Attention, ladies and germs. Behold!
Feast your eyes on the brand new mobile edition of kennysia.com!
It’s new. It’s live. It’s available right now on your mobile phones at m.kennysia.com!
Now this is actually something I’ve been desperately wanting to do for a long time, but never had the time to do so until recently.
With the introduction of Maxis 3G in Kuching and throughout Malaysia, a lot of people are now using their mobile phones to go online. I know because since I switched over to Maxis and hooked up with one of their Maxis mobile browsing plans, I find myself going online everywhere I go, all the time.
It’s really useful.
Most of the time I’d use my phone to check e-mails or read up on blog comments whenever I’m on the run.
More recently, I’ve been using it to surf news sites like Malaysiakini.com, especially during election time when I wanna be informed immediately which seats have fallen to the Opposition.
It’s not just me that’s doing this. Everyone around me are keeping up with the trend, going online everywhere using their 3G mobile phones. But sadly those people use it for a different reason lah.
They only use it to check the latest soccer results.
Regardless what you use the Internet for, the truth of the matter is that more and more people these days are getting on the mobile web-surfing bandwagon.
As a website designer, a former software engineer and *cough* trend setter, it is therefore only logical that I create a mobile version of kennysia.com to cater for these people.
And here it is.
I call it kennysia.com Mobile. π
m.kennysia.com stands for kennysia.com Mobile.
It is a reworked version of kennysia.com optimised for PDAs and mobile phones.
The content is exactly the same as the original website, but I scaled everything down to so they can fit the smaller screen sizes of mobile phones.
The best thing about the mobile version of kennysia.com is that it has no ads, no fancy animation, no unneccessary graphics. Not only that, I went through great lengths to keep file sizes low, so everything loads faster on the phones and bandwidth charges are kept to a minimum.
Pretty much all the important features of the original blog is there. All the comments left by readers are there. All my older archived entries since the day I started blogging are there, all neatly sorted by categories and months.
The only thing I left out is the comment box ‘cos I don’t wanna have to worry about spam and such. I also left out the Chatterbox because too many crazy people are in there talking non-stop twenty-four seven.
But apart from that, I’m pretty happy with what I came up with.
It took me one full day to do the coding for kennysia.com Mobile, and it wasn’t that hard.
I do hope more Malaysian blogs and websites out there can optimise their content for mobile web browsing though. Sure, nothing beats surfing the web on the desktop right now. But with 3G phones getting smaller, data charges getting cheaper and Maxis 3G coverage getting better, mobile web browsing is definitely the way to go in the future.
And those who aren’t already with Maxis mobile browsing would be left behind.
Like this poor fella right here.
MDG: The Final 3
Finally, our Malaysian Dreamgirl journey is coming to an end.
Adeline, Cindy, Hanis – The MDG Top 3
When we first started filming this show, these three ordinary Malaysian girls have nothing more than basic knowledge in modelling and fashion. After ten weeks of intensive modelling bootcamp, workshops, marathon photoshoot sessions, look at where they are now.
Cindy
Adeline, Cindy and Hanis have all blossomed into professional models in different ways and in the process, defeated nine other hopefuls to become the first Top 3 of Malaysia’s online reality model search.
Adeline
Damn. I’m gonna miss the drama so much when the show is over.
At the same time, I am very pleased with how much they have all improved. Their photos speak for themselves.
Hanis
In the end, it is up to the public.
Judging from the comments online, Hanis seems to be the favourite at the moment, although Cindy’s vicious family support seems to put her in a lead ahead of the rest.
Regardless, it is important to SMS your votes on who YOU would like to win Malaysian Dreamgirl.
To vote for CINDY, SMS DREAM 03 to 33001.
To vote for ADELINE, SMS DREAM 01 to 33001.
To vote for HANIS, SMS DREAM 06 to 33001.
SMS costs RM1 each and voting closes 11:59pm this Monday, so THERE IS STILL AMPLE TIME TO VOTE! Each vote you send also automatically enters you into a draw to win a RM10,000 preloaded AmBank NexG Prepaid Mastercard.
Who shall win the title of the first ever Malaysian Dreamgirl?
Will it be CINDY?
Will it be ADELINE?
Or will it be HANIS?
All will be revealed 6:30pm this Tuesday night at the Malaysian Dreamgirl Grand Finale at 1Utama.
I don’t know who will win, but one thing for sure – I wanna get an autograph from Cindy’s Dad at the Grand Finale.
CLEO Beh-Chai-Lor
So, the CLEO 50 Most Eligible Bachelor Bash is happening this Friday night at Zouk KL.
My mother is confused. She has been asking me what’s this whole “CLEO 50 Most Eligible Bachelors” thing-a-ma-gettin-jiggy-wit-it is all about.
