tnppostwoman.com archives

Germaine Says: Buying Christmas presents has never been my forte. I never know what to get friends and family.

Besides, I prefer to splurge on more indulgent presents on birthdays. And even then, I sometimes ask the recipients what they’d like. After all, what’s a present when someone doesn’t like it and won’t ever come close to using it? 

This year, however, marks a departure. I want to get everyone around me a little something. Maybe the gloom of the prevailing economic downturn has inspired this change and wanting to spread a little Christmas cheer has driven this ‘mission’. Suffice to say, the shopping bit hasn’t been wallet-friendly. Little amounts added up rather substantially.

So now that I’ve busted the budget and can’t afford to buy anything anymore, I’ve turned to the next best option: handmade gifts. A friend warned me, “Don’t even bother. They won’t appreciate it.” But I have no choice and time is running out. Besides, the overly crowded streets of Orchard Road scare me.

While I have never been an arts and craft person (I never did well in the subject at school), I’ve been in a baking frenzy. Why not put my trusty mixer and oven to good use and treat my friends, I thought. Hopefully, my friends will appreciate the effort. It doesn’t take much to spread a little Christmas cheer in such gloomy recessionary times.

After all, it’s the thought that counts.

Tell Us: How are you keeping costs low during this festive, gift-giving period? What do you think of handmade gifts?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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Since the season to be merry has been somewhat tainted by the economic crisis,people are increasingly frugal and gone are the days most of us can expect extravagant presents.That does not mean the Christmas spirit is purged, as if they are the number of digits on the bank account balances. Here are a number of ways to keep costs low while engaging in the festivities.

.Be selective about where we shop, lots of bargain stores such as Daiso carry little ornaments which will fit snugly at homes anywhere for the price of two dollars. It’s probably made from the same factory as those nine dollar ornaments at upmarket stores anyway,why pay more?

.A festival meal does not have to cost an arm and a leg.With merchants comprehending the depths of the the economic crisis,the likes of Waruku are presenting bigger portions and better valued set meals. A conversation over a meal can make a great gift.

.Buying things in bulk can help.A gifts store had a little fair at Suntec Atrium featuring impeccably packaged sweets at just over a dollar per pack.That can be a nice heart warmer for casual friends.

.Drinks tend to be cheaper by the carton behind close doors, as compared to those found within mugs in clubs. A house party tends to be messier but easier on the pocket. It helps in avoiding hefty taxi bills as well. Just sleep in and hit the first train/bus the next morning.

Home made gifts are a real option.True friends will not sulk at such presents because they can be straight from the heart and easier on the pocket.One should not look at the gift horse in the mouth and for most cases, the value of the presents should be secondary to the emotions invested. Whether it’s little knick knacks or home made butterscotch cookies, they can all make a real friend smile. The time invested is just as valuable as thick wads of cash spent making hefty purchases. At least true friends will appreciate it, as for the rest of the folks who may be less sincere, the less we talk about them, the better!

Peng Tie Lun

Germaine Says: Some of us aspire to the lifestyles of the rich and the famous.

And enterprising celebrities have made their lifestyles accessible by launching personal products.

You may begin by spritzing Magnifique to smell like Anne Hathaway, who is the face of the Lancome perfume. For Halle Berry’s enviable complexion, put on some Revlon makeup.

Now, celebrities are banking on real estate endorsements in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), even if there are no obvious links between both parties.

Hilary Swank, Brad Pitt and Shah Rukh Khan have been named as spokespersons for various properties in the UAE.

While Khan has played movie characters involved in the construction business, Pitt is perhaps the most accomplished ‘builder’ of the trio as he is involved in a rebuilding project in Hurricane Katrina-devastated New Orleans.

Champion golfer Tiger Woods has also swung his way into Dubai with a 200-membership residential golf community. Not to be outdone, design gurus like Donatella Versace, Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld are introducing their fashionable way of life with eponymous residences and hotels.

Do such ventures lead us closer to celestial living?

For one, you would need at least US$7 million to get your hands on one of these exclusive properties. And even if you are loaded, sale of projects like Swank-endorsed The World is by invitation only.

Tell us: Will you be sold on such brand name associations? Will you buy a property because your favourite idol is its ambassador?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number. 

