to create real quality."

IU introduces a new product for Steve Jobs?

Warning: playing this version of Good Day will make you go crazy!



Uncyclopedia entry of singer IU (Korean)

Taiwanese girl group Super 7 draws flak for callous remarks on SNSD

Some time ago, new Taiwanese girl group Super 7 drew heavy criticism for imitating Korean #1 girl group Girls' Generation.



When I checked allkpop this morning, they're making news again for accusing SNSD as "plastic idols".

In an interview with Taiwanese weekly Times Weekly 时报周刊, the group criticised Korean Girls' Generation for being "lacklusture" and "artificial beauties".

One Super 7 member remarked that a member of SNSD can sing well, another can dance well and another have good sense of humour but the rest have no special appeals. Another Super 7 member remarked: "SNSD members are artificial beauties who has undergone plastic surgery, but we are natural beauties. Each of us has C cup chest size, long legs and nice body proportions."

My response:
Not all SNSD members have gone under the knife. People like Taeyeon and Seohyun are natural beauties. I know YoonA can't sing well compared to the rest of the members but she has a successful acting career. There are four powerful vocalists in SNSD: Taeyeon, Seohyun, Sunny and Jessica. Hyoyeon, YoonA, Sooyoung and Yuri can dance well. Tiffany is the rapper.

The remark of "artificial beauties" angered me. The word is only used by arrogant people. You flaunting of assets in your MV makes you look cheap. Girls' Generation doesn't sell out their bodies to achieve fame but receive love for their talent.

Their changed their attitude later during the interview by stating that they looked up to Girls' Generation as their *unique* role model.

My response:
It's against all logic that you hold negative opinions on your role model. The girls have said it to save their face albeit pathetically. I see jealousy here.

3 weeks earlier, Super 7 drew controversy for performing Girls' Generation's "Hoot" during an important Taiwanese music award show, Golden Bell Awards 金钟奖.



As reported on Soompi, netizens questioned the motive behind covering someone's track at an important stage. The move drew criticisms from many, including Taiwanese.

Members of Super 7 were selected from an audition of 100 people. There are a total of ten members in Super 7, three of them serving as "reserved" members during unforseen circumstances. All members trained for one year prior to debut. The group has an average age of 22; the youngest member is currently 16.

My response:
By criticising Girls' Generation members as having no special appeals, they're downright insulting my favourite SNSD for training long years (3 - 7 years) and their agency spending huge sum (average 3 million USD per person) to become competent entertainers. The cover of Hoot during an important music award, IMO, is a cheap stunt to obtain popularity. Not forgetting that it disgraced a prestigious music award show and insulted Taiwan where many original music are produced.


It has been reported that Korean variety show Star King attempted to invite Super 7 as guests. The plan however, did not materialise.

Super 7's remark on SNSD has drew massive flak not only from SONEs but from the rest of K-pop fandom, even disapproval from citizens in their homeland. Their singing career will be heavily jeopardised, I don't know if SM Entertainment will choose to take action for concept plagiarism or copyright infringement for their "Hoot" cover.

Related links:
Taiwanese girl group Super 7 accuse SNSD of being plastic
Taiwanese SNSD Wannabes “Super 7” Spark Controversy with Cover Performance at Golden Bell Awards
(Chinese) Taiwanese group Super 7 criticises SNSD as plastic
(Chinese) Super 7 harshly criticises SNSD as artificial beauties
(Chinese) Super 7's 叶瑷菱 supports her new group
(Chinese) Netizens criticises Super 7 as "dancing sluts"
(Chinese) Super 7 disappointed over missed opportunity to star on Korean variety show

Sharon Kwan 关诗敏 "Lonely" - 2NE1 cover

The Youtube video is now private. This post will be reblogged to introduce Sharon Kwan. Come back later!

She's Sharon Kwan 关诗敏, a participant in Taiwanese singing reality/variety show Chinese Million Star 华人星光大道 season 1.

She's so cute! Her popularity in the singing show earned her the title of Goddess of the Otakus from Million Star 星光宅男女神.

I've just discovered her Youtube channel and her covers. I'll be posting K-pop cuts of Sharon in variety shows in due time. Wanna watch them? Stay tuned.

Related links:
Sharon Kwan's Youtube channel
Sharon Kwan's Facebook page
Sharon Kwan's Wikipedia entry (Chinese)

Nothing Last Forever - Girl's Day English cover

"Nothing Last Forever" is the track that propelled Girl's Day to popularity. It showcased each member's singing talents especially Minah's. Don't understand the lyric? Perfect English covers are there to help you!

Check out other English covers of K-pop by visitingashilia4life Youtube channel.

