DIY Chinese flashcards with Google Translate

I know there are Chinese flashcards apps for iPhone out there, but nothing gives you the kick out of Do It Yourself with just your fingertip.

First download Google Translate.

Then use it to translate Chinese to Chinese, or whatever.

Now turn your iPhone side-way and snap the screen.

There you go, a Chinese word flashcard in your photo album. I understand teaching Chinese is tough in Singapore, especially after decades of brainwash from English cultured society.

Hope this is useful.

Youtube link: How I teach my kids Chinese using iPhone

How HDB CCTV can be useful in Singapore

I don't know the real motivation of installing CCTV near HDB lift area, and I am not so concern, yet. But this is a fine example of how such an expensive infrastructure can be truly useful to resident, and as a effective deterrent.

By far the only place in Singapore I saw this.

Guess there really is a different in value of life at different part of Singapore.

Is that why the HDB here is much more expensive?

鸿门宴， 历史如果真如此

这是一部电影，不是历史。应该说，这是一部改写历史情节的电影。当然，历史是不能改变的，编剧所能做的，是用动人的方式，把已发生的，巧妙地呈现给观众。这部戏，确确实实的做到这一点。

鸿门宴，稍微有中国历史知识的人，都知道为何事。谁为军师，何人赢得天下， 反而不是故事的主题。

戏里最精彩的人物- 范增，让黄秋生演活了，从意气风发，一股必胜的豪情，到满腔悲概，孤注一掷的悲哀，把我们所熟悉的历史人物，可能不可能的一面，带到银幕上。有你的！

为了不破坏看这场戏的乐趣，我不会陈述太多。值得一提的是，普通导演会安排精彩打斗的鸿门舞剑，被李仁港以一场别开生面的斗智斗勇的方式给诠释出来。

想说的是，历史如果真如此！

戏里的场面不凡，每个人物都淋漓尽致，这是一部我看得非常过瘾的戏。期待它的高清版。

戏末稍稍有点纳闷，缺少了十面楚歌的哀嚎场面，霸王别姬的离情，项羽就这样死去。有负一代豪雄。不足。

PS: Please forgive my Chinese. But I worry too much, there is always Google, just highlight and Google away. Credit photo, Wikipedia: link

Celebrate before GE 2011 cooling off day

We give all GE rally a miss tonight, we have had enough. More important, we want to get together to discuss, no, to unify our vote, for one party. You see, there are about 15 of us, we want harmony. Like one politician says, how can you accept each other in a multi-party family.

We have to make a decision.

We decide to vote for our finance minister, and our young minister. I know we are going to regret this, but what to do? She control my bank account, and he is my future prime minister.

I am going to chicken out this time. And sing. Happy Birthday! Mommy and William.

Who needs a cooling off period when you have been starving since afternoon. We cut the cake and share, I take the biggest piece, off course. Someday, someday I am going to give up my piece, but not today.

智勇兼备刘程强

深入敌阵, 破釜沉舟的背水一战, 虽然没有赢来对手的赞赏, 却深深抓住民众的心. 那种豪壮气魄, 令我慨然. 有一种壮士一去兮不复返的情怀.

祝你好运! 刘程强.

No gahmen doesn't mean no censorship, ok?

MDA or whoever spotted make this happen, well done.

I blog about this before. And more than one time said it is the best Now it has earn another award from me, the first one and only IT magazine which got it's pages torn off before it went on sale on various newspaper booth. Ho!

I don't want to complain, I want a refund. Kidding. Seriously, I understand this is a delicate matter, that's why you cannot watch certain movie at 16 but can have consensual sex. I thought I read from some famous blogger's blog now the gahmen dissolved liao? You prove me wrong. You prove that even without government, our society still can function as a quasi-conservative whole. I am proud of ya!

I just want to say, I will continue to support this magazine as it is the best. I will also continue to get things from the Internet as long as it is not banned in Singapore.

Our gahmen know the best.

How to push Shop & Save shopping carts back home and get back your 1 dollar deposit?

Hey guys, check out how Singaporean hack that 1 dollar deposit out from shopping cart, but maybe, maybe is not from the locals, is some imported trick.

