I honestly think the saying is silly. It justifies nice guys to NOT actively pursue and get the girl they want, and just sort of… wait around for a rare opportunity. I feel that when it comes to love and relationships, you should do anything possible to get what you want because apart from food and sleeping in on a Saturday morning, your significant other should be something that makes your life better from every direction.

If you didn’t read Alan’s blog he made a good point which I completely agree with, the “Nice guys finish last” saying basically implies (between the lines) that douche-bags do come first! This also ties in with my theory that believes the saying is self-assurance for “nice guys”.

Personally, I completely see why girls don’t go for the nice guy who does everything for them. There is no challenge in that, therefore, the goal isn’t so rewarding. Maybe it’s also somehow tied in with our primal instincts. I mean I’m pretty sure Neanderthal women didn’t choose their mate depending on how “nice” they were. They chose a leader, an alpha, a MAN. (I’m not saying nice guys aren’t men… just speaking dramatically.)

I think one factor to this discussion that has been severely overlooked is the word “nice”. In my opinion, one of the most BORING words in the English language. Girls are unusual creatures! We shall see kindness where we want to see it; we will see the light in someone and use that light as hope to what we wish people could really be like – ESPECIALLY when it comes to boys. I mean, I’m pretty sure we’ve all had a friend who for some reason kept getting back with her a**hole boyfriend and justified it as, “but you guys, he’s actually really nice to me.” Hence, the term “nice” is way too subjective when it comes to us girls.

So an open message to “nice guys,” if you know what or who you want, there should be no reason to be that nice guy about it anymore. If this person guarantees and makes your life better, she’s worth fighting for, and you can’t be a nice guy and a fighter.

And hey, at least in the saying you actually finish! It would be even more messed up if it was “Nice guys don’t finish” instead.

On a completely different note, you all know how much I love art, so I think I’m going to make it a trend to refer you all to wonderful works of art.

Today’s pick: Gjon Mili, Picasso Drawing with Light, 1949.

See, I’m really lucky. I’m fortunate to have found two things in life I am incredibly passionate about; Education and Entertainment. (Some people never find a passion in life. But if you want to enjoy your life, I suggest you find yours.) In my mind, there really isn’t too much difference between education and entertainment. The best of education should be entertaining and the best of entertainment should be educational, even if it just helps people access their own emotions and humanity.

So as I continued to pursue my career in entertainment, I never stopped teaching or working with the youth. It never pays well (at least not in America) and it isn’t always considered the most glamorous occupation. But for those who love teaching, they know how rewarding it can truly be. Teachers are the real life modern day super heroes of the world. And they deserve way more credit than they ever receive. They have the ability to literally change the future by encouraging and inspiring the young minds of tomorrow.

I believe that we all have the responsibility (opportunity?) to leave this world a little better than we found it. I wish this were something everyone believed in. Sadly, it’s not. But teachers are on the front lines of the war against apathy, ignorance, and lethargy. They do more to improve humanity than the richest and most powerful men in the world. Money can exact change, but not nearly as extensively as education. So the next time you meet a teacher, give them a high-five, fist bump, or just simply say ‘Thank you.’ They are the heart of our society and the fuel for change.

By the way, thank you to @bibimohamad for inspiring this blog by informing me that as I write this, it is Teacher’s Day in Malaysia. So I dedicate this to every single teacher in Malaysia. Stay strong and keep on keepin’ on!

I’ve really enjoyed the blog suggestions on twitter, so I’ve decided to ask you guys every week what you think I should write about. And I’ll give you my two cents on whatever topic I think would make a good blog post. So follow me @alanMwong and throw me your suggestions. I write a blog every week, so there are plenty of opportunities to start awesome conversations!

- ‘till next time

-Alan Out

Let’s talk about this for a second. Is it true? Do nice guys really finish last? If so, then that sucks. Like I mean, REALLY sucks. I have this image in my head of some nice blokes with smiles on their faces jogging through a marathon, when all of a sudden some a**hole trips all of them and crosses the finish line first. Is that what the saying means? (Let’s take a second to note that even nice guys should be able to figure out that jogging won’t win you a race) But why does their sunny disposition have anything to do with their ability to succeed in life?

