Amy Winehouse - I'm No Good

I love this live version of I'm No Good that was sung by the late Amy Winehouse.  Really has soul and there is something about her that makes her different from other singers.  She is perhaps a true blue entertainer.

Unfortunately, her life ended while she was probably at the peak (or what could have possibly been the peak) of her career.  If not for her dabbling in drugs.  The video below is a sad reminder:  If only she had gone to rehab.

Beatrice Miller and Carly Rose Sonenclar at Bootcamp

Beatrice Miller and Carly Rose Sonenclar's performance at Bootcamp X Factor USA 2012.  Both girls are really talented if you ask me.  The song might actually have suited Beatrice's voice better though I think Carly sang it quite well too.

She's Possessed - Quote by will.I.am

After a very good audition, Carly Rose Sonenclar performs at the judges house in front of Britney Spears and will.I.am.  Her rendition of Karmin's Brokenhearted is priceless.  Best X Factor video in my opinion thus far.

 

Meet Carly Rose Sonenclar - Girl with An Amazing Voice

Okay, this is sort of dated but I just discovered this youtube video of Carly Rose Sonenclar's audition at the US X Factor 2012 Auditions.  For a 13 year old girl, I can only say that she is incredibly talented and has an amazing voice.  Of course, the folks over at UK will probably still think that James Arthur is the best. =)

Fail - Are Your Ready for BN? No!

In a recent BN rally, PM Najib psychs the crowd up who are there to watch Psy perform Gangnam Style. He asks the crowd whether they are ready to watch Psy and there is an overwhelming "Yes!".  But when he asks the crowd whether they are ready for Barisan National (BN) for the upcoming election, he doesn't quite get the answer he was expecting. Watch to see what happens.

James Arthur Rendition of Tulisa's Young - X Factor UK 2012 Audition

James Arthur is the winner of X Factor UK 2012.  This is a video of this audition song where he sang an acoustic version of Tulisa's Young.  In my opinion, his acoustic/rap version is much better than the original version.  (Check out other top ten X Factor audition videos here)

Mentored under Nicole Sherzinger, James Arthur made it against the odds to emerge the winner. During the show, he lost his girlfriend but is now rumoured to be dating Caroline Flack (X Factor host).

If you love this acoustic version of the song, check out this acoustic version of Gangnam Style too.

Gangnam Style Acoustic Version - Better than the Original?

A talented Singapore singer gives an acoustic spin to Psy's Gangnam Style.  She doesn't speak Korean but this version of the song is really catchy.  Her name is Steph Micayle.

Top 10 Best X Factor Audition Videos

Thought this is a really a good compilation of the top 10 X factor audition videos.  Enjoy.

Michael Vincent Performs on Penn and Teller Fool Us

Michael Vincent performs wonderful sleight of hand techniques on Penn and Teller's show "Fool Us".  Unfortunately, it is classical magic and there is no way Penn and Teller will get fooled by it.  Entertaining nonetheless.  Teller even kisses Vincent's hand at the end to show how much respect he has for him

Britains Got Talent - Susan Boyle

Everyone loves an underdog story.  Just sharing some of my favourite youtube videos.  This videos shows Susan Boyle in her auditions where she declares that she wants to be like Elaine Page (to the sniggers of the audience).  The next video shows her singing a duet with Elaine Paige.

Chris Rene X Factor Audition - Young Homie

This was Chris Rene's audition on X Factor. The title of this song is Young Homie and was written by Chris himself. Truly different from the other singers and worth watching if you like the rap, R&B, hip-hop kind of music. I love his other song from his album Sould Out that is titled "Forever".

Chris Rene Forever Lyrics

I heard this song from Chris Rene titled Forever which I feel is absolutely wonderful and amazing. Chris Rene is a contestant in the current US X Factor TV show. This song Forever is from his album Sould Out.