Well mom, the easiest way for me to explain is that it is exactly like a Miss Malaysia beauty pageant.
But for men.
Yes mom, your youngest son is joining a beauty contest. He will be one of the 50 finalists fighting for the title of Malaysia’s Most Beautiful Man. Not exactly what you picture your fattest son might be doing 10 years ago, but sometimes in life, we need to face some difficult questions.
Questions such as, “WHY IS MY SON JOINING A BEAUTY CONTEST?”
It’s not like I expect to win anything, of course. I know what I look like. I look in the mirror every morning and I know I ain’t pretty.
But in a way it’s good, because the only chance I have taking part in a CLEO 50 Most Eligible Bachelors is in Malaysia. That’s because our Malaysian CLEO is much tamer and toned-down compared to the other CLEO magazines around the world.
If I were to compete in CLEO Singapore, I know I could never get in anywhere near the Top 50.
That’s because I’m gonna have to pose like this.
If his name is Daren Tan (with one ‘r’), my name is Keny Sia (with one ‘n’).
Or worse, in CLEO Australia, like this.
Holy cow.
Luckily this is CLEO Malaysia, and luckily I can still keep my clothes on. All of it.
Luckily.
Anyway, like I said, I have no chance in hell of winning the title of Malaysia’s Most Beautiful Man this Friday.
This year’s list is full of ACTORS and SINGERS and NEWSCASTERS and MALE MODELS.
#16 Adrian Loh
How is a BLOGGER gonna compete with all these people?
#41 Owen Yap
Those profession by default are already pretty high up on every girl’s sexy list. Compare that with me who lists his profession as an “IT Director/Blogger”.
Go ask any girl if she’d like to date a blogger, and I gerengtee you she’d laugh until her teeth fall off.
#3 Ebi Kornelis
Fine, with competition like that, I’m not gonna win the CLEO Most Eligible Bachelor of the Year title. I had high hopes becoming Malaysia’s first fat bachelor, but I know that’s not gonna happen.
The only way I could win is if I talk shit about the other Bachelors, but the thought of 49 Bachelors going after me with their stick… a stick this Friday night is pretty scary.
So I tried winning people’s votes over with witty answers during my Q&A, but I don’t think that worked out either.
Since I can’t win the big Miss Malaysia prize, the least I could aim for is some subsidiary title, correct?
There are five categories up for grabs: Bachelor You’d Have Coffee With, Best Groomed Bachelor, Most Adventerous Bachelor, Bachelor You’d Get Hot & Sweaty With and Bachelor With Sexiest Eyes.
#11 Prem. This is what Bruce Willis would look like if he’s an Indian
Out of those five, the only two subsidiary titles that don’t require any physical beauty is “Most Adventurous Bachelor” and “Bachelor You’d Have Coffee With”.
Obviously, knowing my uhhhh… physical shortfall, I thought those are the titles I’d at least have some chance of winning.
Besides, I reckon I’m pretty adventurous with coffee – I once drank hot coffee on the plane that was shaking like crazy. It was very adventerous.
Anyway, online voting is now closed and the results are out.
For the five subsidiary titles of CLEO Bachelor, the winners are:
Bachelor You’d Have Coffee With: Ebi Kornelis.
Best Groomed Bachelor: Ebi Kornelis.
Most Adventurous Bachelor: Ebi Kornelis.
(The most daredevil thing he’s done is parasailing in Sabah because “the wind is very strong”)
Bachelor You’d Get Hot & Sweaty With: Ebi Kornelis.
And Bachelor With Sexiest Eyes: Ebi Kornelis.
Look, I am not bitter about losing, but this is ridiculous.
Not only did Ebi Kornelis win all five subsidiary titles, he won with an amazing high margin of at least 40%. I won’t be surprised if he takes out the CLEO Bachelor of the Year title this Friday.
But seriously, who the heck is this EBI KORNELIS guy?!
His talent is singing, playing guitar and MAKING IKAN BAKAR.
For someone like than to be able to win all these subsidiary titles, his ikan bakar must have tasted really really really good.
I don’t wanna say it, but could there be some *cough*vote-rigging*cough* going on?
I dunno. All I know is that BERSIH should stop campaigning for “clean and fair elections”, and concentrate on more important things like campaigning for “clean and fair CLEO Bachelors”.
If not, then I think this year’s competition is gonna require a new name.
Ikan bakar, anyone?
Ah Gua
I had an interesting past couple of days.
Over the weekend, I was invited by IDC to speak at their Directions 08 Conference in Singapore.
IDC is a huge international marketing research group much like AC Nielsen, and their Directions 08 conference was one of their bigger events where delegates from Dell, HP, Microsoft, etc reportedly paid some SGD$680 each just to attend this one-day conference!