To be honest, I’ve always hated this saying. Let’s all admit, it’s a pretty terrible saying. It teaches our children the wrong lessons and encourages bad people to be even worse. And I hope we all want it to be completely wrong. Don’t we want nice people to get ahead in life? I mean, what type of person looks at a genuinely good guy and says, “Man, I hope that guy fails at EVERYTHING he tries”? Actually, maybe the type of person who wins races says that… but nobody likes that person.

We don’t want the saying to be true, but is it? It does feel true sometimes. How many times have we sat around and watched a complete jerk get a promotion by slandering his competition’s name? Ever seen a cheating b**tard throw lie after lie at a great girl, only to find out later how much she likes him? Or what about the kid who cheated on his essay and ended up getting a scholastic award for it? Why does this saying feel so true? Maybe the only reason nice guys finish last is because they play by the rules, but whose rules are we supposed to play by? I don’t want to have to cheat to get ahead in life. And to be honest? I haven’t had to.

The whole saying is wrong for so many reasons. Since when did life become a race? I don’t mind not winning this race of life if it means I can be proud of how I lived it. I say, forget the race. Forget about winning and forget about finishing anything before anyone. Life isn’t a competition. You don’t get a prize at the end of life for doing it better or faster than your peers. Being an a**hole to get ahead only ensures that most people hate you.

I am a self proclaimed nice guy and I say screw the race. You go out there and run your a** off, you “winner”… I’ll be at home having a beer with my best friends. You can enjoy your colorful ribbons. I’ll enjoy my life. Nice guys may finish last, but everybody likes them better than you.

Now, go live YOUR life!

VJ Alan

So today’s ramble is on a pretty random topic: Eyebrows.

This is so because I recently had mine tended to by Benefit’s Brow Bar, “Raising eyebrows since 1976″ (I like their slogan). The experience was pleasant. It was at the beauty department at Tangs Shopping Centre. The medium was wax. I usually thread or tweeze so I’ve never actually waxed my brows before. That is probably because a chick I know in high school had her brows waxed and they burnt her skin, leaving burn marks around her brows which eventually scarred. Yeah, not good.

But after this experience, I think I’m going to keep waxing. It’s fast, clean and the ladies at Benefit are very thorough! The ONLY thing that was a little strange was getting my brows waxed whilst tons of people were walking through and looking. But a 10/10 for everything else!

What do you think of my new brows?

Since we’re on this topic, I want to discuss famous brows.

Brooke Shields, Cara Delevingne, Frida Khalo and Sam the Cat.

Each of these ladies came from different generations, and each went against the norm with regards to their eyebrows.

Brooke Shields, she could pull it off. My dad would plead at me to never touch my brows and grow them out naturally like Brooke Shields. Sorry Dad, not everyone is born with effortlessly soft and full brows. Plus, I would have ended up looking like our next faBROWlous lady… Frida Khalo. I love this lady, her art is amazing and her honesty is admirable. If you haven’t seen her biopic starring Salma Hayek, do it! Salma seems to be the only lady who pulls of a monobrow. Like c’mon, STOP BEING SO BEAUTIFUL!

Cara Delevingne, so maybe she didn’t go against the norm because she is very current and currently people are embracing full brows. But you can’t deny they have a perfect arc and dimensions. In fact if you check out her Instagram her intro line is “I’m Cara, and I LOVE EYEBROWS!” Hmm… You don’t say? And finally, a little something fun… SAM THE CAT. Search him up if you have the time, he is so adorable.

I feel like people forget that eyebrows are a major part of our face. Check out these photos of famous people with no eyebrows… HILARIOUS!

When I was a kid, I had huge wide brows that brought me down, and one day I decided to pluck them myself. WORST. IDEA. EVER. I made them short, they looked like commas and it was just a hot mess. I’m sure I’m not the only one with bad brow experiences… I sure HOPE so? That was 10 years ago, I think I’ve recovered from then! Hehe!

