Just got back from Jakarta, Indonesia for a business meet and greet.
The meeting went very well, I was warmly greeted and accommodated from the prospect client. I missed the lady who was holding my name card at the arrival hall in the airport and made her waited almost an hour, so you can picture this, a confused Jacky walking around the airport asking: "Uh...anyone here looking for Jacky Cheng?" SMH. (by the way SMH stands for Shaking My Head.)
Unlike most of my clients who are specialized in the Marketing companies who cater to retail-end customers, this company is a very large food distributor that specializes in sea foods as well as other commodity foods like rice and noodles. Most of their clients are 5-star hotels and restaurants all across Indonesia and some overseas.
Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia, yet in comparison to its sister South East Asian countries like Thailand and Malaysia, the transportation is utterly inconvenient; there wasn't any subways or skytrains, instead there are massive amounts of taxis and motorbike-taxis, which I didn't feel comfortable riding in, hence I did not take too many pictures, many of the following pictures are taken from inside the car when the host company picked me up.
Inside the airport, the ambience strongly resembles the old Taoyuan International Airport (Terminal 1), a lot of wear and tears, but...
It's all good because they got this special cafe virtually RIGHT NEXT to the boarding gate, and what makes this little cafe so special is that yellow sign on the top left corner.
In comparison to Malaysia, Indonesian natives live WAY below poverty line, according to my client, a lot of these Indonesian natives are illegal immigrants merging from various parts of Indonesia who settled in Jakarta.
Some of them are so damn poor, as you can see, they basically live under freeway passes, they pick up scraps of metals, woods, and clothes and built their homes. As this picture shows, they basically live inside dumps of trashes and scraps.
The sewer system wasn't functioning too well either. Surprisingly, since this flood is near the ocean, you can actually spot many fishes in them.
A typical "Bike Taxi" service provided by local Indoneisan natives.
Some of the more successful illegal immigrants basically build their homes on the streets from scraps, and some even advanced into commodity trading.
And onto the food! Indonesian cuisines cover a great variety of local flavors scattered across the islands, so there isn't a particular "Indonesian Food", but most of the foods in Jakarta I believe are prepared with great amount of sea foods (given the convenient geographic location) covered with spicy sauces and curries.
I don't know what this is, I was told it was vegetable.
Mixed vegetable curry soup, sort of an appie, excites your taste buds.
And here is my client's factory/warehouse, It is still under renovation and it is huge, this picture covers only half of it. The factory is facing directly towards the ocean, I wasn't able to take a better picture, but it is actually an entire landscape full of boats like the one in this picture.
Alright here it is! Overall I think Jakarta was a little bit inconvenient for me to travel around, so I didn't really get to explore freely. I was greatly impressed with the dynamic differential between the rich and the poors, makes you think about a lot of things. The food was decent, will take me a few more meals to get completely used to; the people here are generally straight forward, but I felt a little insecured being surrounded by SIM card dealers, pimps, and some weird Taxi drivers who offered me "The ride you'll never forget." No thanks.
The trip was decent however, since the host company was exceedingly nice and kind. I was offered to tour around Jakarta but I got too tired by night and went to sleep for the flight next day. Most important of all, I sincerely hope this is the beggining of a very long and successful relationship.
Since I am picking up the Boss, Underboss, and new Soldier Jenny Cheng from the airport in about 30 min., why not just sit here, write some stuff, and kill some time? Though the company's monthly sales are still growing organically, I am NOT, which means I have not been successful in pursuing new clients lately, though I've tried and tried, waiting just ain't helping anything.
I am going to Indonesia next week though, meeting a potential USA based client, who had been exceptionally nice and passionate, they've invited me over to discuss potential business. So here I come Jakarta!
Despite the slowness here, I am absolutely thrilled about Jenny's arrival, time passes so fast...it's already June! I feel quite confident in my sister's capability to excel in ANY department of the company, be it marketing, accounting, production, or eventually management.
I am very proud to have Jenny as my sister, as well as a coworker, because to me, she is the ideal person to work with. She is capable, willing, modest, motivated, determined, hardworking, responsible, and most importantly she has a great heart. All in all, my confidence in succeeding boosts 10 folds having her here, I look forward to the our growth together with the company.
May the rest of 09 be a great year for all of us, it's 2010 next year!!! Hm, 2010... damn, doesn't the year 2010 just sound like a world with flying cars, teleportation pods, robots and immortality? Too much Spielberg, Cameron, Lucas for me man...2010 is 2010....it is just LIFE.
I wonder what 2020 will be like? I should be married and have kids already then, hopefully by then I have acheived, if not exceeded what my dreams envision myself to be. I hope Xanga manages to survive till then, maybe I should write another time capsule letter for a 2020 version of Jacky.
He's all over the Asian news these days, going on an exclusive CNN interview and reminding us the biggest sex scandal in Asia from over a year ago, not sure if it was a good idea but that's how he does it, guess he's breaking his silence and revealing things we don't already know, or care.
