Bandages? I don't knee'd no stinkin' bandages

I used to be an adventurer like you, then I fell while carrying groceries home from the supermarket.

25 April - 8 May



12 May - 20 May

Mother’s Day from a father’s perspective

On May 1, I asked my 16-year-old son if he knew what May Day was about.

He said mothers.

At first, I thought he was confusing May Day with Mother’s Day (which is today) because they are in the same month and they both start with the letter M (yes, my son can be that dumb).

He then explained that May Day is when we commemorate the labour pains that our mums went through when they gave birth to us and that’s why the holiday is also called Labour Day.

His mother must be so proud.

I couldn’t tell whether my son was being serious or sarcastic. It worries me that he almost sort of makes sense.

So the protesters at Hong Lim Park on May Day were standing up for... mums?

Talk about a motherhood statement.

Speaking of which, how come it’s not called fatherhood statement?

A “motherhood statement” is how you describe a broad non-controversial statement like “Mothers are the best!” and not, say, “Gang rape is democracy in action”.

I think it’s safe to say that mothers enjoy a somewhat more exalted place in our culture than fathers, even though we dads also have Father’s Day a month from now.

Do I sound a little jealous of mums? Perhaps.

One privilege my wife enjoys as a mother which I covet is that she can guilt-trip our two children into doing things by simply saying: “I gave you life!”

When I use the same line on the kids, I’m dismissed as a copycat trying to claim credit where it isn’t due. Does my sperm count for nothing?

Last week, a report ranked Singapore as the best place in Asia to be a mother.



Mothers also get songs about how wonderful they are, like Dear Mama by 2Pac, A Song For Mama by Boyz II Men, Mama by the Spice Girls, Hey Mama by Kanye West and Oh Mother by Christina Aguilera.









Fathers, on the other hand, get songs about how lousy parents we are like Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone by the Temptations, Cat’s In The Cradle by Harry Chapin and The Living Years by Mike + The Mechanics.

How fair is that?

Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone is about a father who “had three outside children and another wife” and “spent most of his time chasing women and drinking”. And that ain’t right.



Cat’s In The Cradle is about a father who didn’t watch his son grow up because “there were planes to catch and bills to pay”.



The Living Years is about a son who wished he had told his father that they didn’t “see eye to eye” before the dad died. Sad.



Another indication of how mums are more beloved than dads is how often mums are dissed. Let me explain:

When you want to insult someone, do you make fun of his or her father?

Of course not. You target what you assume is most sacred to that person - his or her mother.

That’s why in the Die Hard movies, Bruce Willis doesn’t say: “Yippee ki yay, father fornicator!”



That’s why we have “Yo mama” jokes and not “Yo papa” jokes.

As in “Yo mama so ugly, she took a selfie with Instagram and broke the Internet.”

Or “Yo mama so fat, when she sat on acid on the MRT train, the acid said, ‘I surrender.’”

Or “Yo mama so stupid, she believed that the New Paper photo of cyclists on Changi Coast Road was Photoshopped.”

Or “Yo mama so ugly, Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah wants to adopt her – and then lose her.”

So as paradoxical as it may sound, every time we insult someone’s mum, we’re actually acknowledging and affirming the sanctity of motherhood.

But apparently, this isn’t enough for some mothers, including my wife and my own mum.



With all these ads peddling special Mother’s Day meals and gifts for weeks leading up to today, they can’t help but succumb to the hype like Trekkers to the new Star Trek movie and want some of that action.

And if the kids and I resist participating in the crass commercialisation of the sacred mother-child bond, we can expect to hear another “I gave you life” or some version of it.

Fathers like me, on the other hand, are kind of blasé about the whole Father’s Day thing. We can take it or leave it. We don’t believe the hype.

We’re too busy chasing women and drinking.



The only reason we might care is that we have to compete with Mother’s Day. Hey, we can’t let mums get all the attention.

So thankfully, my son is wrong about Labour Day being dedicated to mums. One such day a year is plenty.

I better get a fantastic present from him for Father’s Day.

- Published in The New Paper, 12 May 2013

Celebrating Singapore’s 17-year love affair with Ann Kok’s chest

It’s like 1996 all over again.

Only instead of the Macarena, we’re dancing Gangnam Style.

Instead of watching the White House get blown up in Independence Day, we can watch the White House get blown up in Olympus Has Fallen.