Goodness! The only time I would pay THAT much money to attend a conference is if Mariah Carey is the speaker and I get to Touch Her Body afterwards… I mean, LISTEN to her sing ‘Touch My Body’ afterwards.
Anyway, my purpose on the the conference was as part of a 4-person panel, talking about what us Generation-Y bloggers think about the Internet trends. Joining me on the panel were social media blogger Daryl from Singapore, tech blogger Victor from Hong Kong and sex blogger Meenakshi from India.
Our panel session lasted for 35 minutes, and I think I spoke for a grand total of only like just 10 minutes.
The coolest thing about speaking at a large-scale conference like this is that these people fly you in and let you stay at some super expensive swanky 5-star hotel that I would never be able afford on my own.
The even cooler thing is that sometimes these hotel rooms are all booked out. When that happens they automatically upgrade you to a suite.
Yes, a friggin’ SUITE!
Complete with separate living room and bedroom!
Damn nice marbled bathroom with a jacuzzi!
What more?
They even gave us not one, but TWO RUBBER DUCKIES in the bathtub!
OMG.
Of course I was excited! Not everyday I get to play with rubber duckies.
Oh, and also get to stay at a suite in the Grand Copthrone Hotel in Singapore, just for talking 10 minutes about blogging. π
I know, I hate myself sometimes.
On Saturday night, I met up with Stickgal at CHIJMES.
As you can see, Stickgal looks nothing like the stick figures that she draws, but she is definitely just as animated.
The funniest thing happened before my return trip at the Changi airport.
The flight to Kuching was delayed and we were given meal vouchers to redeem at the airport food court.
So I while was there at the food counter, waiting for the uncle to prepare my bowl of noodles, this middle-aged Indonesian lady who obviously speaks very limited English came up to him and asked.
Lady: “Ah Gua?”
Uncle: “Har? What Ah Gua?”
Lady: *pointing towards the uncle* “You! You! Ah Gua?”
Uncle: “Har? No! No! I not Ah Gua leh!”
Lady: “No! No! Ah Gua! Ah Gua!”
Kenny: “Eh Uncle, I think she’s asking if you sell water or not. Water is called Aqua.”
Uncle: “HAR? How come water call Ah Gua?”
You’re Way Too Beaoooouuuuuutiful Girl, That’s Why It’ll Never Work
There is only one person in this whole world who could make me feel less bad about being a fattie.
Here’s a guy who could walk into Zouk one and a half hours too late, sing for just 30 minutes, and then leave with hundreds of teenage girls still gasping for breath and their panties halfway hanging.
It doesn’t matter the fact that he is big, black and looks like the size of five Kenny Sia all combined into one. As soon as he opened his mouth and sang his “You’re way too beauuuuutiful girl”, instantly all his sins are forgiven.
Despite the hot crowd reaction, I gotta say Sean Kingston’s performance was disappointingly a lacklustre affair. The guy brought along two backup rappers, four bad ass bodyguards and one deejay onto stage just for his piss weak 30-minute long “concert”.
It was so bad, it made me… “Sui-ci-dal. Sui-ci-dal”. Until I wish it’s over.
The botak guy with the tulan face on stage is Sean Kingston’s body guard
Come to think of it, it was the DJ he brought in that did most of the work entertaining the crowd.
The DJ played all of Sean Kingston’s music complete with pre-recorded vocals. All Sean Kingston did was rap on top of the tracks the DJ played. Please lah, you calling that a concert?
When Sean Kingston gets hungry, he eats microphones
Since the concert was held in Zouk, I thought after the event, Sean himself might do the right thing and hang around the club to interact with the crowd a bit more.
But noooo. Immediately after the concert, Sean Kingston was no where to be seen.
My guess is that he had probably “moved to the tropics, sip pina coladas”. And he didn’t even bother to “take me there.”
Still, although the “concert” was bad, I gotta thank Hotlink and their excellent PR team for sending me the invite to this event. At least I know what a lazy overrated slob Sean Kingston is now.
The only saving grace about Sean Kingston’s whole 30-minute-long World Tour concert?
Watching that huge gigantic round blob actually DANCE on stage.
Me love.
MMU Melaka Mystique Prom Night
Kids these days.
When I was in Uni, going to a prom means going to some boring overrated dinner at some boring 5-star hotel hosted by some boring emcees.
The old tired formula NEVER EVER changes.
Recently, when the organizers of the MMU Melaka Mystique prom night called me up inviting me to be a guest at their event, I was pretty much anticipating the same thing.
My expectations weren’t high. To start with, the prom was organized collectively by three student societies, namely the Business & Law, Engineering and IT societies of Multimedia University.