You guys better be tuning in to MTV Asia because The MTV Show is already on its FOURTH episode! Catch my brows and I this Saturday on-air at 10am (WIB/TH), 11am (SIN/HK/PH), 12pm (MAL)!

Nothing else to say.. So.. Adios!

Hanli

Text and interview: Lennat Mak

The Temper Trap are on a roll. With the release of their self-titled second album in 2012, the band – Dougy Mandagi, Lorenzo Sillitto, Jonny Aherne, Toby Dundas and and new member Joseph Greer – has been on a whirlwind tour around the world.

With their first appearance in Philippines for Wanderland 2013 and their first acoustic show in Singapore for MTV Sessions, we did a quick dial to guitarist Lorenzo Sillitto to see how the band is prepping for their forthcoming shows, their experience with music festivals and more!

* * *

What has the band been up to lately?

We’ve been playing shows back home in Australia. We are also preparing some shows in Indonesia and Singapore and we are pretty excited to get back into Asia and play Philippines for the first time. It’s one of those places that I would never have imagined myself to visit. It’s kind of cool that we get to go!

The band is playing Wanderland Festival in the Philippines. Are there any acts on the bill that you are a fan of?

I haven’t really seen who else is on the lineup. I’m just excited to go to the Philippines and make it to the sunshine and enjoy myself.

Since this is the first time you are playing in Philippines, what can we expect from the show?

We are playing quite a bit of the new songs. It’s going to be energetic and we are going to take the roof off the set! Some of our favourite festival songs include “Sweet Disposition” and there’s also the “Drum Song” and “Resurrection” as well.

What are the differences between touring Asia between UK, Europe and the States?

I think with Asia, there isn’t that many dates so people come out and are really excited when bands around the world come to play. There’s a real sense of excitement and anticipation that people have. Culturally, it’s great to go to different places to experience different cultures.

Compare big festivals shows and a small intimate show – which one do you prefer?

It depends really. I like small, intimate shows because the crowd is right there and you feed off them when they are really into it and you connect with them and step up to another level. But that’s not to say festivals can’t be like the either. It’s just that there’s a gap between the stage and the audience that create that little distance.

I’ve seen you play at Future Music Asia Festival and it was a little strange to experience the band in a daytime setting. What do you think suits the band more – daytime or nighttime?

Yeah, I prefer nighttime ‘coz you get the stage lights and everything. In Malaysia we played around dusk time and the sun was going down. It’s actually quite a good time to play as well.

I would think The Temper Trap is really more of a nighttime act, like how you closed the first ever Laneway Music Festival in Singapore back in 2011.

That was amazing! There was a lot of torrential rain as well. I think that kind of added to it.

You have played so many festivals around the world. Do you have a favorite one?

We played a festival in England called Wilderness. It’s a small festival but it was really, really fun. It was a surprise. We’ve played a lot of festivals and it’s pretty cool to have something small and intimate. So that would be one up there. We also like Coachella and Lollapalooza!

If you had the chance to curate your own festival, which acts would you put on the bill?

Queen, David Bowie, Queens of the Stone Age, Pearl Jam, Neil Young… There are probably thousands of people that I could put on the bill!

You are also slated to play MTV Sessions in Singapore on May 16. What can we expect from the show?

We are playing an acoustic set. It’s like going back to the ‘90s with Unplugged! We have been preparing for the show and it’s exciting. The songs have taken a completely different vibe and some parts we changed it a little up to suit the new arrangement. We hope people will like it.

Does the band do acoustic sets often?

Over the years, we have been doing acoustic songs. Mainly for radio stations and things like. We haven’t really done an extended acoustic set. We did our first one last year and we played like 5 – 6 songs. But MTV Sessions is the first time we are doing it live on camera, so it should be interesting.

Any new songs that the band has been writing on tour?

We have been writing. We try to do it on the down time. It’s quite hard to write on the road with sound check and things like that.

The Temper Trap has been a band for a really long time now, compare your days when you played your first ever Laneway Music Festival till now, what’s the biggest change you see in the band?