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LETTERS VIA E-MAIL

Branding is a very delicate business. When a celebrity is linked with a product because of obvious connections, it can be a mutually beneficial arrangement. For example, if Korean actress Song Hye Kyo flashes her fair skin as she convinces TV viewers about the benefits of a skin whitener, Miss Song will have a heavier wallet and the cases of skin whiteners will disappear instantaneously from storehouses. They will make their way to the hands of adoring fans who wants to emulate their favourite stars’ skin. However, if there is no direct bridge between the product and the celebrity, it can appear misguided at best and mercenary at worst. How many dodgy advertisements featuring celebrities and inappropriate products do we need?

Singapore is a very pragmatic society and people will not be easily swayed when it comes to expensive products. It’s one thing to convince someone to shell out a few bucks and another to make them take up a massive commitment like a house. Just think about the massive endorsement fees that the celebrities will command and where all the money comes from. As much as I like a celebrity, I will not spend my hard-earned money lining his pockets to such a massive scale. A CD, concert, or even a perfume in his name, sure. Getting a ‘Song Hye Kyo’ apartment for twice that of a similarly positioned but unbranded unit is simply out of the question.

In such economically lean times, people will err on the side of safety and it’s intriguing why people would shell out massive sums. As the gap between the rich and poor widens, social ills will becoming increasingly dominant. The money that a single rich person spends on luxuries can serve the needs of many poor folks. May the rich always retain their social consciousness!
Peng Tie Lun

Shah Rukh Khan has this exclusive property in UAE - The Shah Rukh Khan Boulevard - and from endorsing watches to budget cars (which of course he does not use) to satellite TV operators, the list goes on.

It leaves me to ponder why we have given celebrities so much importance in our lives, that instead of trying to find ourselves, we are caught aping others.
Clothes, watches, perfumes are understandable. But why would I want to stay in a place that has walls painted of Shah Rukh? It doesn’t make sense. If we try to build a home where we would live with peace and love, then what is Mr Khan doing there?

The fault is clearly in us, as we have been time and again misled, wearing the same shoes as Beyonce doesn’t make you Beyonce, applying L’Oreal makeup doesn’t make you Aishwarya Rai and living in The Shah Rukh Khan Boulevard doesn’t make Mr Khan your neighbour.

How realistic would such a world be? Isn’t it enough that we see them weekly for three hours of entertainment? But letting them take over our lives like this is complete madness. I guess those houses were built for the hardcore SRK fans, who would wait hours at the airport to get a glimpse of him, and now they’d just prefer to wait a lifetime.

I would hardly buy a perfume if my favorite celebrity is an ambassador if I don’t like it. But I guess there is a majority of people out there who would, that’s why such brand associations are made. What leaves me perplexed is do people get the brands because they are good or solely based on the fact that it is endorsed by their favourite celebrity?
Sadhna Rai

Raven Says: It’s Halloween this Friday. And you can be sure people will out clubbing in full force in all manners of costumes and getups.

Judging from previous 31 Oct parties, I’m a little bewildered. Where along the lines of ’scary’ did sexy nurses or flapper dancers occur? In the throes of prose woven by Poe, Wilde and others  frolicking in the gothic genre, how did I miss the part about Pamela Anderson-with-fangs? Or the crazy zombie stripper girls?

If Halloween dressing up is about scaring someone silly, then should it be about ghouls and demons and hooded creatures? Not sexy fishnet stockings and stiletto heels?

Fear in the times it’s most celebrated has always highlighted the subtle terrors of that most terrifying to the day. Dorian Gray focuses on the loss of youth, Dracula on the sensual and foreign, Frankenstein and Phantom of the Opera both exude the agony and effect of social and emotional ostracism in a time when it was most prevalent.

Perhaps this year, it’ll be different. If societal fears are indeed the fashion after which to mould our halloween horrors on, then this year, we should all dress up as house repossession letters, rejected credit card slips, or crashing stock market charts. Then again, Pamela Anderson with fangs would probably be less depressing.

Tell Us: What are you dressing up for Halloween this year? Will you be curbing your Halloween and year-end revelry in light of the looming recession?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

Germaine Says: Going back to nature and better still, organic ingredients are beauty’s new rules of thumb.