Lyrics

(Synthesizer and bass plays)
I said it’s all about you and you reply with the vice-versa
In the beginning I was, like this might hurt you
Love is a strong thing, it can make you wanna die or make your heart sing
Nothing compares to the joy you bring in me (bring in me)
You could make a, a cripple man walk and a blind man seeIt’s all about you and me

I was blind to see that you were in love with me
Girls flirtin’ with me but you still stuck with me
And didn’t give a f*** with me,
If I needed it, you would give your blood to me
And this means you’ll be mine till the end of time
We gonna ride, gonna shine, in this life of mine
Took me awhile to figure it out
But you’re the reason why I live my life no doubt

Chorus
And you’re the only one who makes me feel this way
I ain’t got no time to waste
Where I need to be is beside you
I spent so many years trying to find you, baby
(Woo, you baby, hey yea, hey yea, hey yea yea)

How you feel baby now that we’re having one
Yeah they telling me our life’s just begun
I look forward to this new life as a daddy that can handle his son
We ‘bout to have all kinds of fun
You’re a mother now (uh)
Who would’ve thought you would ever be a mother wow
It’s kinda crazy how things turned around
We went from living on the streets and being homeless downtown

And now we’re standing on our own too feet (yeah)
Hail Mary, come with me
My father’s up in heaven watching over me
Thanks for staying close to me
And in my heart I know that’s where we’re supposed to be
With a third heartbeat and live so complete (eh)
And we can start a family yeah
And we can start our family yeah, we can start our family yeah

And you’re the only one who makes me feel this way
I ain’t got no time to waste
Where I need to be is beside you
I spent so many years trying to find you, baby
(Woo, you baby, hey yea, hey yea, hey yea yea)

New Hobbies

I realised that I had not have much time to pursue various hobbies.

So this month, I bought a ukelele and started teaching myself how to play the instrument. I also bought a kite and have been unsuccessful at flying it so far.

The ukelele costs only around $50 and it was a pretty good buy. It has kept me pretty occupied these days that is why I hardly had time to focus on posting new articles at the blog! Call this addiction =)

Anyway, I share with you this lovely piece of music

Malaysia Boleh

After returning from a Malaysia trip, it sometimes amuses me to read some funny news like the one below. How did they even manage to pull something off like that? Imagine if they go to war and realised that all their jets were actually sold off already and there was none left in the inventory... Engine found missing late last year but only out in the news now..


KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - – Malaysia will take action against air force personnel involved in the theft of a 14.5-million-dollar fighter jet engine sold to a South American company, according to reports Sunday.

Defence Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the company hired an agent to take the 50-million-ringgit engine out of the country from a military airbase, the Star newspaper and national news agency Bernama reported.

"The ministry will take legal action at the international level to charge the company involved," he was quoted as saying by Bernama, without specifying the type of action or identifying the company.

"Stern action will also be taken against the Royal Malaysian Air Force staff involved for betraying the country," the minister added.

Air force officers found the jet engine was missing late last year during a routine maintenance service, but the matter became public only after the English-language New Straits Times published a report on Saturday.

The newspaper also said police had arrested four individuals, including the buyer, the seller and air force personnel who assisted in stealing the engine, used as powerplant for a single-seat fighter and reconnaissance aircraft.

Winner of Survivor Samoa

For those of you who have been watching Survivor Samoa, you should know by now that the winner was Natalie, a 26 year old unemployed blonde. She walks away with a cool $1 million dollars


I really was rooting for Russell, (an oil company millionaire) who basically singlehandedly got Mick and Natalie into the final 3 by his cunning strategies.

Never Shave in Public

The last thing you want to do is shave in front of millions. First it was Henry's Hand of God II that got France through to the World Cup, then it was Tiger Woods (with his affairs). Federer will most probably be watching his back for the paparazis.

Sell Your Hair For Money

In Madrid, cash-strapped Spaniards are selling their hair to to pay their bills. The hair is sold to companies who export natural hair for wigs or extensions.

While these companies are able to get huge supply of hair from Asia like China and India, they prefer European hair which is considered of a higher quality and is not as thick as Asian hair.

Ponytails of hair can sell from between 50 to 150 Euros with the price being dependent on both the weight and length of hair.

Justino Delgado is one such happy man who has 90 tonnes of hair kept in his warehouse ready for export to Europe and the United States. The hair is washed and colored in the factories and braided together before export. His business currently employs around 30 people.

5 Things You Cannot Buy with $8.55 Million

So this young chap (should I still call him a chap?) from Michigan won the poker tournament. Cada is only 21 years old and he has already won a cool $8.55 Million dollars!

But wait a minute... before going off thinking that this chap will most probably be able to afford every single thing on planet earth, here are 5 things that he still will not be able to afford:

1. Patek Phillipe's Supercomplication ($11 Million)

Sorry dude. Think you can go shopping for a watch already? This watch alone will set you back by $11 million. You most probably need to go for another round of poker before you can afford it.