I feel for him though, people gotta give him a break man, he is after all a victim of a petty crime, and the reason why the damage inflicted onto those starlets are so big is because we, the nosy, curious general public give too much of a crap about celebrities love/sex life. Word to Chris Rock: "Let a player play!!"
2. Poke Gai Well it's been a looooooooong time since I fell and I fell like a pro, that thing hurt so much I almost fainted, such a wuss. I was running back and forth kitchen and living room, in the kitchen I was trying to cook; in the living room I was setting up movies so that when I was done with my noodles I could sit down and enjoy the movie, turned out I wasn't much of a multi-tasker, SMH. Well it was over a few weeks ago, so now I'm all good.
Strangely those scars manned me up a little bit though, like people be staring at them when I'm out, and they'd avoid eye contact with me, YEAH, better recognize!!!
3. Now who's the BOSS!? From the last visit to Thailand I realized I was a jerk going to a business banquet all under dressed, so decided to get meself a suit. Lost my damn mind and went to Zegna and tried to cop this $2,000 suit, FORTUNATELY, they didin't have the one fabric I really, really liked, so I had an excuse to leave the store real quick, while the salesmen shaking their heads behind my back, 'cause they told me they could "customize" the entire suit, yeah, as if the word "BUDGET" does not exist in their dictionary.
Anyways I went to Hugo Boss instead and scored this one, much gentler for my wallet (still hurts nevertheless). Got it all altered, picked it up last Saturday. Couldn't help it and took a picture of me wearing it at home...
Speaking of taking pics at home, I used to take pictures of myself wearing my sneaker collections and post it on Niketalk forum at least 3 times a week, with matching T-shirts and all that, narcissism? I don't know but it definitely felt good when fellow NTers gave me props.
Here's my last picture posted on Niketalk, tried to sell my last few kicks before I took off to Asia, I kinda miss my NT days.
Left to Right: 3M Snake AF1, Denim Dunk, Bucks, HTM AF1, Black Supremes, Stussy Dunk High, White Supremes.
Well? Too bad the suckers (fellow Niketalkers) didn't buy any of them from me, and I AM GLAD I DID NOT SELL ANY OF THEM, geez, those are worth well over $2,000 there, I was selling them real cheap, roughly $300 for the black Supremes, most importantly, some of these kicks aren't even around anymore, I'll just keep them locked in the closet.
Sorry for the bad picture and emo face for the suit picture, I like this suit a lot better than the one I bought in Macy's years ago, it was only about $200 more than my last one, but wasn't cheap either. You know how your impulse always tells you..."Hey Jacky, you've worked so hard! Buy yourself a gift! Reward yourself! You need this!"
Yeah yeah yeah... you know what? I read this article that explains the mentality of "Rewarding Yourself", it says something like, you are only justifying what you have not accomplished by purchasing lavish items to prove that you have done something...DAMN TRUE for me!
But hey I already bought it, and I don't feel guilty, because I DO NEED A SUIT, just perhaps not an expensive one is all.
4. Amuro Namie Was browsing the net like usual and came across an Amuro Namie ad. God she's 32 now! OMG! I distinctively remember when I was soooooo crazy in love with her like...12 years ago! I was really into J-Pop, that was the TK Globe/TRF/Amuro era, Amuro was only 19-20 then and she was the greatest selling female artist of all time in Japan. She was one of the reasons I took Japanese courses! It really brought back memories seeing her and listening to her songs again..., during the high school years, I'd do my homework while listening to the "Sweet 19 Blues" album.
A pretty popular song by her: "Can You Celebrate?"
5. Relapse The Brotherhood had reminded to cop Em's welcome back album "Relapse", it's an overall pretty dope album...not much to say about it, great stuff, maybe not for everyone, but if you appreciate Rap music or Em's humor, you would appreciate this album.
I was doing a little online research about Sugars and came across this article that is yet another example of how the media misleads and implements fear into people. I feel kind of irritated everytime I see these "health topics" when I open my Yahoo Mail.
What this article is saying is basically what the title suggests: Fructose turns into Fat more easily than Glucose. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this fact, but I do feel that this article is written with an underlying message, suggesting people to stay away from Fructose and encourage us to consume Glucose. Why? well, Fructose turns into fat more quickly, and fat is bad, right?
The article pointed out that Fructose has significantly lower Glycemic Index than Glucose, which means that Fructose takes LONGER for your body to absorb or make use of. The article points out the fact that due to this nature, Fructose tends to turn into Triglycerides (fat) more easily than glucose.
What this article failed to mention is that, with lower Glycemic Index, the body takes longer to absorb the sugar, which in turn REDUCES the demand of Insulin, whichv in turn reduces the chance of developing Type II Diatbetes.
I'm not saying Fructose is better than Glucose because hey, the leading cause of death in America ain't Diabetes, it's actually Cardiovascular Diseases which is associated with Fat and Cholesterols. But failing to mention the risk of developing Type II diabetes by consuming more glucose does not steer the public into a healthier diet style either.
Frankly, I really can't care less about how much glucose or fructose I consume, what I do know is that these two types of simple sugars are equally important to the human body, and equally dangerous in excessive amounts, and that soft drinks and sweet beverages contains a lot of them, so I try to cut down those drinks.