Demi Moore admitted early this year to using leeches as part of her beauty regime to “detoxify blood” and retain her youthfulness. The Indecent Proposal star also famously transformed her fledgling career and bagged a cute and younger husband after shelling out a reported £260,000 (S$651,000) on plastic surgery.
 
The latest buzz on the mill is Victoria Beckham religiously uses nightingale poo to combat acne. Now that takes the icing on the cake.

Other suspicious ingredients that reportedly promote an improved appearance include snake’s venom which works like Botox, snail secretion for cell regeneration and bull’s semen for shampoo commercial-worthy mane. Sounds far-fetched? Apparently not.

Whether it is to prolong their careers or simply for vanity’s sake, celebrities are not alien to resorting to alarming antics for beauty. Isn’t it true that humankind gravitate to hope, even if it were just a semblance of it? So as long as a product or treatment offers significant results that one longs for, surely there is no harm just trying it. After all, these questionable ingredients have been processed and (manufacturers’ guarantee) thoroughly sterilised before being pumped into products. How deep will you delve for an wrinkle-free and unblemished complexion?

Tell Us: Does the relentless quest to eternal youth and perfect complexion warrant such ‘extreme’ acts? Should we frown at unconventional ingredients to enhance aesthetics?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number. 

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LETTERS VIA E-MAIL

I feel that nature’s gifts are not intended to change what nature has given us.Of course i am referring to our looks.Apparently humans are not bounded by this ideology ,judging from the vast number of stars who have probed into various facets of nature in the hopes of obtaining wonder cures for their ailments or imperfections. Ultimately, the stars are not necessarily nature lovers and most of them do not care what happens to nature. It’s a mercenary world out there, money talks,If there are stars after specific rare elements of nature for their selfish endeavors, there will be bounty hunters out in the wilds to fulfill their needs.

Do ponder for a moment what kind of effects human beings are placing on mother nature. Forests are razed and fields are impoverished all in the name of the greater good.Whose greater good? Humanity’s or the world’s ? We are slowly but surely destroying the world we’re living in. The stars merely form a tiny subset of humanity and their notoriety merely serves to illustrates the selfishness of mankind.I certainly feel there is no need for stars to go to great lengths to provide more longevity for their mortal shells.The celebrity world may be a harshly realistic one, but why are celebrities fueling skin deepness to such great extents?

We should certainly frown at such dubious ways of maintaining beauty.Even if we ignore the celebrities, at least spare a thought for the wildlife and animals out there. The next snail you spot may land up on a plate as a piece of tasty escargot after it’s secretion has been removed in the name of cell regeneration purposes in beauty products. How’s that to prove our love of nature?

Peng Tie Lun

Germaine Says: So the F1 weekend has finally come and gone.

And what a jam-packed three days of glamourous parties, fine dining and celebrity-spotting it has been. From the F1 party at Attica, to the Vertu party at IndoChine, to the Motor Racing Golf & Gala Dinner on Sentosa. And celebrities like Michelle Yeoh, former F1 driver Damon Hill and 2008 Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza were spotted. Not to mention the slew of eateries around the F1 track which revved up their menus with special F1-related weekend deals.

But in terms of our shopping and nightlife sector, how much have we benefitted from having our first night race on the streets of Singapore? Retailers in the Marina area lamented empty stores and quiet malls as Singaporeans stayed away because of the road closures.

I think we should take things into context. Of course, with hosting a huge event like this, there will be inconveniences on a local scale. But this is the premier motor-racing event in the world and hosting this has put us on the world map with countries like Japan, Italy, Brazil and of course, our neighbour Malaysia. And at the dollar being targetted is not yours but the tourists who come to witness this event.

What’s a few days of inconvenience compared to such bragging rights?

Tell Us: How do you think hosting the F1 race here has helped our entertainment sector? Should we host more races in the future?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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As one of the volunteers in orange overalls,I was standing under the sweltering heat for days on end to end,Hence i can’t claim to be any kind of expert on the FnB options around the vicinity.All i had was packed food and Nuts bars for days.The last thing i would be doing would be to spend my hard earned dollars on overpriced tourist baits.However i do have a few observations to mention.On my way to the track side, i did not notice any significant crowd increment in Citylink Mall nor Marina Square. Throngs of people were there doing their thing as usual. I did not witness any huge crowds at any of the food outlets either.Then again i am always there around noon and the crowd really gets overwhelming at night, closer to race hours.We have all heard of the exorbitant charges some restaurants and hotels have been charging for prime viewing spots during race time, but i don’t think that pocket of a few hours will give our FnB outlets any kind of sig! nificant boost.