Youtube link: http://youtu.be/sOIF9Dpehfc

Cammi Tse's response to her scandal with Edison Chen on her Sina Weibo

Recently, a scandal of 16 year old model Cammi Tse 謝芷蕙 with Hong Kong actor Edison Chen 陈冠希 surfaced. To know what happened, Feeqsays provided a good coverage as a blogger. Otherwise you can read the coverage by Channel News Asia.

In response to that matter I feel it's necessary to let all of you know her thoughts, hence the translation of Cammi's Sina Weibo updates that follows.

[UPDATE]: The scandal now made it to the the cover story of weekly gossip magazine, Sudden Weekly issue #849. You can read a translated version of the article here. The article stated that Cammi gave her virginity.

Did Cammi gave her virginity? I would rather stay in the dark. Regardless of whether sex was involved in the scandal, damage has already been done.


-------
Cammi Tse's Sina Weibo translation (in chronological order)


[111101 09:42] ？？不要亂寫好不好！到底什麼事？都不是事實

Translation: ?? Don't simply write can! What happened? It's not the truth

[111101 17:51] 事件曝光後,我真的很害怕.. 事情來得很突然, 現在我還未可以接受這是事實, 我只可以說我是跟他拍過拖, 現在我與陳冠希已分手了, 已沒有其他回應, 謝謝大家的關心

Translation: After the scandal has surfaced, I was so afraid.. it happened to me suddenly, until now I've yet to recover from the shock, what I can say is that I've dated him (referring to Edison Chen), I've now broken up with him, I have nothing more to say on that matter, thanks for everyone's concern

[111103 15:33] 連日來的報導及追訪, 己令我身心疲累,真的已不想多說了 很感謝家人對我的支持. 各界傳媒朋友都辛苦了, 謝謝大家關心

Translation: Those media reports and interviews a few days in a row has made me tired, I fervently refuse to comment further on the matter. I am grateful to my family for their support, I am sorry to trouble all my friends who are working in the media. Thanks for everybody's concern

[111103 18:25] 今天看到了一本雜誌的封面標題令我崩潰了 ............ 我想澄清沒有回應這些事情, 也不是事實!! 請放過我吧! 謝謝!

Translation: The cover of a magazine today has taken a toll on me emotionally...... I wanted to clarify that I did not respond to those matters, and they are not true!! Please leave me alone! Thanks!

--------.

Related links:
Cammi Tse's Sina Weibo: http://www.weibo.com/cammitse
Cammi Tse's Sina blog: http://blog.sina.com.cn/cammitse
Cammi Tse's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Cammi.Tse318

Girl's Day 걸스데이 Minah's glamour shot

The best shot I can ever find for Bang Minah 방민아 方敏雅 of Girl's Day

Datuk Ambiga live at Asia Law Centre, University of Melbourne

25th October 2011

I was at this public lecture of Datuk Ambiga Sreevanesan at held at Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne. The lecture was attended by 200 strong audience, there was full house at the theatre.

The main topic was on electoral reform, free and fair elections and of course, the household name Bersih 2.0

Sit back and enjoy the talk. I love the hilarious remarks by Datuk Ambiga.

The best from Namewee's hater

Nasi Lemak 2.0 has garnered RM 7 million in the box office with a budget of RM 1 million. Tell me how awesome is that! That was such a big achievement for a non-Malay movie.

Fans gonna love Namewee, haters gonna hate more. Maybe I gonna use another word. One of Wee Meng Chee's anti-fan was on fire and got all his creative juice flowing.

His gift for Namewee was Nasi Lemak 2.0 BASI untuk Namewee!!, which translates as "Stale Coconut Milk Rice for Namewee".

It's not going to change me for being a supporter of Namewee but I must admire his creativity.







Check out the video!



*this video is an unlisted video, only those with the link can view it
Youtube video link

Namewee's fans are standing up for him in this video. At the moment, the video has 1400+ views, 27 likes and 875 dislikes.

He's such a controversial figure. But only if you take your time to listen to him, you'll understand what he's trying to say.

Melbourne Freeze Frame Project 2011

18th of June, 2011 at Bourke Street Mall, Melbourne CBD

That was a flash mob in cold winter. Was not well to pose, so I decided to take photos of the flashmob instead on my newly won iPod touch 4th generation.

Melbourne Freeze Frame Project is organised annually by Stephanie Lilithia Chin.


Ang moh girl is wearing oriental outfit! You like or not?


Some dudes took off his shirt. But they just kept moving here and there, hard to take photos of them haha.


:)


Ouch! I got punched in the face!


Enjoying my game on a PSP while I freeze!


You looked like a cool Johnny Bravo!


Oh my gosh I got pinned down!

Watch a video of the event:


credit: Jodie Lee Becker

Be sure to join the group STEFASAURUS PRODUCTIONS ★ on Facebook to get notified on upcoming flashmobs around Melbourne. See you next year!