I have been to many events organized by students before. I know what it’s like.
I wasn’t expecting anything extraordinary like some stylo mylo VIP corporate event. Because let’s face it lah – this event is organised by Uni students.
Students don’t have much money to spare.
I know that because when I was in Curtin, I used to organize a lot of events myself.
One of the biggest problems we as students always run into is: NOT ENOUGH $$$$$. It’s damn near impossible to extort… extract money out of our sponsors because they never see much benefit in doing so.
On top of that, it’s difficult to get anyone to come to our events because we were so crap in our job.
So imagine my surprise when I found out that not only was the prom fully sold out in two days, these kids have enough money to rent out the entire Grand Ballroom at the Equatorial Hotel Melaka, hire Soo Kui Jien, Stephanie Chai, Estraged, Pop Shuvit and myself to provide entertainment, and STILL have enough money left over to donate to World Vision for charity!
Kids these days are sooooo lucky ok.
This is the vivacious Stephanie Chai.
She’s one of the few Kuching girls who’s doing exceptionally well in the KL entertainment circles.
Most people would recognize her from the countless magazine covers that she has graced, but lately I get to see her a lot because of that ad she did with Starhill Gallery which is always playing at the KLIA Express train.
Azwin Andy where are you staring?
Steph and I shared a car from KL down to Melaka. Not only is she the most down-to-earth celeb I’ve met, she’s a fantastic companion to travel with as well.
Throughout the trip, we swapped stories about Kuching, people we know, our jobs and our relationships. It made the two hour long journey seems a lot a shorter than it is.
Unfortunately, I was the one driving and we arrived late. It’s all my fault because of my super l33t na\/iGati0n skillz that even saw us ending up in a police station compound after making a wrong turn.
This is Jien, host of Malaysian Idol and most recently ESPN Star Sports.
I don’t like him.
Many times during the prom, there would be some hot chicks standing in a corner, giggling and pointing towards my direction squealing Γ’β¬Εomg heΓ’β¬β’s so cute!Γ’β¬Β
Then I would shyly wave back at them and smile, but they would not respond. Then I realised it was because Jien standing behind me.
That is why I hate that bugger.
This is Renee. She is my prom date for the evening.
Coincidentally, Renee was also last yearΓ’β¬β’s prom queen. That’s cool because it’s not everyday you can get to date a prom queen, even if it’s just for one evening. π
On the other hand, I was lousy as her prom date.
Not only did I arrive late, I forgot to give her the traditional corsage. And most of the time the prom date was left alone at the table while I was busy taking photos to use in this blog entry.
The organizers were right in inviting Steph and Jien to emcee the prom. They were both fantastic and entertaining throughout the evening.
Considering how little preparation time they had, they did such an amazing job. Stephanie especially was lamenting to me how unprepared she was. She was only told what to do when she arrived at the venue.
Those two joked, danced, made everyone laugh and injected life into the party. I wish I could do what they do. They were so natural on stage and not once did they stutter or skip a beat.
Except maybe for this one time when they asked the VIPs to go on stage for the gong-sounding, only to stop halfway because they don’t know where the bloody gong was.
Ok lah, to be fair, that “thing” didn’t actually look like a gong. It’s not one of those heavy brass ones they use at Iban longhouses.
Still, it is a gong.
But it isn’t just any gong.
It’s a freakin’ MULTIMEDIA SUPER DIGITAL GONG.
Dun pray pray ok. That thing is so CANGGIH it can project POWDERFUL laser out of its surface when they hit it with a stick.
Those crazy Malaccans. Always like to do things differently down there.
Soon, it was time to announce the nominees for Prom King and Prom Queen.
Now, here’s the cracker. For Prom King and Queen, the nominees weren’t judged by how they look or how well they’re dressed. Instead, each nominee are required to go on stage and perform their “special talent”.
I gotta say, I was absolutely head over heels over how much effort each nominee put into their performances.
First up was Prom King nominee Q-bert.
Q-bert is a stereotypical engineering geek with a funny name and two botak lines on the side of his head (Jien described it as “No Parking” zone). For his act, he sung his lungs out like a reject on Malaysian Idol.
Next came Prom Queen nominee Joanne.
She came out and did what I thought was an extremely boring slow dance with Q-bert.
THEN SUDDENLY.
They broke off and abruptly changed into this energetic number to the catchy tune of “I like big butts and I cannot lie”.
It was complete with dance moves so hilariously over-the-top I could not stop laughing the whole entire time. It was more “cheerleading” than “prom dance” and the crowd absolutely loved it.
Needless to say, those two won the titles of Prom King and Prom Queen respectively.
Q-bert and Joanne weren’t the only notable dancers of the night.