As for the other topic, i do believe international events such as IOC 05′ and GP:SG 08′ should be hosted whenever possible for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, tourists may not spend that much on food, but they definitely need a place to stay.The boost to our hotel industry is a massive boon.International VIPS who bump into town for our events may like what they see and see Singapore in a better light.Those global heavyweights can certainly play a part in strengthening our economy with their massive investments!Secondly, it gives our amenities such as the much heralded Singapore International Airport more airtime and that rise in profile will benefit Singapore in both a long and short termed basis.If we can handle such massive crowds, it’s virtually a badge of pride for our operations. Thirdly,it challenges Singapore’s otherwise arguably rigid administration to loosen up and pursue new perspective and angles. Creating the race track in the middle o! f town has to be a innovation we should be proud of.To fit in a long race track in the middle of town entailed a huge shift in mindsets and point of views.We made it happen! Fourthly,there is no better way to tickle sporting afficionados than to present to them their sporting heroes in blood and flesh right in front of them. If you told someone else we would host a night GP a decade ago, we’ll probably get laughed in our faces. Look whose laughing now?

Peng Tie Lun

Jeanmarie Says: As a teetotaler, I’m on the fence when it comes to the budding trend of enjoying pre and post-movie drinks.

My typical routine goes like this: Book tickets online. Dilly-dally at home. Discover I’m running late for the movie even though I had ample time to get ready. Curse through peak-hour traffic as I rush to the cinema. Not enough time to grab dinner, so smuggle a burger in. And maybe buy some nachos and cheese in case I get hungry again. Movie ends. Head home, cursing through the jumping taxi meter. Gee, that sounds pretty sad.

However, unlike myself, an increasing number of Singaporeans have decided to take it slow and easy by indulging in wines, beers and even Cosmopolitans before or after watching a film at outlets like EBar@The Cathay and VivoCity Gold Class lounge which are located near and within the cineplexes respectively.

Although alcohol makes me 1) red 2) puke 3) and sleepy (in that order), I’m all for making the moviegoing experience more leisurely, relaxing and creative. Just as long as these people don’t booze until they are sloshed and get all rowdy during the screening. That will be so much worse than morons who yak on their handphones or dissect the plot - at least they don’t stink.

Maybe then we’ll see the birth of a new breed of cinema pests?

Tell Us: What do you think of cinemas which offer alcoholic drinks before or after the screening? Would you opt for a beer or a Coke before you catch a show?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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It may be innovative but I strongly feel that boozing within the cinema premises, prior to a movie should be discouraged. To assume that patrons will most probably be able to limit their alcohol intake is an understatement.

My advice to movie operators: please weigh the pros and cons and be mindful of the purpose of patron’s trip to the cinema.

Its a time for them to take a breather, relax and most importantly to watch a movie in PEACE!

Try telling someone who just had alcohol consumption to either, ” lower your voice”, or something to that matter and chances are you’ll end up getting punched. Things will definitely turn ugly. Do we want that to happen? Do we want easy accessibility to liqour at cinemas for patrons?

Why ask for trouble? Prevention is better than cure, so total elimination of the idea is highly recommendable.

If you must drink, by all means do so, but do go to the pubs or nightspots.

Families, school children are some of the frequent movie go-ers.

So please spare a thought for them.