Drew Barry's "Breast Stem Cells" wins Imagine Science Visual Science Award

Fellow biomedical animator of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research Dr. Drew Barry and his student Etsuko Uno has won the Visual Science Award at the Imagine Science Film Festival for "Best short that depicts science in a visually engaging manner".

The award carries a cash prize of 1000 USD and is sponsored by Imaginal Disc.

Check out their winning title, Breast Stem Cell:



Description: An overview of the human mammary gland with a focus on the role of breast stem cells during pregnancy. The primary function of the mammary gland is to produce milk to nourish young offspring. The mammary gland is comprised of three main cell types; alveolar, ductal and myoepithelial cells. During pregnancy, the mammary gland increases in size due to the action of breast stem cells, which can mature into any of the three mammary gland cell types.

Check out other winners of Imagine Science Film Festival.

Source: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

MoA's K-pop and J-pop English covers are now back!

A couple of months ago, I was upset to find out about the deletion of gimmesomemoa's Youtube channel. Along with the deletion some best English covers of popular K-pop songs were gone.

Thanks to her loyal fans who kept her vocals in their possession, part of her covers are now reuploaded!



Listen to her covers!

Jumping (KARA cover):


Going Crazy (Song Ji Eun cover):


What's the reason behind her account deletion? The main reason was her 2NE1 Lonely Cover Contest controversy. Sources can be found here and here.

Check out more covers of her through these Youtube channels:

MissingMoA
MoAmelodyFan
ForTheMelodyOfAngel

I agree with the opinion that MoA won't be uploading K-pop and J-pop covers again to entertain us. Meanwhile, check out some other worthy song cover channels like ashilia4life!

Orange Caramel 橙子焦糖 attracts attention for culturally mismatched stage outfit

A week ago, After School subunit Orange Caramel 橙子焦糖 attracted attention for being the three cutest female Bruce Lee. With the same title "Shanghai Romance 上海之恋", their stage outfit caught netizens' eye, this time with a culturally mixed up outfit.



During their performance at KBS Music Bank on October 21, 2011, they were seen wearing headgear reminiscent of Chinese drama My Fair Princess 还珠格格 and qipao aka cheongsam.

Knowledgable netizens immediately pointed out that the headgear is characteristic of Ching Dynasty 清朝 and qipao (cheongsam) belongs to the era of Republic of China 中华民国. Other comments from netizens include cute and ridiculous at the same time and the stylist really went out of the box for the outfit.

Historically, Manchus ruled China in Ching Dynasty from the 1640s to the early 1900s. Dr Sun Yat Sen launched a revolution and replaced Ching Dynasty with Republic of China in 1911.

.

On the same day, Girls' Generation 少女时代 made their comeback with "The Boys" and SECRET with "Love is Move".

Epic fail - "Taiwanese Girls' Generation" Super 7

[UPDATE] Super 7 drew flak for accusing SNSD as "plastic"

After the epic failure of K-pop group wanna be HEART2HEART for heavy plagiarism, we have another Taiwanese girl group doomed to the same destiny.



On October 15, Super 7 revealed the music video for their dance pop track in native Taiwanese language "Mai Luo Suo 麥囉唆. The music video featured identical concept as worn by Girls' Generation aka SNSD in Hoot.



The music video attracted angry responses from fans of Girls' Generation with tons of dislikes and comments like "this is just plain terrible. beyond funny, what a disgrace.", "Taiwan SNSD ? What the shiat ?!", "what the heck is it FUCK YOU SUPER 7" and "Epic fail to imitate SNSD. Please la. Don't bring down SNSD image. SNSD are definitely not bitchy. Still say what SNSD of Taiwan. Make me want to puke only."




Apart from the costume controversy, the ten-member group has also been criticised for boring song, sub par vocal ability and mediocre dance move.



What I dislike is that they are promoting themselves as "Taiwanese SNSD". SNSD is more than a name for the nine-member South Korean girl group, it's a brand now. They are known for their strong vocals and versatility in the entertainment industry. Each member has their role to play in the group, be it lead vocalist, main vocalist, main dancer, lead dancer or rapper.

I didn't hear the vocal talent of Super 7. There is no distinction of roles to showcase each member's strength. I do not understand what they're trying to communicate in their song other than flaunting their assets.

Apart from the epic failure of their title track, I strongly dislike the poor camera composition and boring choreography. The cameraman has failed to provide us an engaging experience with the singers when I watched the MV; if you watch the dance moves carefully individual members are stuck to their position in most parts of their MV.

Do watch the music video for yourself. SNSD Hoot MV attached for comparison.






What copycats!


p.s. It's said that some Super 7 members were Taiwanese group "Hey Girl" members. Oh shame on you!