For the award of the prom night’s Best Couple, the crowd narrowed down the selections to two guys and one girl. Steph and Jien stipulated that there must be an impromptu “dance off” to determine which two should be crowned Best Couple.
Naturally, you’d think that the two guys would compete for female attention right?
Wrong!
What happened instead was the poor girl being kicked to the side.
And the two guys danced with each other so passionately until their dance included THIS MOVE.
What the hell was THAT!
LOOK MA, IT’S THE PROM MONSTER WITH FOUR ARMS AND FOUR LEGS.
Ridiculous.
Everyone was so speechless they had no choice but to make those two winners for Best Couple.
Good thing the night was saved by Pop Shuvit and Estraged.
If you don’t know already, those two are among the best of the best live bands in Malaysia and they completely rocked those psychologically-traumatised students.
The prom started at 8pm and before long, it was already past midnight and time to wrap up the event. Time flies when you’re having fun.
Now, this is when another corker of the night happened.
After the prom night ended, the organizers arranged to have Steph, Jien, Pop Shuvit, Estraged and myself escorted out to the foyer for a photoshoot session with the students.
That’s fine, right? They hired us, the students paid for their tickets, so it’s perfectly reasonable that we stay and mingle around with them.
But get this.
We were escorted out by RELA and HOTEL SECURITY.
Outside the Grand Ballroom was the maddest reception I have ever personally witnessed.
Cameras were flashing non-stop as if we’re surrounded by paparazzis and everyone was trying to get their pictures taken. It was a rare moment of photo frenzy.
But surely, we don’t need RELA to give us protection. These are MMU students, not Hindraf protestors ok!
When we’re done and wanted to go back to our hotel rooms, a staff approached us and asked if we wanted to escape using the back door.
I was stunned. Suddenly I have no idea whether to cry or laugh at that suggestion.
On one hand, I could feel my coconuts instantly grow one size bigger. On the other hand, they’re talking to this guy who flies AirAsia, takes public transport and eats RM2.20 kolo mee by the roadside wearing just shorts and slippers.
Please lor. I am just Kenny Sia. Not Madonna.
So I reckon I could make my way to the hotel lobby without much problems thankyouverymuch.
Kudos to the organizers for doing such an amazing job putting together this prom night.
The food was great, the show was entertaining and the people were fun. I know I had fun.
It’s such a big difference comparing it to my University prom night. My Uni prom night was so bad, to make the comparison with theirs would be like comparing Princess Diana with Amy Winehouse.
The tagline for the Mystique 2008 is “A Fairytale Ending“.
I guess for everyone who attend the prom, their evening did have a fairytale ending.
Everyone. Well, except for me.
Because eventhough Renee my prom date was fantasticly patient, my night was completely ruined with the image of THIS forever burned into my head.
The horror.
Next time you see this creature, it’ll be in a Spiderman movie. As the bad guy.
Spidey is gonna have his hands full with this one.
Singapore Straits Times Also Asks Kenny Sia If Blogging Is Harmful To Health
Apparently over in the US, two bloggers have died over what is presumed to be “blog-related stress.”
Personally, I think putting the cause of their deaths squarely on blogging is a bit ridiculous.
But that doesn’t stop a journalist from The Straits Times (Singapore) from asking bloggers what they think about the whole issue.
Cowboy Caleb was the first interviewed, and that smart arse answered those smart arsequestions in the most smart arse-rrific way that only he can.
A few days later, I got a SIMILAR set of interview questions by the same journalist. I thought the questions were kinda cute, so I’m publishing my reply here.
How many posts do you write a month?
Around 15 entries.
What is the most number of posts you’ve ever written in a day?
One. Bear in mind, I normally spread my time over several days to complete one long entry.
What is the craziest thing you’ve done in the name of blogging?
I wrote a letter to OSIM demanding them to replace Fiona Xie with me on their OSIM uZap ads. They never replied.
Do you find yourself having the urge to blog at the strangest places and times? eg do you blog while having meals, during concerts, in the toilet etc?
The only urge I have when I’m in the toilet is something else. Not blogging.
But come to think of it, the word “blog” sounds very much like the sound I make when I’m doing number two in the toilet. Except after a heavy meal, the sound I make it not “blog”. More like “BLLLOOOOGGGGGGGG!!!!”
Seriously though, whoever blogs in toilets needs to get their heads checked.
How often do you check your blog to see if there are new comments?
Every 4 or 5 hours, or whenever I’m free.
I get a new comment every few minutes or so, and I have the habit of reading those comments on my phone whenever I’m idling.
It is reported that many bloggers suffer from weight loss/gain, insomnia etc. Has your health been affected in similar ways?
Yes, my health has been affected.