Anna Law

I am a coke person while my son is more of a Homer Simpson type. So I guess I will be visiting the snacks stall while the small devil sits down comfortably in the Gold Class lounge sampling his booze and wondering why I always take so long.
Our small garden city does not offer too much in terms of entertainment for the locals.
Usually Singaporeans spend their leisure time at the cinemas, not many people like to brave the sun and storm to go Sentosa or visit the animals in the zoos.
So we spend our money at the cinemas, at the popcorn stalls, at the video games café besides the cinemas and now we have bars to quench our alcoholic spirits.
It is a pretty decent way to make money from the rich, speaking from the cinema owners’ perspective.
Build bigger cinemas, charge even higher prices, throw in some perks and charge even higher and higher fees. So there you are, the lounge for the upper class.
It would be convenient for those with deeper pockets as they get to sit and wait for their movie to begin instead of walking aimlessly around the mall. At the same time they can enjoy small chat over a glass of wine with their companions. You can trust those guys to keep it sober when they enter the movies.
For those who hate the long queue at the carpark or escalators after a show, they can also slip into the lounge and sip a martini or Tiger beer.
Drinking is definitely not for your average office worker or teenage bengs as they usually get their kick from coffeeshops or supermarkets’ beer and wine aisle. So you can still enjoy your movie in peace, rest assured!

Ong Kok Wah

Chill out lounges are a new concept here and only a handful of cinemas offer them. Personally I do not see the potential for growth for these lounges as they are quite exclusive and common folks like you and me are not really ready to spurge on such a luxury.

Given the expensive rentals for space in shopping centres nowadays, the lounges really do need to attract a large enough crowd to be profitable. In our fast paced society, how many of us will arrive an hour or two before the screening of our show just to sip alcohol casually in the cinemas’ lounge? With the convenience of telephone and internet booking, many people arrive barely on time to collect their tickets and head straight for the movies. Time is a scarce item.

So is money. These lounges charge higher prices than your NTUC fairprice or Cheers for alcohol and you can find these minimarts coexisting in the same building as the cinemas’ lounge. Would people waste that extra few dollars just for the comfort of being able to sit down and sip their tipple leisurely? Throw in the rising costs of movie tickets, normal folks will really feel the pinch if they visit these lounges as well.

Of course I do see that these lounges are good for a dating couple or some rich businessmen who do not want to roam the malls and shopping centres before the start of a movie. Couples may enjoy some private time away from the crowd and if they are watching a romantic movie, it might just get them into the right loveydovey mood. Rich people watch Gold Class and choose to stay away from the throngs of people usually present in shopping centers.

Jeanmarie is right in that we do not want drunkards sharing the theatres with us. Just give us a few episodes of drinking trouble and the cinemas and lounges will be under fire from the movie-going crowd. Are the movie stewards prepared to restrain a tipsy troublemaker and prevent him from disturbing the peace of other audiences?

We do not want to encourage drinking and also drink driving. Many of us drive to the theatres during the weekeends and if therr is the option of drinking after the show and avoiding the mad rush for the carparks, some might just oblige. Yet unlike pubs and clubs, these cinemas do not have people to drive a drunk customer home. We do not want an increase in drunk driving and associated accidents just because there are more lounges springing up just beside our cinemas.

Hng Pek Khee

Sheela Says: What does your favourite drink say about you? In 2005, a UK-based chartered psychologist spent a week in a pub and to actually try to answer this question.

Apparently, if you are a red wine drinker you are a mature person and if you drink a white Zindafel - an inexpensive quaffable fruity white wine - you think you’re sophisticated but actually you have no clue. Women who drink cosmopolitans are Sex and The City fanatics and Carrie Bradshaw wannabes and men who drink cosmopolitans are well, gay.

Apparently it makes it easier for someone at the bar to figure out your personality based on your drink before they hit on you. I happen to be a gin and tonic, Bloody Mary and dirty martini drinker with an occasional yen for a glass of champagne and a Mexican beer with a twist of lime - not necessarily on the same night. What does that say about me?

I think what  your drink should say about you is that you just want to have a good time, relaxing at your favourite bar with your poison of choice. We play enough mind games at the office… do we really need them at the bar? If you really want to get to know person, just buy them drink and start a conversation.