真挚的思念是最感人的

给大家介绍一首歌, 由方文山词, 洪荣宏, 周杰伦主唱. 它的旋律并不是特别动听, 歌手的声音也只是稍好, 歌词简明, 易懂. 凑在一起其实是一首普通的歌.
不过, 歌里有一份情感. 它不是在颂扬父爱的伟大, 而是把赤子思念父亲的情怀, 以单纯且温柔的方式表达出来. 词优歌美, 听起来扣人心弦.

歌中优有丝丝安慰父亲的言语, 如家书, 如祈祷, 如潜藏每个人内心深处想向爸爸说的话. 哀而不伤, 是一首好久才能听到的好歌. 不妨多听.

“阿爸” 方文山词, 周杰伦曲.

我们在长大, 守著家,

守著那温馨的, 烛光下, 沉默安静的对话.

回头看, 阿爸是山.

Web Blog delicate to lame Chinese character tattoo

A friend pointed me to this blog.

I laugh along but am otherwise, speechless.

Because I vowed not to laugh at other's ability of language.

In case you ask, 菜 also means lame. In geek term we call nub.

Thanks, Joseph, if you come across this.

What is Diu-Na-Ma?

雕娜马 is a recently emerge holy beast of Internet, invented by Chinese, mostly Hong Kong(Golden) forumer. But it is in fact, a polite way of how Cantonese greet other's mother.

It can't be kept as pet, nor can it be tame.

Try to print it out as a post-card and send it to someone you admired. When they ask what is it you simply say the word diu-na-ma fast.

No offense.

由新加坡人写的, 给予新加坡人的诗

你如果到网上搜刮, 还挺难找到新加坡人所写的诗词. 小弟微才, 不自量在这儿现丑几首歪诗.

我的诗词,

解梦

被遗忘的老歌

千古民政歌(一)

不为人道

角落人

狂驹

英雄红

吉普塞恋曲

文字罛

我就是我

种子

故国

赘痴

牵挂

火龙

信芊

我不知明日将如何?

代价

问我

虺

八情

遮天论

别盛满你的杯

匆匆兄弟路

琴心

没了

阎罗彼岸

希望你喜欢....

夜郎自大

夜郎自大，成语，比喻骄傲无知的肤浅自负或自大行为。出自《史记·西南夷列传》：滇王与汉使者言曰：“汉孰与我大？”。及夜郎侯亦然。以道不通，故各以为一州主，不知汉广大。

一个有精神病的人, 通常自己蒙然不知, 以为除了自己外, 所有人都是疯子。

人类有许多毛病, 也类似神经病, 当事人一无所觉。

傲慢, 是一种由金钱或地位所感染的病, 染病者一般认为自已比任何人都重要。偶而关心别人, 马上就会恢复那不可一世的态度, 非常难医。

当然, 没财富名誉的人也会由他人身上感染这种病。病情虽然较轻, 但却更难医治。骄傲的病患者年龄通常界于二十五到三十五岁之间, 四十过后若不根治, 则终身无望。

Excellent Manadagrams for Understanding Chinese Words

I stumble upon this site today and think that many Papa Mama in Singapore would love this.

Although I am not Singapore's 10-thousand-hit-per-blogger, I very much would like to recommend it to those parent who want to teach their child Chinese in an creative manner, or struggle to find way to teach Chinese.

On the left is the example, here is the link. I did some googleing and found a Chinese site too, here.

Please help to spread this around if you love Chinese as much as I do.

I wish they can come out more of these aid, they are good.

Eternal Cheeseburger

This video is not for the faint of heart, and those who visit fast food regularly.

A cheeseburger from McDonald, New York left untouched for 137 days, still fresh. Dunk in hydrochloric acid, no problem. I am not sure, did they try electrocuting it? Maybe it's only weakness is Kryptonite.

This is The food they should pack for a nuclear fallout.

Stock it now! in case the price of gold drops, or you can sell them back to McDonald when they run out of burger.

Will MaxiCash accept this huh?

Source: McDonald’s Hamburgers: Almost Entirely Indestructible

Thanks, jymster.

Sunbath day - breathless in your presence

I was breathless in the water after my few day struggle against this.

I am so glad the sun is shinning brightly above me.

A short board game session with my kids

Father love is, playing military strategy board game with your boys, and on the way teach them humility, and that battle can most of the time, be won through peace.

Hahaha! I now got two boys that enjoy playing game with their not-so-old old man. Another item taken out off my bucket list.

