Winter Olympics – are they really ‘sports’?

The Winter Olympics are obviously the stunted, pale-faced cousin of the Summer Olympics, and after watching some events on the TV I have to ask the question, are these really ‘sports’?

Many of the events seem to be merely exercises in ‘death avoidance’.

Ski Jumping

Sure, every kid enjoys the thrill of riding over a small jump on his bike, but a hundred metres of hurtling through thin air with the high chance of being smashed to pieces begs the question, is the gold medal really worth having all future meals injected intravenously.

But the most insane event is quite clearly the Luge/Skeleton

This must be the only sporting event that you can take part in AGAINST YOUR WILL.

With your head milimetres away from being torn off by ice that is flying past at 100 mph, I don’t think they need to bother giving out medals – ‘still being alive’ is rewards enough.

Next, my inability to comprehend the attraction of Ice Hockey.

The padded men are huge, yet the puck is so miniature, I have literally no idea what is happening. Suddenly one team celebrates, and I ‘presume’ they have scored. That’s no way to watch sport.

Plus, what kind of sport features, nay PRIDES ITSELF, on the fact that players can fist fight whenever they want to.

Surely no organised game should legitimately feature this next photo.

And finally, CURLING.

Olympians train everyday for 20/30 years to attain greatness in a sport, and you chose this one?!

The concept of boules/bowling is lame enough, but to bring in those mops is just a step too far into comedy. And when you sweep so furiously, are you slowing it down, or speeding it up? I can’t even work it out.

Maybe it is just the times when i turned on the TV, but I have only ever seen women take part in Curling. Is this a cruel sexist joke or do men also impress their kids and grandkids taking part in this?

These are a few of my favourite things

A fashion magazine asked me for my ‘15 favourite items‘, and where to buy them – a shopper’s guide of sorts. I am a bad person to ask because I never go shopping, and care nothing for Fashion, but I did look around my apartment, and compiled this list!

Shan Wee, 987FM DJ – 15 Things

1. black and purple Adidas Superstar shell toe sneakers. Bought at the Adidas shop in The Cathay. Like a real man, I only own 3 pairs of shoes, so rest assured, these get a lot of use.

2. iPhone ‘cassette’ sleeve. Made by Griffin Technology. Bought at the Apple store at Wheelock. I constantly listen to music on my iPhone, so I like the irony that it looks like a cassette player in an age where many people have never even handled a cassette.

3. reflective blue aviator glasses. Rayban. Makes me feel like an LA cop in the early 80’s.

4. blue Adidas bracelet/thumbdrive. Adidas store at Pacific Plaza. It looks like it’s just a sporty piece of man jewellery, but then you unhook it and it is actually a thumbdrive. It’s like wearing your very own Transformer Autobot.

5. Dentsu ‘Edamame’ key chain. Gift  from Japan. It holds your keys AND humorously resembles the Japanese vegetable snack.

6. Sennheiser earphones. Bought at Jaben, a store in the Adelphi, next to Funan. Blocks out the world so my tunes can play.

7. Grey suit. From Kingsmen, in Far East Plaza. At the age of 27 I had my first ever proper suit tailor made. Apparently you have to have it dry cleaned, can’t just throw it in the machine. Yeah, I didn’t know either.

8. photo frame of a ticket to ride the Bungee at Clarke Quay. My girlfriend kept the ticket from our first date – the Reverse Bungee. That’s right ladies. Shan Wee = Romance.

9. Taboo, the board game, bought at Toys’r’Us, Paragon. No house party is complete without couples falling out over ‘how stupid can you be! Of course it was the Eiffel Tower!’

10. White ‘comic strip’ belt from River Island, Raffles City. Keeps my pants up. Keeps the child in me alive.

11. Calvin Klein nail clipper set. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have good nail clippers in your life. These were a gift from my father. Best thing he ever gave me. Second only to the Gift of Existence. A close second.

12. Asterix book. Bought in Kinokuniya, Takashimaya. When I was a kid, I would spend endless happy days in the local library reading about the adventures of Asterix.

13. Bad Motherf**ker Wallet. Bought online at http://www.pulpfictionwallets.com . This is the exact wallet used by Samuel L. Jackson in the Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction. All I need now is for the afro to kick in.

14. thin white Umbro sports shirt, bought at Mustafa. Keeps me cool for every soccer match. As cool as you can be in life-threateningly humid Singapore.

15. black wig, from Cheeks costume store in Far East Plaza. This curly black wig has been invaluable for numerous Halloween creations. I have been Edward Scissorhands, Michael Jackson, Slash from Guns’n’Roses – all thanks to the Wig.

Top 10 music moments from concerts I have attended

Green Day, Belfast, 1997 – When I was about 13, we had a school musical production of the Wizard of Oz. My friend Sheldon and I were in the chorus line of munchkins. He gave me a casette of Green Day’s ‘Dookie, and that was my first taste of rock’n’roll!

I was about 15 and this was my first ever concert. I remember Billie Joe finished by playing Good Riddance on his own, and at the end he threw his electric guitar down, strings first, for a very ‘punk’ ending to the gig. My younger brother waas crowd surfing down the front, but I was probably too scared.

Smashing Pumpkins, London, 2000 – This is the band my brother and I grew up worshipping, and we got to see ‘what might have been their last gig’ at that time. For the last song all 4 members, even the monstrous drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, played ‘1979’ on acoustic guitars. It was like tenderly saying goodbye to someone for the last time.

Radiohead, Tokyo, 2004 – The moment in Fake Plastic Trees where they step up to the final verse and you feel like a spaceship soaring through the solar system! 2.44m in this video

Fort Minor, Singapore, 2006 – Don Richmond and myself were like school girls giggling with excitement as we rapped along to Petrified, thinking we were the biggest Homie G rap stars ever.

U2, Melbourne, 2006 – the emotion of the family themed ‘Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own’ especially as standing next to me was Rozz and her brother, hugging and remembering their late mother.

Kings of Convenience, Singapore, 2007 – I don’t remember what song it was, but the moment where they turned the lights completely off, and we were left there in pitch black, wrapped up in their warm harmonies.

My Chemical Romance, Los Angeles, 2007 – their use of costumes, lighting and confetti guns was outstanding, and the biggest thrill was probably in Mama, when the heaviest riff began, massive flame throwers exploded at the front of the stage. That would have been at 2.52m in this video. If they had had flame throwers.

Black Eyed Peas, Singapore, 2007 – the moment where they turned all the lights off and had everyone waving their cell phones from side to side – the modern version of the lighter! It was a magical night sky of dancing lights! Then they started into Where is the Love.

Keane, Singapore, 2008 – they played a surprise encore; a cover of Under Pressure, which may possibly be my favourite song of all time.

Coldplay, Singapore, 2008 – quite simply the greatest show I have ever seen, with the ecstacy reaching its pinnacle when the final third of Fix You kicks in with the 4 voices harmonizing. 4.30m in this video

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