I'm no doctor, but here is another thing about Fats and Cholesterols that you may not know. You think if you don't eat any meat, fat, or cholesterol related products, your blood cholesterol will reduce?
WRONG.
FACT:
80% of your blood cholesterol are produced from your own liver, less than 20% are consumed from food, when does your liver produce the Cholesterol? When you don't eat enough fat and cholesterol, just like how your body releases bone Calciums when you don't have enough Calicum intake, the body will try to maintain Homeostasis whenever your body is off-balance.
Sugar too high? Insulin, temperature too high? sweat, haven't gotten laid too long? Wet dream.
Just got back from Bangkok, physically exhausted but mentally rejuvenated. With little time I stayed there I must say I will definitely pay Thailand a visit again. Of all like-able features of Thailand, I am most impressed with the people. I find the Thai people to be very friendly and passionate in general. I really like the Wai gesture they do everytime they meet people, there's this genuine sense of warmth, passion and respect everytime I see it.
However, I did not get to fully enjoy my stay due to me getting a fever just one day before the trip. It was a mild fever developed through common cold, I had it measured at 103 F or 38.5 C, it was not all that bad but I was quite worried over being quarantined by the officials.
In my opinion though, I think the world is giving too much of a shit over this H1N1 issue. Yes people have suffered and died over this virus, but the fatality rate is well below 1%, I just don't like how the media continuously implement fear into the people, but then on the flip side of the coin, thanks to people fearing this deadly disease, our Propolis (natural antibiotics) are doing quite well.
But Bangkok was all for me to explore regardless, some of the snaps here: At the new Bangkok International Airport. It is quite similar to the one in Malaysia in terms of structures and overall ambiance. The cool thing about this airport is that there is actually smoking rooms in some of the boarding areas. Not in this one though but then I was coughing crazy so no smoke anyways.
The BMRT entrance, which I believe is developed by the same company that did the MRT in Taipei. Thanks to this wonderful system I was able to explore Bangkok with ease.
...except for a tiny difference, it's all in THAI. And now that I see this picture I've taken myself, I realized that I'm actually an idiot for not pressing the "English" translation on top-right corner. That's right, the whole trip I memorized Thai characters for places to go, so yeah, I'm an idiot and a genius.
90% identical to the subway in Taipei. Traffic flow is significantly less, I'd suggest them to put on blinking lights when train is about to come, or put up monitors to forecast the next train, but since there aren't too many people around I guess they cut their budget here. Convenient nevertheless. And of course the world famous Bangkok traffic. It took the taxi 1 1/2 hour in traffic to take me from Airport to hotel, pretty crazy shit.
Some may think that Bangkok's night life is all about the redlight districts, and they thought RIGHT. This is a particularly crowded streets full of night entertainment...it's simply insane, foods, girls, beers...
The Chatuchak Marketplace. This place is extremely crowded, I was having a great time walking, sweating, and spreading my viruses (common cold) there. The market was a huge complex consists of about a billion little shops with narrow walkways like this. And you can find anything you want here. Souvenirs, TVs, DVDs, clothings, Rolexes, Ping Pong Tables, statues ... Or haired bananas... or pet squirrels (or just normal squirrels)... And what's visiting Thailand without getting some Thai beer?
And really I was there for business, so here is a business picture. Me meeting the bosses. I was well under-dressed, shame on me. It's about time I should get myself a decent suit damn it!
Well that's it for now, although sick and alone, I had a terrific time, since it is really near and the plane ticket is cheap (about $150 for round trip from Malaysia) I will most likely visit it again in the future.
I'm going to attend a business banquet in Bangkok, Thailand this coming weekend. Though it's merely a short one and a half day business trip, it will be after all my first trip to Thiland. Pretty excited, I've always wanted to visit more Southeast Asian countries ever since I got here (with the exception of Singapore as I previously posted).
Although Thailand is only an hour of flight away, the culture seems to be significantly different than Malaysia. One of the major difference is religion, it is safe to say that both countries are heavily religious, but Malaysia is mostly Islamic and Thailand is mostly Buddhist; the language is obviously different, and I think the foods also. I will definitely try the legendary Tom Yam Soups(東炎) for sure, it already tastes GODLY in Malaysia, and who knows, I'll probably try those famous Grasshoppers, Ants, Silk Worms and all that, when in Thailand right?
I'm pretty pumped up about going, given that business is reeeeaaalllly slow these days...there is this unbearable, slow, suffocating aura in the office lately. The workers just do their work, packing stuff, one by one, in seemingly lifeless fashion, this is what happens in manufacturers when business is slow, I mean I don't like constant chit-chatting, hyper employees jumping around all the time but I also can't stand having workers just sit there, packing the products one by one like programmed zombies.
Oh well, I just wanna have a great weekend in Thailand, gonna go sit with the bosses, eat with them, do my Wai's and Sawadit Kharps, networking it up and pump up my motivation meter.