Since I started blogging, I went on a detox diet, completed two 42km marathons and climbed the Mount Kinabalu in Sabah. All these are things I wouldn’t have possibly done if it wasn’t for the encouragement from the people I met through my blog.
With reference to the NY times story, those bloggers who died in the US are in fact no different to freelance writers who are paid per piece by companies who hired them. When your pay is determined by how much production you generate, obviously some people get a little bit ambitious and overwork themselves.
Here in this region, we don’t have that kind of system where freelance writers are paid for each blog entry they generate. Most bloggers in Asia are doing it as a hobby. However, there are freelance workers in other industries who overwork, and those are the ones that need to worry about their health more.
Do you feel the stress to beat fellow bloggers in coming up with the wittiest post, the fastest response to a piece of news etc?
Used to, but not anymore. I have my own style and other bloggers have theirs. There’s no point competing, unless you wanna compare the size of our egos then yes, sometimes bloggers compete with each other.
Then again, everyone already knows that my balls are the biggest.
Do you believe that blogging can kill? Why?
Yes, blogging can kill.
Blogging can kill time.
Therefore, blogging is dangerous and bloggers should be put into jail together with Mas Selamat.
Somehow, I don’t think my interview is ever gonna make it onto the newspaper.
Something Is Very Wrong With This Ad
Milan is famous for being the designer fashion capital of the world.
Versace, Gucci, Giorgio Armani, Prada, Dolce & Gabanna, Kanina, Tualampa. You name it, you got it.
Naturally, there are heaps of billboard ads from all the famous fashion houses adorning the walls of the buildings around here. The best thing about these ads is that they are all very eye-catching, because more often than not they employ some of the best supermodels in the world.
Like this Dolce & Gabanna ad I saw at the Milan airport.
At first glance, this seems like a pretty typical ad for a fashion label.
You got a couple of hot chicks in the centre of attention, having fun, dancing together with some other equally hot guys. All the girls are dressed in nice dresses. All the guys are dressed in fine suits. All of them looking like a million bucks.
Everything looks all fine and dandy like a normal party scene, but did you see something SERIOUSLY wrong with this ad?
Why is that guy DANCING IN HIS UNDIES next to a girl?
In other parts of the world, his arse would be locked in jail for sexual harrassment ok!
Rejected Stickgal Contribution
Remember Stickgal? The blogger from Singapore who used comics instead of words to write her blog?
She sent me an e-mail recently.
She said that she’s wondering if I could help her out by guest-starring and contributing some entries to stickgal.blogspot.com
I replied her and told her that I have been extremely busy lately, and that I’m finding it hard enough to update my own blog, let alone contribute to other blogs.
I don’t have a lot of free time. And when I do have some free time, I’d rather take a break from blogging and do “research” on Edison Chen.
Research only hor.
But because stickgal is so cute, somehow I managed to find time in my hectic schedule to contribute a special kennysia.com blog entry to Stickgal.
I spent a lot of hardwork and effort on it. When I sent it in to her, I thought that she’d be very touched because I am so flooded with work yet I still find time to do her a favour.
But nooooooo. π Instead of posting up my contribution and hailing me as a legendary hero, this is what she wrote to me in the end.
I wonder why.
“Stickson Chen”
My drawing not nice meh?
MDG – The Journey So Far
With the shocking elimination of two of Malaysian Dreamgirl‘s favourites, Valerie and Eyna, it’s pretty safe to say the show now is starting to get pretty interesting. π
I’m glad as well that a lot people’s initial complaints about the show is being addressed.
We still have a long way to go, but if you’ve been following the episodes of Malaysian Dreamgirl (like you should!), then you’d have noticed that the editing and post-production value of the show have improved tremendously.
Granted, comparison with similar shows in America is inevitable. Then again, those shows have thousands of sponsors and 100 over people working on the production team, whereas I can count the number of people working on Malaysian Dreamgirl with two hands and maybe one foot.
You can’t compare it that way.
Besides, where else can you find a bunch of Malay, Chinese and Indian girls on a model search reality show, speaking in a mix of Malay, English and Manglish?
Malaysian Dreamgirl is a show about ordinary Malaysian girls going through the difficult process to become extraordinary models. It is a show made by Malaysians, for Malaysians, because we want you to be able to relate to these contestants and what they’re are going through.
You can’t say the same for American-based shows now, can you? Those contestants in those shows are like aliens ok.
One question I get asked a lot even until today is why Giselle, the long-legged kindergarten teacher from the auditions, didn’t get through to the Top 12.
I admit, I was a fan of hers during the first-stage auditions. Lim Jimmy was the first to notice her pimples covered under her unusually thick make up, but we didn’t make a big fuss out of it.