Tell Us: Does your favourite tipple say anything about you ? Or is it all just cocktail pop psychobabble?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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LETTERS VIA E-MAIL

Our favourite booze speaks volumes about us. First it might reveal where we come from, you have Singaporeans overseas asking for the Singapore Sling in the bars and pubs, you see an expatriate drinking the Irish Car Bomb or a Guinness Stout you know he is Irish or if he is sipping the Bordeaux Clairet or Chenas you are looking at Mr France. There is more to it of course. The more adventurous of us prefer the shots and flaming martinis, the mature ones the XOs and VSOPs if they are rich or just Tiger beer if they are not. Then you have those who just want a good time on a nightout without too much excitement and they might just choose a Blue Haiwaiian or a Long Island. Also ever wonder why bartenders put so much efforts into naming their drinks? Precisely because drinks convey a message, so actually your favourite drink is your way of sending out a signal to other observers. Drinks like Sex on the beach and Kiss on the Lips could mean you are a hopeless romantic. Doctors and nurses might just like Painkillers and Grateful Dead. It is also no surprise the Americans are increasingly falling for Bushwacker and Obama’s favourite drink is El Presidente.

Tan Wei Teng

Do you think your favourite tipple says something about your personality?

To a large extent, it is true. Your favourite tipple usually says a lot about your lifestyle and personality. For instance people who prefer wine usually depicts luxury and status. Fruity mixed drinks tend to attract people who are more fun and frivolous. In other words, even though drinks may not be as accurate as real scientific tests, it is still useful in giving us a rough idea about a person’s personality.

Amelda Nira Hamdan

Jeanmarie Says: You know what they say: First impressions count.

So it’s probably with no surprise that now a local dating agency has decided to marry cosmetic surgery and the dating game. It has tied up with a medical group to introduce cosmetic enhancements for its clients.

No doubt, the agency says it does not force clients to get Botox injections or fix their single eyelids. And as the dating industry here gets more competitive, agencies have been gearing up with all kinds of extras and gimmicks to corner the lucrative singles market. But do these two industries make strange bedfellows?

Clients of this dating agency who have undergone such procedures say they feel happier and more confident with their new appearance, and it gives them that little extra for their dates. And if it results in a happy match, why not?

Yet, other singles also feel that such a service promotes vanity and encourages dating singles to put too much emphasis on physical appearances. Besides, what if a date you actually liked found out later that your nose or your boobs aren’t really yours?

Tell Us: What do you think of such a service? If you were a dating single, would you sign up for it?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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This whole episode reeks of kimchi and bibibap. Korea has multiple
parallels with Singapore. Both countries are highly developed, have a vibrant dating industry, and now , it seems like the Korean influence has truly taken roots in our dating industry in a brand new way. Korea is a nation of cosmetic surgeries. A high percentage of folks in the streets, let alone glamorous stars have manipulated the bodies given by their parents.There is nothing inherently wrong with this. Each to his own after all. However, coupling the dating industry and cosmetic surgery industry feels like a pragmatic move for monetary means with little regard of the true element of romances.What happened to the notions and beliefs of fate and natural beauty? The disembodiment of romantic notions is but the tip of the ice berg in this escalating problem.

The dating industry attempts to speed match people together based on what dating agencies perceive to be compatibility. This is already as artificial as matchmaking done by wrinkly parents in the older days.

Folks in the older days are traditional enough and will try their best to overcome this artificial beginning and stick together. The current dating industry plays the role of the collaborator to differing degrees of success. At best, they are able to combine a bunch of folks together and plaster happy wedding photographs to bait in more customers for good measure, at worst, such artificial combinations falls flat on its face one day, just like silicon implants do not stay on properly forever.

As mentioned above, folks this days are more free willed and are unlikely to have long lasting marriages from such artificial arrangements. Now let’s add an added layer of complication by presenting wannabe Romeos and Juliets all artificially manipulated to look their best prior to their meetings. The result is unlikely to be pretty or satisfactory in the long run. No one in their right mind would be asking a first date ,” Is every part of you authentic?” as that will land you a slap across the cheeks. The Dating industry does a lot of the dirty work, breaking down people into systematic fact files for artificial and human intelligence to dissect and match.In reality that is underestimating the complications of human psychology.The entire dating chain will be accelerated and there will be little opportunity for skeletons in the closets like plastic surgeries to be made known.However. if such details aren’t made known early in the relationship, it’s a likely cause of tensions later on in the marriage.

To conclude, i deem combining the dating and cosmetic surgery industry a pure monetary based marriage of convenience, if you forgive the pun, and it’s something i will not engage in if i want to preserve my sanity, would you?

Peng Tie Lun

My point of view if u want to enhance your physical appearance to score points by all means as this doesnt have any emotional impact lying about your true self. But please do remember and appreaciate what god have given us.