Recently one of our big clients are complaining about the honey we supplied them. Here is the issue, our honey is accused of being contaminated by heavy metal because once they are mixed with green tea, the color will change dramatically into purplish black color.
Here is a fact, all tea products, particularly green tea, contains large amount of Tannic Acid, a type of Polyphenol often found in massive amounts from Tea products or fruits like Persimmons. Tannic Acid has great capabilities in bonding with minerals and metals such as Iron and Zinc.
Another fact, Natural Honey is a pretty good source of vitamins and minerals, containing usually 2-40 ppm of Iron per unit, which is why Honey is said to benefitial for anemia patients.
So when you mix Green Tea, which contains massive amount of Tannic Acid, and Honey, which contains Iron, the result is a chemcial bonding of the polyphenols and the mineral, producing black-colored residues, hence the color of the tea changes to black. The mixture is not necessarily harmful to human when consumed, rather it just means that the mix has effectively destroyed precious ingredients of the two: Tannic Acid and Iron.
However, most of us who are not chemists probably aren't familiar with these facts, we are rather sadly misinformed most of the time, and I think the media is responsible for implementing fear, but not knowledge into people. Take most news for example, everyday in the health or lifestyle sections we find topics like "XXX has been proven to be cancerous, avoid use or consumption...etc." which by the way is the cheesiest, most annoying title I read on papers, sometimes I wonder what DOESN'T cause cancer, why don't we just stop eating everything? Shit we might as well stop drinking water and breathing air.
Anyway back to my point. I am not an expert of any kind, but I expect those who work in the field for 20 some years to at least understand these basics. Sadly, they don't.
It's really amazing how these veteran honey dealers with 20 some years of experiences still don't learn the fact that Honey is NOT TO BE mixed with tea, period, simply because of the chemical reaction, it is just like you don't mix lemon juice with milk because as most of us know, the milk curdles if you mix them. Is it harmful to the human body? No, it just looks UGLY, it doesn't cause cancers (maybe they do, who knows? nowadays even your own saliva is cacnerous); is it the lemon's problem or the milk's problem? Exactly, neither, it is simply the STUPIDITY of people to have them mixed up in the first place.
Well I probably need to stop complaining or else this is going to turn into another bitch post. In fact, I just got roasted by my dad, saying that my whinny natuer, lack of confidence and inferior negotiating skills all sum up to the bastard client who will never believe me in a million years. Sometimes my dad can be a real pain in the ass because he just constantly bashes the shit out of me, like
"Jacky, how about a big ol' cup of SHUT THE FUCK UP and quit your bitching!? You SUCK, and that's why you failed at convincing them, it's not their fault, it's YOURS!!! YOOOOOUUUURRRRZZZZ!!! YOOOUUURRRRRZZZZZZ!!! YOOOOUURRRS!!!!!"
...
Sadly, he's right.
And this made me realize the quote I try to live by:
"Become bigger than your problems. If you have a problem, that means your ability is smaller than the problem, if you were a more capable man, the problems would have been resolved."
So I guess I've grown from this problem now that I've put this in my past; I can't wait till the next client who asks me whether it'd be a good idea to mix honey with tea, I'm going to burn the holy-jamolly outta their asses.
Dope Tupac "Until The End of Time" x Beck "Farewell Ride" Mix
Man I need to listen to more music, I've been looping this track like crazy, such a dope mix.
The looping beat is "Farewell Ride" by Beck, who is actually an awarded alternative rock artist who I've missed this whole time, soon as I tried some of his tracks like "E-Pro" "Loser" ...I had to download his whole album, and he's got a few too, all pretty decent, try him out!
And Tupac's lyrics like always is just...beautiful...
[2Pac] Perhaps I was addicted to tha dark side Somewhere inside my childhood i missed my heart die And even though we both came from the same places The money and the fame made us all change places How could it be through the misery that came to pass The hard times make a true friend afraid to ask, for currency But you could run to me when you need me, I'll never leave I just needed someone to believe in, as you can see It's a small thang through and true What could I do? Real homies help ya get through, And coming new, he'd do tha same thang if he could Cuz in the hood true homies make you feel good And half the time we be acting up call tha cops Bringing the cease to tha peace that was on my block It never stop, when my mama ask me will I change I tell her yeah, but it's clear I'll always be tha same Until the end of time
[Beck] Some may say this might be your last farewell ride... Some may say this might be your last farewell ride...
[2Pac] Please Lord forgive me for my life of sin My hard stare seem to scare all my sister's kids So you know I don't hang around tha house much This all night money making got me outta touch, shit Ain't flashed a smile in a long while An unexpected birth worst of the ghetto childs My attitude got me walking solo Ride out alone in my low-low Watching the whole world move in slow-mo For quiet times disappear listen to the ocean Smoking Ports think my thoughts Then it's back to coasting Who can I trust in this cold world My phony homey had a baby by my own girl But I ain't trippin I'm a player I ain't sweating him I sexed his sister, had her mo' good like a Mexican His next of kin, No remorse it was meant to happen Besides rapping the only thing I did good was scrapping Until the end of time
[Beck] Some may say this might be your last farewell ride... Some may say this might be your last farewell ride...