2. A House in Singapore (estimated $120 million)

Did we tell you that houses and property prices are soaring in Singapore. Want to live in one of those good class bungalows? How about the Arwaa Mansion? That will cost you a cool $120 million in Singapore dollars. Yep, you can convert your US currency to Sing dollars but it won't get you anywhere that figure.

3. Dragon's Chair ($27.8 Million)
Need a nice chair to play poker in. How about this dragon chair? This chair that was formerly owned by Yves Saint Laurent and costs a whopping $27.8 million. You will most probably need to find another chair to play poker in.

4. Wayne Rooney (>20 million pounds)

Step aside for Wayne Rooney. With a mere $8 over million in winnings, you cannot even afford the transfer fee which he commanded when he made the switch from Everton to Manchester United. That guy in the background? Anderson? Oops..18 million pounds...sorry dude..way out of your budget too. With the weakening USD, you most probably need to win another 3 more tournaments before you can afford to buy Anderson.

5. 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe ($9.7 million)

So perhaps you think you will just settle for a really cool car.. but oops.. the winnings still won't get you near this car. This 1931 Bugatti is only one of six cars ever made. This example was sold way back in 1987 at the price tag of $9.7million and if you know what inflation is, you won't be able to get it at that price today.

So there you have it! Five items you cannot buy even if you win $8.55million.

If I had the time, I could probably bring the list to a whopping 100!

Ris Low and Claire Lee

No Make-Up...

Controversy, controversy, and more controversy.

What's up with the news surrounding Miss Singapore winner (Ris Low) and first runner-up (Claire Lee)?

First, Ris Low was found guilty of credit card fraud which she failed to declare when she took part in the competition. Ris Low was also said to be suffering from bipolar disorder which was what resulted her in getting a 24 month probation instead of jail time. She was subsequently forced to give up her title after she insisted that she wanted to keep the crown.

Next, she went on to say that Claire Lee had backstabbed her by reporting her to the media and faking a back injury to save "face" in case she was not selected as the replacement.

Today, I read the news that Ris Low was ordered not to go shopping alone as part of her 24 month probation for the credit card fraud. She apparently also has to retake an examination because of notes that were found in her pencil case which she forgot to remove during the actual examination. Perhaps its the bipolar disorder at work again.

Now, I read the news that Claire Lee, the first runner-up, does not want to represent Singapore unless ERM (the organising company), threatens to sue her.

This really makes me wonder on the quality of girls that are being chosen to represent Singapore.

They entered Miss Singapore to represent Singapore correct? So what is the whole fuss about now? Why doesn't Claire Lee want to represent Singapore anymore? Who is going to fly to South Africa in one month's time to represent Singapore?

Perhaps it is time for the governement to step in. Perhaps create a Miss Singapore Academy. Get it ISO certified and stuff. Throw in the scholarships and stuff and who knows, we might win one of the next Miss Universe. Perhaps that should be our Goal 2020!

Instead of throwing so much money into football, why not just invest in grooming the next Miss Singapore who can do the whole nation proud and perhaps win Miss Universe?

There is of course the temporary problem of sending someone in for 2009's Miss Universe.

With less than 1 month to prepare, we will need someone who knows how to put on make-up, be vocal enough to speak her mind, be well-travelled, well-liked (by the Singapore public) and of course well-dressed.

I am proposing that we send blogger Xiaxue (aka Wendy Cheng) to represent Singapore. She is sure to make a huge impact for us. Heck, she could even help all the other contestants photoshop their photos before it is published in the newspaper and stuff.

Read Claire Lee's blog here

Read Related Posts
1. Ris Low's Bipolar Disorder
2. Why is Xiaxue so Popular

Ris Low's Bipolar Disorder

So after so much controversy, Ris Low has surrendered her crown. She first made the headlines when she won the Miss Singapore World. After being slammed by netizens over her poor command of English, she was later found to have committed credit card fraud when she was 18.

The reason for her stealing offences was apparently bipolar disorder.

So enough of slamming her already. Let's look into bipolar disorder instead and see how it can affect one's behavior.

Bipolar disorder basically causes shifts in one's mood, energy, thinking and behaviour. It can lead a person to be in a state of mania and then swinging back to depression. These are not your ordinary mood swings and can alternate between the two extremes.

During a manic episode, a person might impulsively quit their job, charge up huge amounts on credit card and feel rested after sleeping for just two hours. During a depression episode, the same person is too tired to get out of bed, self-loathing and may be even suicidal.


The author is a perfectly normal human being who feels that he might be displaying some of the symptoms of bipolar disorder.

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