Fancy a game? You have to be my son. Hehe.

The new generation, the new textbook

I snap at my son's comic school textbook for fun.

Ok, it is not for fun. I actually resent my primary school teacher who did not inspire our English learning with such interesting pictorial story book.

See la, mum, I told you Green Lantern can encourage interest in learning English, art, humanity, etc. But you don't buy for me, now I not only poor in English, cannot find a better job, also some Singaporean look at me like I am a third class citizen.

Now is Chinese language turn already huh?

False Prophet

Below are philosophical views and thoughts, if you are the kind who may simultaneously combust out of too much thinking, you should stop here.

How fake can a human being be? I mean, how can you tell a fake human, unless you know a real one personally, there is no reference you can rely on.

An example, someone tries to be, or pretend to be one kind when he is in public view, but leads a very different private lifestyle. It is contradictory, isn’t it? But how do you know this is not what a human being is originally meant to be?

I once read an article that someone synthesized egg which consists the yolk, white and shell. It can be break, cook, fried, and taste exactly like an regular egg. Hell, it even has a cheaper cost than a real one. Chemically, it is no different from a real one, only it is not laid by an hen.

Further to this, does a exact copy of a real one constitutes a fake? And be given a lower value than the original?

Walk around Singapore China Town and you will see those fake bums they were selling, I always wonder how many woman bought it, and how many man likes it. It is ironic that we fake in every way in our daily life we can but we dislike fake stuff.

Thanks to Technology, particularly the Internet, you can fake anything but it will reveals it’s true form once it reaches the web. I bet, an evil man may even grow horn on his head if he stays long enough on Internet.

There is a kind of person who screws everything in life but only good in one things he do, he hates it’s every moment, it tortures himself daily and he struggles every moment living in it. But, he is good at it.

What should he do? Pretend to be the false prophet for the rest of his life?

I borrow this photo from Post Secret to put more impact into my article. Is this the time already? I hate to pretend.

How to snipe your neighbor

Actually I am researching how to DIY an auto sniping rifle that can fire 3 rounds in a second when needed, but I guess as long as my 6 year old son think it's cool it would suffice. I am already laughing thinking about how the cat next door would react after it was shot at. No, thats not me talking, it is my inner child craving for attention.

Anyway, here you are, DIY sniper gun

妈妈。我不眠的夜。

I am suppose to write a Chinese review. But I got so many Korea culture shock from this movie that I decided to write a bit in English. You know, I never really watch a Korean movie, but the title and the casts, and reviews from the web push me to watch. I was also mistaken in many occasion as one who dislike Korea. I do not. I admit I was so much intrigue by Japanese culture, but after this movie, I can say Korea can be as fascinating as you want it to be.

There is this thing about their language, if you are Chinese who speaks good Mandarin, I swear you can understand Korean by just listening it for many times. It's a strange feeling.

Here is my Chinese review.

妈妈，韩国电影 （Madeo）。如果你想在这部戏里找感动，不要迟疑了！我重头到尾只稍微感动了五分钟。希望你能找到更多。

不过，这是一部好电影吗？当 然，我只是觉得它轰轰雷声响，却下毛毛雨。不够过隐，也不足回味。要是重看，我绝不重看。

戏里倒有几个纳罕之处，比如说，原来韩国的车辆没 有警报。有一幕晉久，演正泰的那位，飞腿把一辆豪华型轿车的望后镜给踢断了，那辆车哼都不哼一声。也就是说，没有防盗警铃。想来是偏僻乡村，运输困难，所 以全部的车都懒得装。另外，我个人觉的花文字幕，翻译会比英文来准确，我当然不懂韩文，这只是单纯个人的感觉。你看过了就会明白。

从开始 到戏结尾，妈妈故事桥段都篇排的不错，没有冷场，剧情一步一步的解开金惠子如何解救的儿子。整场戏的重头，其实就是金惠子。元斌演的弱智儿子也瞒好的，就 是不哭不笑也不怒。这角色难演。

我蛮喜欢戏的开场，它说明了这部戏是带点轻松幽默的，而戏也办到了。你有是会让戏里一些搞笑的韩国文化惹 得微笑，如果你哈韩的话，更能体会。

我喜欢整部戏。我虽不会重看，但会推荐它。我给它四颗星，值得看。