[2Pac] Now who's to say if I was right or wrong? To live my life as an outlaw all along Remain strong in this planet full of playa haters They conversate but Death Row full of demonstrators And in tha end drinking henessy made all my enemies envy me So cold when I flow eliminating easily Fall to their knees, they plead for their right to breath While beggin me to keep the peace (haha) Well I can see close into achieve In times of danger don't freeze time to be a g Follow my lead I supply everything you need An ounce of game and the trainin to make a g Remember me, as an outcast outlaw Another album out that's what I'm about, more Gettin raw till the day I see my casket Buried as a g while tha whole world remembers me Until the end of time
[Original Chorus] So take, these broken wings I need your hands to come and heal me once again (Until the end of time) So I can fly away, until the end of time Until the end of time Until the end of time
Ever since I moved to Malaysia I had been asked in many occasions to visit Singapore, “Jacky you should go to Singapore! Why don’t you go? It’s really close!”
NO THANKS.
The only factors that would contribute to my motivation to visit Singapore are my friends and families.
Actually, no, even if my friends and families are there, I still wouldn't go because that'd make them Singporeans, and as I was saying, I hate (most) Singaporeans.
Thanks to Facebook and other internet applications I've had the (mis)fortune to be exposed to more Singaporeans everyday, and they’re just like computer viruses, I can’t get rid of them. Everytime I play Facebook Poker or Warcraft online I’d meet a couple of Singaporean players, and it’s amazing just how they all sound like the same exact person.
One night I was on Facebook Poker, minding my own business. Suddenly these group of Asian players joined the table, started giggling and buying each other drinks and giving $1 chips. And it wasn't until one of them typed: “Walaozzzzzz, y u so late ah? I wait very long time liao~!” I realized I was in for a rough night.
For your information: “Walaozzzzz” is a phrase the Singaporeans actually express when spoken. I never fully understood the meaning, though I highly suspect it being “哇老師~~” or equivalent to “Oh Geez~” in English.
Anyway, I was just concentrating on my poker hands, until this new player enters room, which featured a giant Doraemon cartoon as the profile picture, to which I unwittingly commented: “Wow that’s a big Doraemon.”
Little did I know that little comment of mine just cost my night of fun poker, I would then find myself in an intense Singlish Rape:
“wat u got prob?” “u got prob?” “no he gort stupid swim flu liao!” (it's swINE flu you dumb fuck.) “weii~ I tell u lor” "wallaoozz he so stupid one" "he's fuck liao" “hahahaa lan jiao pig flu”
Normally I wouldn't give two shits about retarded people making retarded remarks, but since I was in the mood to be adventurous and try new things, I tried explaining that I actually LIKED the Doraemon and that it was an indirect compliment for choosing a Doraemon as a profile picture, not my intention to insult the guy. But since they are all desperately insecure about their profile pictures as well as their 2-inch erect penises, they decided to trash talk me,in tag teams, in SINGLISH.
And there really isn't much I can do, I got owned. Wanna know what their trash talk sound like? I guarantee you WILL NEVER WIN their trash talk in a MILLION YEARS, check the following:
Here are 2 common traits I find in (most) Singaporeans:
1. Shitty Singlish
Needless to add, it’s like they are proud to be able to destroy the entire English Language and rename it Singlish. And it’s amazing just how inefficient people can get with a language, to the point that they can’t seem to type complete sentences or say anything without a Liao or Lah at the end.
Wait, maybe I was wrong, because you see, Singlish is not shitty English, it's shitty English PLUS shitty Chinese, it is basically a combination of two poorly coordinated languages merging into one.
In that sense, perhaps Singlish is a more efficient way to expression, but at any rate, I still no give fuck lah!
2. Arrogance
Leading to my next point. There is this fundamental fucked-up-douche-bag-nature I observe in a lot of Singaporeans, that is they look down to other people of Chinese heritages. And the single easiest way to identify this scumbag nature is that a lot of Singaporeans prefer to speak Singlish and refuses to use Chinese when they can, EVEN if the situation suits or demands necessity, to which I will give examples later.
Now, nothing wrong with using Singlish at all, but I have a problem against it when you feel superior and look down at others because you are capable of Singlish. It’s one thing to be proud of where your culture, but it’s a whole different story when you’re constantly dissing other sibling cultures and glorifying all phenomenons about your culture, or the LACK thereof.
What is it about (most) Singaporeans dissing Chinese, Taiwanese, HK, and Malaysian Chinese? I don't get it. And why do most Singaporeans prefer speaking Singlish and not Chinese? Shit, homie the way you speak Singlish isn't much different from speaking Chinese dialects anyway.
One time I was shopping at a local 7-11 in Taiwan, these two Singaporeans were immediately identified on spot because they were showing off their Singlish, using super-uber-cool words like "walaooozzzz i told u lor~~ ji bai lan jiao~~lolz!!!"