Queen of covers NAVI 나비

You need to stumble upon a gem by yourself. Don't look at # of views but sample it by yourself - you be the judge and decide if anything appeals to you, who knows!

Check out her other covers by visiting MardiLuminosity2's Youtube channel.

miss A's Jia 孟佳 amazing cheerleading performance

Wow since when miss A's Jia become a cheerleader? She claimed to learn everything about cheerleading in 2 hours! Really she rocked the stage with professional cheerleading team BigTide.

This clip is from a Korean variety show named Star King.

Luckyboommini 豆花妹 蔡黄汝 challenges IU's three high notes

Luckyboommini, to challenge IU Lee Ji Eun's three high notes in the latter's hit song Good Day, takes on extensive stamina training so as to improve her performance.

IU's three high notes in Good Day has sparked "high note war" which fans frantically searching for high note singers and compared them. What are your other favourite high note singers?

Jess Lee Kar Wei is absolutely the best! Listen to her debut single Suffering for her 15 high notes :)

Orange Caramel "Shanghai Romance 上海之恋"

Was expecting this piece featuring a new Asian city from Orange Caramel since their hit, Bangkok City.

“Shanghai Romance” is the second project from Orange Caramel’s “One Asia Project”, which began earlier this year with “Bangkok City“.

When asked to describe the “One Asia Project”, Lizzy replied half-jokingly, “It’s a master plan to take over the Asian market.” “When I’m on Twitter and YouTube, it seems like we get a lot of attention from overseas. Every time I read their tweets about wanting to see us, I’m amazed and make myself work even harder,” she said.
Source: allkpop

I really like Orange Caramel said "I love you" in Chinese in the end. I can hear Korean accent, but it's cute!

Where's the next city?

15Malaysia Healthy Paranoia

Starring: Dato' Seri Liow Tiong Lai (Minister of Health, Malaysia)
Director: Khairil M. Bahar

Overzealous public relation officers advises the Minister of Health on discouraging unhealthy lifestyles in Malaysia.



Absurd public relation campaign lol!

Jess Lee Kar Wei special guest at One Million Star 超级星光大道

Jess Lee from Malaysia guested at this year's Chinese singing reality show One Million Star with her latest single "Suffering 煎熬. She is the defending champion of the last season of the reality show.



The show host, Matilda Tao, remarked that nobody can sing her song at karaoke unless they scream aimlessly when drunk, to which Jess Lee retorted, "It's ok."

Matilda asked Jess, "In order to reach those high notes, do you need to warm up?" Jess answered that she practised and warmed up backstage prior to her performance. Matilda asked how did Jess warm up.

"I stretched my tongue, and [my face] will look ugly (showing an ugly face) as if my tongue will get pulled out. It felt like my throat is opening."

Matilda commended Jess for her wide vocal range and opened the floor for the performance of Jess' first single "Suffering".

---
Her voice is so powerful live. I don't need to perform an MR removal to prove to you she is the best!

Wang Lee Hom 王力宏 reveals MV for "Still in Love with You" 依然爱你

What I like is the cute music video. The song is soothing.

What's more, Lee Hom is praised for making use of young talent in the like of Wong Fu Production.

Subscribe to officialwangleehom on Youtube for the latest update.

I have "Korean twitter" me2day!

At the beginning of this month, me2day has introduced English* interface. Thanks to the likes of allkpop, huge number of English-speaking users are signing up for me2day account for the past one week!

*also Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified and Japanese



me2day is known as the Korean equivalent of Twitter. It was first available in Korean and catered Korean users for their microblogging needs. Now, huge wave of foreign language speakers (English, Chinese & Japanese) are colonising me2day thanks to marketing campaign.



Instead of following users unilaterally, you send a friend request to the user you want to follow. After the friend request is approved, you can view each other's updates and send each other private messages. If you choose not to "friend", the unilateral "follow" is still available, but you don't get to interact on a more intimate level.

In the world of me2day, you are actually friends with your celebrity of interest instead of only "following" him/her. How cool is that!

As usual, I followed my favourite celebrity. Take UEE of After School as my celebrity of interest..


I recognise UEE by face but I don't understand a single word of her update! What should I do?


Fret not, follow me2stars to get updates translated into English! I'll still follow my celebrity to show my love, even though I can't understand what they say.

Which celebrities are on me2day? IU, T-ara, miss A, Big Bang and many more. Oh yeah, don't forget to follow allkpop too.

Despite encouragement to sign up for me2day, there remain language barriers to be crossed. Most English me2day accounts belong to Kpop fans; they may not understand what their stars are saying; we are forming our own group and randomly adding each other. It has never been this fun before!

What are you waiting for?



Already have a me2day account? Follow me at biopolymath

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