It’s been nine years! We were a guitar band and along the way, we made our music more lush, with that epic kind of soundscape and we are better players now. And we are a lot older! You know, the whole get married and have kids routine. (Laughs)

If you were to give a piece of good advice to a budding young band, what would you say to them?

Practice and never give up! Don’t make it an option for you to do anything else. Work hard, stay determined, whatever people say to you, just keep going.

* * *

The Temper Trap plays Wanderland 2013 on May 18. Event and ticketing information as follows:

Wanderland 2013
Date: 18 May 2013, Saturday
Time: 11am – 12am
Venue: Globe Circuit Event Grounds
Ticket Price: Php 3,000 (Gold), Php 4,800 (VIP)
Promoter: Karpos Multimedia Inc.
Ticketing Links: www.ticketnet.com.ph, www.smtickets.com, www.ticketworld.com.ph
Artist Line-up: The Temper Trap, Neon Trees, Nada Surf, Avalanche City, Colour Coding, Tully on Tully, Up Dharma Down, Taken by Cars, Pulso, Yolanda Moon, She’s Only Sixteen

I feel the need to preface this by saying, I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to write about. In fact, for this blog post, that’s the goal. To have no idea what I’m writing and just write. It was a suggestion from a Twitter friend to try just writing a stream of consciousness and see what happens. I like the suggestion. Let’s see what happens indeed… Let’s see how weird this gets…

Does anybody remember playing with marbles? I mean, I realize how dated that sounds… I bet some kids these days would look at you like you were bat-shit crazy for ever having played with marbles. Think about how that conversation would go…

Kid: So… what are marbles?

ME: Um.. they are small spheres made of glass that we used to play with…

Kid: You mean you played with glass balls when you were a kid?

ME: Um… Yeah, I guess I did…

Kid: Why?

ME: I dunno. It was fun.

Kid: What the hell is fun about playing with glass balls?

ME: Hey, watch your mouth kid… and why so much attitude?

Kid: Cause glass balls are retarded!

ME: Hey don’t say retarded.. they were cool. We would roll one big marble and try to hit the other marbles…

Kid: So you basically just tried to touch glass balls together?

ME: Yup.

Kid: Glass balls suck ass.

ME: Hey!

I’m not sure why my hypothetical child is so angry. But he is… and I don’t like his profanity. But either way, I think my point is clear… Toys of yesterday must seem weird to children of the future… Let’s take a trampoline for example. Much fun has been had on a trampoline… (some serious injuries as well, but let’s focus on the positive) How would you explain that to a kid of the future?

ME: Yeah, so Trampolines were big for awhile too… Everybody had one…

Kid: Tramp-a-what?

ME: Tramp-a-leeeeeen…

Kid: My dad called my mom that once.

ME: What? No! TrampoLINE! It’s this thing with a piece of cloth and springs and you jump on it.

Kid: You jump on it? Why?

ME: Yeah, you jump on it. And it launches you way higher into the air.

Kid: What if you fall off?

ME: Well you try not to… but it happens sometimes, I guess.

Kid: That shit sounds dangerous…

ME: What?

Kid: I mean we can’t be having kids falling out of the sky all over the place.. That would like be bad or something, you know?

ME: Yeah, that would be bad… I kinda see your point on this one.

(So apparently this imaginary kid has just convinced me that trampolines are bad news… I feel manipulated. But he is kinda right… Trampolines are dangerous. )

I don’t think it should be so surprising that older toys would seem weird to the new generation of kids. I mean they have things to play with these days that nobody in the past would ever be able to understand. Imagine trying to explain an iPad to someone from a different era…

Kid: Hey Old Man, wanna come crush some candy on this iPad?

Old man: what in the name of Jimney Cricket is an EYE-PAD? Sir Thorn-Mill of Yorkshire has an Eye-Patch from the war… Is that similar?

Kid: What are you crazy, old man? Stop talking nonsense! It ain’t for your eye! It’s an iPad..

Old Man: Easy there young lad, show some respect for your elders!

Kid: Whatever gramps, calm your shit… just trying to explain to you that this iPad is the bomb!