At the counter these two were trying to purchase cigarettes using Singlish. As I mentioned before, even though they are capable of at least minimal Mandarin ability, they refused to speak Mandarin, instead these two supposedly elite Asians chose to speak their highly praised Singlish at the counter, trying to buy Marlboro Lights:
“I get pack of Mah-boh-laiiii” “Wahh! U no English ah!?”
So I had to step in and help my fellow Taiwanese clerk and resolved a potential 3 hour wait in line, while these two Singaporeans laugh their way out of the store. And they're not even teenagers, ADULTS, around my age. I really don't understand these people's mentalities.
Over countless instances when I make business calls to Singapore, using Mandarin Chinese simply gets me nowhere, particularly when I call to inquire to speak with someone in the upper management level. Now I must confess, I do NOT speak English well at all, BUT when I do speak it on the same occassions, my calls gets me where it needs to be. Take note that it's not because the receptionists do not understand Chinese, it's precisely because they do and they did not want to tolerate Chinese speakers period.
Also, what is it that the Singaporeans are so proud of? The only likable person I’ve heard from Singapore is Stephanie Sun, and she made her breakthrough in Taiwan. I recently found out J.J. Lim is from Singapore and I finally realized why the whole time I had this mysterious urge to want to sock his face, now the mystery is dispelled.
I don’t recall anything inspiring or worth visiting Singapore, except maybe I heard they whip people to death when you spit gums in the streets.
Naturally there must be something that a lot of Singaporeans can be so cocky about. So yeah, I figure what most Singaporeans are proud of -- their economy, their high level of civilization and infrastructure. Yeah the economy is booming and everyone is getting rich, making their doughs living all the way on top. But then again, no matter how low you consider the other Asians (particularly Chinese) to be, or how much ass you want to kiss the White folks, or how much money you're making...
YOU
CAN
NOT
BUY
CLASS LAH!
Please note that this post is completely biased though I really can't care less about it for as the Singaporeans would care about their own promising country.
I have Singaporean friends and they are indeed very decent people, this post is strictly a rant post for my unpleasant encounters from most Singaporeans I 've met so far.
Those of you who know me know that I'm a hardcore Blade of the Immortal fan. Well, as I mentioned earlier, Blade of the Immortal is about to reach its prolonged, climatic end, which is kind of a bittersweet thing, given that the serie has been on-going for more than a decade. Unlike most other Mangas that stall the stories indefinitely to get more cash from the readers, Blade of the Immortal so far has pretty awesome plots, and I wouldn't wish it to drag on forever. Anyway, I just wanted to do a little tribute, so here are my summarized analysis of the main final battle contenders.
**Spoiler alert for those who have not yet finished the Prison Arc or those who don’t even know what Prison Arc is. I will not reveal any spoiler in regards to FIGHT CONCLUSION **
Recap:
The Final Arc beings shortly after the Prison Arc. (which is from Chapter 135 and onwards.) Here goes:
The Final Boss Habaki Kagimura (吐鉤群) along with the “Six-Demons” (六鬼團)
is determined to hunt down the rest of Itto-ryu (逸刀流).
Itto-ryu remaining members had surprising plans and had split into two separate groups.
Rin (凛) wanted to witness the conclusion of her sworn-enemy-turned-friend (?) Antotsu Kagehisa.(天津影久)
Shira (尸良) and Renzo (練造) are on their quest in hunting down Manji (萬次)and Magatsu(兇)
Giichi (偽一) learned his ex-master Habaki is on his final quest to hunt down Itto-ryu, therefore is determined to aid him in anyway possible, Hyakurin (百琳) comes along.
Meguro (目黑) and Tanbobo (たんぽぽ), two comedic shinobi under order of Habaki were sent on a mission to track down Anotsu, they had a surprising discovery and are on their way to report to Habaki.
Team Habaki Member: Habaki, Ryo, Six Demons Overall Combat Capability: A - A+
Habaki Kagimura (吐 鉤群):
As demonstrated earlier in the series, Habaki is definitely one of the strongest fighters in the series, primal evidence displaying his strength is the fact that Habaki and Giichi along wiped out 10 of the most elite fighters Itto-ryu had to offer earlier in the series (though the Itto-ryu members were heavily drugged).
During the Prison Arc, Habaki also demonstrated his excellent Battojutsu skills by piercing through Manji's heart in a split second, as well as resolving a hostage situation in which Manji had set up.
Thought he has lost an eye during the Prison Arc, his well and determination as well as limited time frame to hunt down Itto-ryu seemed to make him even a scarier fighter, we haven't seen him in action many times but it is well expected for an awesome showdown between him and Anotsu.
Individual Combat Capability: S
Soma Ryo (杣燎):
Habaki's daughter. A cute and pretty girl who has upmost respect and honor to her father Habaki, she is determined to devote her life into hunting down the Itto-ryu along with her father. She claimed to have trained kenjitsu ever since a little kid and vowed to utilize all her skills to aid her father.
We have seen her fighting shortly against newbie Itto-ryu members and she seemed to be above average civilian; but was eventually schooled by Magatsu however.