Suhaimi Norman

Sheela Says: When my girlfriends and I decide to have drinks on Wednesday night, it’s almost become a no-brainer. Head to almost any club and you’re likely to be courted by Ladies Night - plied with free drink coupons and free cover charge.

But throughout my years of feeling privileged as the fairer sex, it feels that Ladies Night has turned into a bit of a bore. Every other club is trying to outdo each other - from spa vouchers to full manicures and pedicures. One club even decided to be choosy by only letting in women of a certain age, and elicited a whole barrage of complaints.

My guy friends say I shouldn’t complain - that at least I’m getting benefits just for being a woman. Which got me thinking - how about a Men’s Night? In the US, there are sports bars where men gather for Monday night football and free beers. It draws the men and the women get a good eyeful too.

But could it work here? It didn’t before. Maxspeed Sports Bar opened in 1993 and closed soon after, unable to support a bunch of testosterone-filled clubbers. Or maybe the women just weren’t biting. But what about now? After all, women are drinking almost as much as men, and are upwardly mobile enough to pay for their own drinks. Who needs to feel like a dehydrated damsel at the bar when you’ve got a Gucci bag filled with credit cards?

Tell Us: Would a Men’s Night work in clubs here? Would you patronise it?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

Raven Says: From the creators of the high quality site TheCoolHunter.net comes a shocking new site called Dear-God.net. On the site, netizens post confessions, share their feelings or ask soul-searching questions about life.

But the popularity of the site raises the question of whether humans are getting more in touch with religion, or do they just need an anonymous listener to share their load with in order to cope with life.

In a modern society so detached and alone in its crowded madness, we all seem to have lost touch with not only each other but ourselves as well. In using cyberspace as our medium for relief, do we acknowledge only a comfort taken in the unknown, or does it simply highlight that we’re really just looking for friends under guises?

I wonder how much of this concept is a support system and how much is a collective cry for help in the insanity of today’s society. If we spent less time in front of our computers and more with our peers, would there be any need for a website such as this?

Tell Us: Would you share your feelings on a site like Dear-God.net? What do you think of it?

You can leave a comment here or e-mail us at tnpshow@sph.com.sg. Don’t forget to leave us your contact details: name, age, occupation and e-mail address or telephone number.

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LETTERS VIA E-MAIL

The baring of one’s heart and soul to a trusted someone in the veils of secrecy and confidentiality was perhaps popularized by the confession boxes in the movies since a long time ago. It has allowed the protagonists a safe platform to reveal his inner-most feelings and concerns in an unobtrusive manner, thereby allowing him to attain some sort of comfort and solace.

Translating this concept into the virtual arena, we see the proliferation of sites such as Dear-God.Net (DGN). And for the uninitiated, DGN actually claims to be “totally independent and non-denominational” and is “not a religious or spiritual/new-age organization”. In fact, God is only a mere representation of the different higher beings that its seekers believe in, on the site. Hence, I wouldn’t think that there are really religious overtones in play for the popularity of such sites.

Then this brings us to the question – “Will such virtual support systems actually be non-existential if we can share our problems with our peers in reality?” And I believe this answer is really unimportant as long it serves to provide an alternative platform to air their thoughts and obtain sincere advice from others. And it is even more consoling and connecting when others who are facing similar problems can identify with your problems and share “first-hand” advice and experiences (granted they are sound).

Look no further than at home - we already have a local online youth peer support portal by youths for youths called the Audible Hearts http://audiblehearts.yah.sg/. They were initiated with the same rationale and “hopes to supplement current help-lines as an additional avenue for young people to seek advice anonymously through the Internet.”

Ultimately, we have to recognize that not everyone is comfortable with admitting to the fact to they are facing problems and subsequently sharing them on a face-to-face setting or even over the phone. It could be for reasons of not wanting to be perceived as weak or to burden the people around them. Then it could also be that some people are just more pensive in nature and prefer to consolidate their thoughts in writing rather than speech.

Therefore if we try to understand the existence of such virtual support systems from such premises, we realize they are really just like our old and trusted “confession boxes” coupled with an Intel inside, where words are communicated with a sleek keyboard and a nifty little mouse.

Benjamin Loh