Problem is, by the time the second-stage auditions come around, the kindy teacher’s face isn’t just dotted with pimples anymore. It has turned into a full-blown GRAND CANYON. It’s almost like she was infected with some sorta disease.
I know a lot of people love her, but there’s simply no chance in hell we could let her through in that condition. Not when there are other girls more deserving to be in the Top 12.
Anyway, next weekend I’ll be travelling to KL (again) to issue the girls a brand new challenge.
I can’t wait for it. It’s been almost a month since I last met up with Adeline, Cindy, Fiqa, Hanis, Nadia, Jay and Ringo. I’m just anxious to see how far they have progressed now that the end is near.
In less than 4 weeks time, we shall crown our first ever Malaysian Dreamgirl. And here’s what I think each contestant’s chances are.
Cindy
To vote Cindy, SMS DREAM 03 and send it to 33001
Cindy Tey is exactly the type of girl that a lot of guys will like, but many girls hate.
And many girls also hate the guys who like Cindy.
It’s very sad lah. You really gotta pity her for not being able to get along with the other girls in the house. Even the comments on her blog were laced with vicious attackers calling her names normally reserved for Samy Vellu.
Cindy in Women’Secret – not a lot of secrets there
I’m impartial towards Cindy. One thing I must say is that she’s not as bad as many make her out to be. You gotta admire her also for the lengths she’s willing to go through to succeed in this competition.
Her passion shows, more so than the other girls. The fact that her family drove 5 hours down from Johor to KL for the auditions is just one example of how bad she wants it. And for that I give her credit.
Cindy in Precinct 2 – still not good, but getting better
The problem with Cindy is that she tries too hard.
During the Women’Secret photoshoot, Cindy tries to be sexy, but often times her sex appeal borderlines on being trashy. Instead of taking small steps one at a time, Cindy tends to do things her on way and ends up falling all over the place. Her catwalk at 1Utama was the very definition of the word ‘atrocious’.
Cindy in White Summer – shows how youthful and happy she looks. It’s her best shoot so far
She has a lot to learn lah, but I wish that she goes far in this competition because I can see that she wants it very much.
Jay
To vote Jay, SMS DREAM 07 and send it to 33001
Jaishana Loganathan is the most experienced model of the top 12, having done many runway shows and appearing on magazine covers as recently as February.
Jay in Women’Secret – whatever she’s selling here I’m buying
In Malaysian Dreamgirl, Jay sets the standards for all the other girls, and many of them are still struggling to catch up.
But being experienced does not automatically mean that you will win this competition. This show goes for 10 weeks. And viewers will get bored easily if she does not produce something that will blow people pants off with each photoshoot.
Jay in Precinct 2 – one word: WOW.
When I last blogged about Malaysian Dreamgirl, many kennysia.com readers criticised Jay for having a “man face”. Seriously, I don’t see that as being a problem. Jay was great in the Women’Secret photoshoot. But when it comes to Precinct 2 where they all have to dress up like men, Jay’s shoot completely blew all her competition away.
I just could not understand why she came up in the Bottom 3 last week.
Jay in White Summer – not her best, but it shows her versatility in her photoshoots
Vote for her dammit. Jay is Top 3 material.
Adeline
To vote Adeline, SMS DREAM 01 and send it to 33001
Her name is Adeline Lee and her favourite food is SOO-SEE! π
Enough about her lack of fluency in English. π Honestly, she has improved a lot after staying with the girls.
Adeline in Women’Secret – aka “Har? What am I doing here?”
Adeline consistently takes amazing photos, except maybe for the ones where tries to look cool because those ones made her look like a clueless duck instead.
Adeline in Precinct 2 – even the chair looked better than her
Adeline’s favourite Malaysian model is Amber Chia.
In more ways than one, Adeline reminds me of Amber. That’s very good because Amber is a very successful model. But that’s also very bad because like Amber pretty much only appeals to the Chinese market and not the mainstream.
But Adeline is actually one of the better contestants left on the show. Not as good as Jay or Nadia, but good nonetheless.
Adeline in Precinct 2 – nice and sweet, but how come all her smiles look the SAME!?
I thought her photos are the best among all the girls in the White Summer photoshoot.
Fiqa
To vote Fiqa, SMS DREAM 05 and send it to 33001
She’s my favourite at the start of the competition.
Me likey this photo of her.
Fiqa in Women’Secret – seductive. I like.
Very vogue. Very mysterious. Tasteful.
I like her looks, I like her personality. Nur Afiqa Liyana Chong is a tomboy trapped in a woman’s body, and I’ve got a thing for that too.
During the auditions, she playfully played with her tongue piercing and that was enough to win me over. Hehe.
Fiqa in Precinct 2 – looks like an ad for an expensive scotch whiskey
But somehow, while the photos of the other girls keeps getting better and better, Fiqa’s photos seem to get worse and worse.