Invdividual Combat Capability: C
The Six Demons(六鬼團):
The Six Demons are divided into two separate classes: Hanagumi (花組 lit. "Flower Group") - which is composed of the most elite fighters in the Six Demons, and Hebigumi (蛇組 lit. "Serpant Group") - which is composed of a bunch of average skilled sidekicks that follow the Hanagumi around.
From what I saw earlier the Six Demons are above average skills, in one instance two members of the Hanagumi members confronted with an one-armed Manji, where Manji commented that with just one-arm he wouldn’t be able to take two of them at the same time.
Invdividual Combat Capability: B
While Habaki is considered S level, his fighters are around B, bringing the team average to A - A+.
Remaining Itto-Ryu member (left to right): Isaku, Douwa, Magatsu, Abayama, Kashinkoji, Baro, Ozuhan)
BTW, is it me or this is the most badass character spread/poster you've ever seen?
Team Itto-Ryu Abayama Member: Abayama Sousuke + New Blood Overall Combat Capability: C+
Abayama Sousuke (阿葉山 宗介):
Abayama is one of the eldest member of Itto-ryu and is a good friend to Anotsu's grandfather. He is one-armed and wields a very strange looking weapon that seemed to be multi-purposed sword. We haven't seen him in action many times. During stages of the series an Itto-ryu member once commented that Abayama was the only available fighter that can match up to Giichi.
Invdividual Combat Capability: B
The New Bloods:
The Itto-ryu split into two groups with the purpose of distracting Team Habaki from hunting them down, Abayama the awesome old dude leads one of the group, along with some new bloods that wished to revive Itto-ryu. These new bloods seemed to be a bunch of good-willed youngsters with the dreams and goals similar to those of Itto-ryu, however, their sword-fighting skills aren't really on par with any of the former Itto-ryu members.
Invdividual Combat Capability: C-
The only good fighter here is veteran Itto-ryu member Abayama, who is old and one armed, his skill level is probably somewhere between B to B+, however, all the new members are utterly unfamiliar with sword fighting.
Team Itto-Ryu Anotsu Member: Anotsu Kagehisa, Magatsu Taito, Baro Sukezane, Ozuhan) Overall Combat Capability: S
Left: BARO
Top: Anotsu
Right: Magatsu
Bottom: Ozuhan
Left to right: Ozuhan, Anotsu, Magatsu, Baro.
It’s ironic that this team is being “hunted” as opposed to owning everyone in their sight. (see above pic) This team of four is composed of the most elite fighters Itto-ryu has remained: Anotsu, Magatsu, Baro, and Ozuhan. The team was assembled by Anotsu with a very interesting objective; instead of running away from Habaki, they decided to go the complete opposite…
Anotsu Kagehisa (天津 影久):
The leader of Itto-ryu and the second strongest fighter we've seen in the series. Considered the "villain" earlier in the series but as the story progressed Anotsu slowly and surely was revealed to be actually the protagonist and is now considered by many fans one of the favorite characters in Blade of the Immortal. A 22 year-old prodigy who wields exotic sword and hammer/axe. Anotsu is extremely calm, tactical, and emotionless when engaged in battles, as demonstrated earlier in the series, no one had survived under his axe with the exceptions he decided to spare.
Invdividual Combat Capability: S
Magatsu Taito (凶 戴斗):
Yest another one of the favorite characters loved by all Blade of the Immortal fans. This spike-haired super cool dude is also one of the veteran Itto-ryu member who joined since he was much younger, and a great, loyal friend to Anotsu Kagehisa.
He wields an exotic (which Itto-ryu member doesn't?) Tripple-sword (3 swords hidden inside one) and favors to fight with his so-called geographical advantages. In my opinion he is roughly about as good as Manji if not slightly better, given that he did defeat Manji the first time they've encoutnered by luring Manji into the muddy area.
Invdividual Combat Capability: B+ - A
Baro Sukezane (馬絽 祐実):
Baro appeared during book 8 but haven't been really introduced until after the Prison Arc. He resembles Manji's appearance with the facial scar. His personality is of the loyal and honored samurai type, he weilds and is very proficient with a very long Nodachi.
Invdividual Combat Capability: B+ - A
Ozuhan (怖畔):
Ozuhan is considered an exotic fighter even by the Itto-ryu standard. He wields a serpant-like dagger that resembles a Kris or a Kalis. He also uses a strange whistle which produces unbearable noises to enemies and attacks with extremely sharp and rapid strikes; he has shown to be very agile and flexible. He is always seen with a mask and doesn't seem to speak Japanese though he understands when people talk to him, and communicates with sign language.
Invdividual Combat Capability: B+ - A
Team Manji + Rin Member: Manji and Rin Overall Combat Capability: B-
Our favorite couple.
Manji (卍):
Our favorite aniki (big brother) Manji-san. The immortal swords man who's sworn to slain 1,000 evil dudes in exchange to rid the curse of immortality. Well, things didn't go as easily as he expected since we haven't seen too many true "Evil People" in this series (which is one of the reasons why we love Blade of the Immortal).