Old Man: what?! Where?! Get down, lad.. I’ll save you. This is exactly how Sir Thornmill lost his eye…

Kid: No pops! Jesus… What century are you from? The iPad is this piece of glass here that you just touch with your fingers… and it does everything…

Old Man: Everything??

Kid: Yeah man, everything… Like the internet and stuff…

Old Man: Internet???

Anyway, you can see where I’m going with this… basically an iPad would make no sense to people from the past just like marbles might not make sense to children of the future. How did I get started talking about this again? Apparently my stream of consciousness involves marbles, trampolines, profane children and old men who say ‘Jimney Cricket’…

I have no explanation…

Alan Out

So I wanted to share this photographer with you. Her name is Elena Kalis and her stuff is the bomb. As the daughter of a photographer, I have been surrounded by great art work for my entire life, and I consider collecting great visuals a hobby of mine.

I feel like her shots are based around the “Purity of Innocence” theme. The water as a symbol of safety – also possibly linking to the womb? And she uses a lot of young girls as her models, posing with fun figures and sincere looks on their face. Makes the photos rather bitter sweet. Maybe it’s trying to say there’s a foreshadowing of sadness in youth based on the inevitable growing up? I DON’T KNOW. I’m just schmoozing. Here are some of her photos. Let me know what they speak to you? I’m always curious the about the perspective of others since art is so subjective.

Another artist I really enjoy is Jon Foster, an illustrator. I can spiel about his work for days because I see many layers in what his art. I this photo is my favourite:

I guess this photo speaks to me that “oblivion is bliss.” If you choose not to notice you won’t care, and have a lighter life? I don’t know… I’m no pro, I just like art!

I draw quite a bit, actually on MTV the promos of myself that have illustrations – I drew them! Fun fact!

Take care! And share with me artists, or a good photograph, or even a good type of font. I truly enjoy these things!

Hanli

Sometimes you decide to take on challenges that you are not sure you can overcome. I think it’s at these times that we learn the most about ourselves and find out what we’re truly capable of. Sometimes impossible obstacles can turn into life’s greatest opportunities to grow. It’s all in how you approach it. For me, one of these opportunities presented itself last September, and I couldn’t be more grateful for it. The challenge was to build a Koi pond, a seemingly simple enough task. It proved to be a humbling experience.

Last September, I flew home to California for my brother’s wedding. It also happened to be around the same time as my mom’s birthday. It was decided via email that my dad, brother, and I would build a Koi pond in the backyard as a present for my mother’s birthday. The idea seemed easy at first. Dig a hole. Fill it with water. Put a filter/pump in. And then throw in some fish. Easy right? It was not.

The total project took a month and tested every limit of my strength and patience. There were times when I thought it would be cake. I was wrong. There were also times I thought it would be absolutely impossible. I was wrong about that too. Just digging out the hole for the pond was excruciating. Then we had to lay a pond liner, build a water fall, and surround the pond with over a ton of Boulder, rock, and concrete (literally over a ton!). And that only begins to describe the entire process of trial and error we went through to put it together. I went through moments of absolute hatred towards the pond, but in the end, it became one of the most satisfying accomplishments of my life. I know it sounds weird to call a pond a big accomplishment. But throughout the process I learned a lot about ponds and even more about myself.

You see, before coming home to build this pond, I had spent a year and a half in Hong Kong, away from my family, trying to establish my career in entertainment. The progress was slow and I was not satisfied with what I had done. This was also right after my first trip to Singapore, which opened up a new but intimidating opportunity for me to explore. I was conflicted. Part of me was too scared to leave behind everything I’d worked for in HK. And yet another part of me wanted to take a leap of faith and move to Singapore. I had no idea what to do… So instead of deciding? I threw every part of me into building a pond. I stopped thinking about it and just started building. Somehow, it worked. By the time I was finished with the pond, I had made up my mind. I would take a chance and move to a new country all over again and start brand new.

It’s hard to explain what about that pond helped me make my decision. Maybe I just needed to stop thinking. Maybe I needed to be humbled by the work. Or maybe I just got lucky. Whatever happened, I know that without making that pond, I might not be in Singapore right now. And I would not be an MTV VJ. Funny how life works.