Since the Women’Secret photoshoot, none of Fiqa’s other photos seem to make an impression. Even on the show, Fiqa was quite forgettable. She seems to have lost the X-factor as the show progresses. Her bitch-hunt against Cindy may have worked, but it earned her a few detractors as well.
Me no likey these photos of her.
Fiqa in White Summer – I really only like the third pic. The others are crap.
Fiqa was on the bottom 3 last week. At this stage of the competition, I gotta say I am not surprised.
Ringo
To vote Ringo, SMS DREAM 11 and send it to 33001
Now here’s a tough one for me to judge.
It’s no secret that I know Cheesie and that I’m close friends with her. As her friend, obviously I wanted her to go far.
Ringo in Women’Secret – all the curves in all the right places
At the same time, I don’t wanna be accused of biasness and let the show lose credibility. This show cannot afford to lose credibility. Which is why during the auditions, I sat back and let the other two judges decide whether to put her through to the Top 12 or not. They decided against it, so I got nothing to say.
(By chance, one of the original Top 12 pulled out and Ringo was called back in.)
But still, you gotta be impressed with Ringo’s photoshoot after her makeover.
Ringo in Precinct 2 – too cute to be masculine
Ringo is the smallest in size among all the girls, but yet she’s able to deliver results in her photoshoots. With the exception of Precinct 2, all her photos turned out amazing.
No doubt Ringo is gonna stay in the competition for a long time in part due to the huge following of her blog. This competition is based on popular votes, yes, and her fans are gonna vote to keep her in. None of the other contestants have that advantage. Question is, can they win over Ringo’s fan base?
Ringo in White Summer – I think she’s the best among all the girls in this photoshoot
Well, if even an accomplished singer like Dayang can lose out to Suki in One In A Million, surely that’s saying something about the fickle-mindedness of Malaysian fans.
Hanis
To vote Hanis, SMS DREAM 06 and send it to 33001
“Datin” Hanis, the public’s favourite contestant from Malaysian Dreamgirl.
Hanis in Women’Secret – looking older than she actually is
Almost every single one of my friend who watches the show enjoy watching Hanis.
Whether it’s that little dance she did when Jimmy praised her, or her manja voice everytime she does an on-screen interview, or how cute she looks when she cries everytime a girl leaves the house – Malaysia just could not get enough of Hanis the Manis.
Hanis in Precinct 2 – something looks a bit strange here
I can see why. Hanis is a little girl who comes across like she is everybody’s high school best friend. All my female friends watching the show told me that they can relate to Hanis as a young innocent girl put into a stressful situation.
There is no denying of Hanis’ popularity, but the problem here is – Hanis cannot take good pictures!
Hanis in White Summer – looks like a toothpaste ad for people wearing braces
We have done three photoshoots so far, and all of them came up subpar.
How lah to model with photos like that?
Nadia
To vote Nadia, SMS DREAM 09 and send it to 33001
Not only does she have the best body (in my opinion) among the top 12, Nadiah Johary is easily the most confident of the lot.
That is a compliment to her because in modelling, confidence equals sexy.
Nadia in Women’Secret – ooh la la.
And Nadia is incredibly sexy.
The only thing working against Nadia is that she comes across being very competitive. Even more so than Cindy.
As much as I think she’s one of the best in the Top 12, Malaysian Dreamgirl is based on popular vote. People might not like her and people might eliminate her although she is good, just like how the people eliminated Eyna.
Nadia in Precinct 2 – oozing confidence like only Nadia can.
When she first came for the auditions, the judges all agree that Nadia comes across a little “fierce”. It’s in her eyes and the way she portrays herself. But in her defence, being “fierce” may not necessarily be a bad thing. Angelina Jolie is “fierce” too, but look at where she is now.
(Personally I’d like to see Nadia in a tight-fitting leather suit carrying a whip, but that’s a different story for another day.)
Nadia in Precinct 2 – smiles are too wide making her look awkward, but oh so feminine
That being said, she gotta tone down the attitude a bit when it comes to photoshoots and it seems like she is listening to the judges’ advice. Because of that, Nadia has produced better and better photos, and that is a testament to how seriously this girl takes this competition. I like that.
At this point of the competition, if Nadia wins I’ll be very, very proud.
This must be longest blog entry I’ve written since the interviews I did for the Elections, so I sure hope people WATCH THE SHOW!
MDG fever is sweeping the country. There’s a Facebook group created here. Read what other bloggers are saying over here. There’s also a multitude of contests to keep people occupied over here.
And with only 4 weeks left till the end, it goes without saying that voting is extremely crucial at this point.
Who will win Malaysian Dreamgirl?