Anyway, through out the series we have seen Manji in many fights. One of the greatest gift and curse for Manji is the fact that he is nearly immortal, in the way that his limbs can be reattaached and healed within minutes if they were severed, which himself claimed that has dulled his fighting skills because he wouldn't mind being cut anymore; the only sure way to kill Manji was revealed later in the series but I don't want to go too much into detail.
Manji fights in very practical and adaptative ways, he wields a number of exotic weapons that ranges from ordinary katanas to giant forks (?) to sickles to tool like knives and daggers.
His overall combat capability is supposed to match up to those of elite Ittoryu members such as Magatsu, however, during the Prison Arc he's lost his left arm to Renzo, with just one arm Manji is handicapped and therefore I rankn him down to:
Invdividual Combat Capability: B- to B
Asano Rin (淺野 凜):
Rin isn't much of a fighter, but through out the series she has grown from a little cry baby to a courageous and tough little girl who isn't afraid to risk her life to save her big brother/love Manji. Her one and only trick is the Golden Wasps, in which she throws a bunch of daggers at the target, quite a good distraction to enemies, Anotsu commented.
Invdividual Combat Capability: C-
One of the reason I love this manga is the fact that the main character isn’t the strongest, in fact here we have an one armed-Manji and Rin always kind of dragging Manji down. Still much love for my favorite pair though.
Team Comedy Dual: Meguro + Tanbobo
Member: Meguro and Tanbobo
Overall Combat Capability: C-
Meguro (目黑)
Tanbobo (たんぽぽ)
These two female shinobis make a great comedic pair that bring lights and laughters to the series during all these blood and tension. They aren't really much of fighters, instead they are proficient in tracking, observing, and collecting information. They work for Habaki and are on their way to track down Anotsu Kagehisa.
Team Shira
Member: Shira and Renzo
Overall Combat Capability: B+
Shira (尸良):
^Shira the Ultimate Psychopathic Mass Murderer/Molester. "I WILL RAPE YOU." is what he said.
If there is any true villain to be found in this series, Shira is the man. He is a very radical, violent, psychotic, sadistic, mass murdering bastard yet there is just something so true and real about him that you just...kinda like his style.
Obviously the fans of this series don't take women rights or world peace too seriously, because the guy over here basically cuts up women's breasts, dismembers people by slowly sawing the limbs off while they're alive. He shaves and carves his own severed right arm (cut off by Manji) into a bone-spear, passes out during the process because of the pain, and returns to finish it off.
Shira should be considered immortal since he just doesn’t seem to die. He’s back with a more meaningful purpose in his life, to hunt down Manji and Magatsu, who each severed his arm. He has a sidekick who he molests occasionally, the kid Renzo from VERY earlier in the series; he isn’t much of a fighter instead he tends to just watches when Shira fights, makes tea, cooks food for Shira, etc.
Invdividual Combat Capability: B+
Renzo (練造):
Mugai Ryu(無骸流) Mugai Ryu (left to right) during their heyday: Giichi, Hyakurin, Shira
Team Ex-Mugai Ryu Member: Giichi and Hyakurin Overall Combat Capability: A
Hyakurin (百琳):
Hyakurin is a sexy and bossy big sister who specializes in poisons and crossbows. During the disbanding process of Mugai Ryu, she was sold out by Shira and captured by Itto-ryu and underwent cruel and intense torture, resulting with severely injured right arm and is now pregnant from one of the tortuing Itto-ryu dudes.
Supposedly she shouuld not be fighting anymore since she is hadicapped and also pregnant with a baby, however, her bossy nature brings her to tag along with Giichi.
Invdividual Combat Capability: C+ to B-
Giichi (偽一):
Giichi was once the strongest fighter in Mugai ryu before it disbanded. Throught out the series Giichi has demonstrated dominating fighting skills against all kinds of fighters from Itto-Ryu; he is also the man responsible along with Habaki for the Itto-ryu massacre, in which the two of them single handedly killed all 10 of the most elite fighters from Itto-ryu (with the exception of Abayama, whom they have spared)
two badasses who owned itto-ryu: Habaki & Giichi
Giichi is extremely calm and emotionless in battle, he used to wield a sickle-like blade that works like a giant handcuff that can be thrown and locks onto his opponent's neck, and often times he threatens to behead his opponent by inquring critical information, before he promptly break his promises.
Invdividual Combat Capability: A - A+
Well glad to have Giichi back in action. Having learned the news of Habaki, Giichi decided to jump into this mess and help out, Hyakurin joined for the same cause. With the help of Giichi, Itto-ryu seems to be in some deep shit, even if they have Anotsu, Magatsu and others. We’ll see!
SECRET FINAL BOSS: Makie Member: Makie Overall Combat Capability: SS
Otonotachibana Makie (乙橘 槇絵):
OOooohhhhhHHH!!! The super sexy Makie aka. the GODESS aka. The Glitch is definitely an unknown factor, but one thing we’re sure is that she is most likely going to destroy any team she deems hostile. It’s unlikely we’ll see her though…we’ll just have to wait and see…
UPDATE: As of 4/13/2011 I have done an update, please go to
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