If I had to guess, though, I’d say the pond taught me how to try. To try without knowing the outcome. To try doing something not because you know you will succeed, but because you’re not quite sure you can do it. I think when we try things that scare us or things we might fail at, we’re able to learn the most about who we are and what we are capable of. Let’s do things we know are difficult. They are a whole hell of a lot more entertaining than things we already know are easy.

“We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.” ~ JFK

I love that Koi Pond.

Alan Out

There has been many super hero conversations thrown around me recently – we are doing something on The MTV Show about super heroes, my friends and I have been debating which are the best super heroes, Iron man 3 posters are plastered around town – there is no escape! And it made me think who is my favorite super hero?

My childhood favorite was Xena warrior princess! With her awesome killer Frisbee sword and her lady friend side kick. (Do you guys remember her?!) Did you guys know I even named a puppy after her. Yep, my dog had a litter when I was a child and we named the males, Aslan (from the chronicles of Narnia) and Atlas (the Greek god who held up the world) and the one female was called Xena.

Another one would be the POWER RANGERS! Being a girly-girl obviously the pink one was my favorite. My brother would always pretend to be either the blue or red one and we would have our epic battles with imaginary villains. Hans (my brother) and I were so into the power rangers that there was a good phase we went through where every photo our dad took of us we had the power ranger stance.

Honestly though, I wasn’t so into superhero comics when I was a kid. I loved reading Tin tin, Calvin and Hobbes, Asterix and Obelix, and the Archie and Friends series.

I think everyone read Archie (…right?) I always hoped he ended up with Veronica. I know she was a disliked character but I felt like Betty was too much of a push over, whilst Veronica knew what she wanted and went out of her way to get it. I respected that. Am I the only one who wanted him to be with Veronica?

Looking back at my childhood favorites kind of makes me realize that some things stick with you. As in my favorites back then are still reflecting who I am today. Xena was awesome because she was a bad ass girl, who was stronger or the same as all the men around her, fought for the right thing and never let her gender make a difference. I loved Veronica because despite her bitchiness and how spoilt she was, she knew what she liked and knew what she wanted and did something about it. These are qualities I like– not the bitchiness but the and motivation together with not giving a crap what others think of her. And Power Rangers? I can’t think of a sentimental tie in with them but they did provide many entertaining days with me and my brother 

Let me know what your childhood favorites were I’m curious. And to fellow Archie lovers – Betty or Veronica?

In the mean time, GO WATCH IRON MAN 3. I saw it last night and I think it’s my favorite out of the series.

I think I liked it more than the Avengers.. hmm

Take care,
Hanli.

Hello World!

This week is pretty eventful – so many emotions and new things happening all around me! The first episode of The MTV Show aired last Saturday! I can’t even begin to describe how that makes me feel. Scared, proud, anxious, nauseous even! I keep having day dreams of me leaving my house and there’s a mob of angry MTV fans waiting for me because they were disappointed. Yeah, my imagination brings out the worst of my anticipations. I tend to over think things a lot. Catch the first episode right here if you haven’t already:

So the other day I went to a gym for the first time in a long time. The exercises are intense intervals of squats, bur-pees, and other fitness moves. I realized that I am so incredibly out of shape. I used to be really active with sports in school, played touch rugby about 3-4 times a week. That was 3 years ago now and well, my fitness is not as it was. I can’t even do a proper push up! Therefor I have set myself a fitness goal, to be able to do 5 push ups by the beginning of June. IT WILL HAPPEN.

I watched the movie Anna Karenina starring Kiera Knightly who has been one of my favorite actresses since Bend it like Beckham. AMAZING. I loved the flow between the scenes and the acting was incredible. The costumes were decadent and fabulous. I wish I was a society lady in Russia during the late 1800′s ..minus the sexism, and rules of society. Ok, never mind that would be terrible. I’m so grateful I live in today’s modern world.

YOU BETTER WATCH MTV THIS WEEKEND OR I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN. Just kidding!

Hanli.