And instead of talking about Ann Kok’s breasts at the Star Awards, we’re... uh, actually, we're talking about Ann Kok’s breasts at the Star Awards again.

I guess some things haven’t changed.

Or to be more exact, two things haven’t changed if you know what I mean.

The Straits Times reported that at last Sunday’s Star Awards, Kok “stirred up quite a fuss when she appeared braless in her cleavage-baring and figure-hugging Herve Leger dress”.



The caption under Kok’s picture called her “a pro - getting all dolled up like an aspiring porn star, just to give Singaporeans something to talk about”.

Despite pornography being officially banned in Singapore, The Straits Times isn’t the only publication to allude to porn when describing the MediaCorp actress’s risqué ensemble.

Giving what she wore a rating of “XXX”, 8 Days magazine said: “If you thought Ann’s R(21) outfit looked kinda porny, you’re kinda right. That jaw-dropping outfit was actually made up of a Herve Leger tube dress worn over a long-sleeved netted top from a ‘sex toy shop’.”

Is “porny” even a real word? I was surprised to find out that, according to Merriam-Webster online, it is.

Online is also where Kok’s Star Awards appearance has received many kudos, some of which could be rated “XXX” too.

One commenter wrote: “Wow, such a dress. Absolutely amazing when worn by her, I mean amazing for the male viewers.”

Other comments include “one hand can’t squeeze all”, “Looks bigger than before”, “fwahhhhhhh”, “Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh” and “fap fap fap”.

What’s more impressive is that Kok is getting this kind of attention at the ripe old age of 40.

As someone commented online: “Can’t tell she hit 40 already, still manage to keep such a good figure.”

Indeed, it may be hard to believe, but it has been 17 long years since the nation first became obsessed with Kok’s décolletage at the 1996 Star Awards.

On that fateful night, she wore a black see-through sheer top with a black bra underneath and we would never look at the former Star Search finalist the same way again.

Many TV viewers were duly taken aback. One housewife told The New Paper: “I got quite a shock when I saw her because I thought she was a conservative person.”

A few months later, TNP reported that Kok was initially bothered by all the talk about her assets after the 1996 Star Awards, even among her own colleagues, who teased her or called her names.

“But now, I don’t care very much,” she said. “I’m used to it.”

Then came criticism about the size of her boobs. A stylist said: “She is dark, small and her breasts are too big for her frame. The distance between her breasts and navel is also too short. She is not very proportionate.”

Someone should measure that distance between Kok’s breasts and navel just to be sure. I volunteer!

Almost paradoxically, there was also speculation that she had her bust surgically enhanced.

She told TNP in 2004: “It’s silly now, but I was hurt when they said that I had plastic surgery! I didn’t!”

But the rumours persisted such that in 2009, Kok allowed herself to be felt up by the female host of a Channel U talk show to prove that her boobs weren't fake.

After groping Kok’s breasts, the host, Quan Yifeng, who instantly became the envy of many men, said: “They are soft and must be real!”

By now, Kok is more famous for her treasured chest than anything else.



Search “Ann Kok” on YouTube and you'll find video clips of her in a bikini from Housewives’ Holiday and other shows, plus the scene from Love Concierge where she opens her top and reveals a pink bra.



Even that porny outfit from last Sunday is already on the video-sharing website.

After so many years, it seems Kok has finally come to truly embrace her most popular body part (or parts).

According to a 2011 Straits Times article: “In any interview, it is inevitable that Ann Kok’s famous breasts get in the way. Metaphorically speaking, of course.”

I don’t think even Fiona Xie would get a boob-centric write-up like that. The article about Kok continued:

“Asked if getting more attention for her ample bosom than her acting still annoys her, the actress replies with a laugh: ‘Not at all. If people still want to talk about my boobs and are happy doing that, then by all means.’”

Yes, people still want to talk about your boobs and thanks for giving us cause to do so for 17 years. It has made us very happy.

Kindly keep those jaw-dropping, figure-hugging, cleavage-baring Star Awards outfits coming.

Here’s to 17 more years, although by then, the distance between your breasts and navel will probably be even shorter.

But as the late great Dean Martin once sang, mammaries are made of this.

'

- Published in The New Paper, 5 May 2013


26 NOVEMBER 2013 UPDATE: Ann Kok upset by focus on her body and not her acting

2014 UPDATE: Star Awards without Ann Kok is like a protest without dog poo


INSTAGRAM UPDATE:

25 years later, she's still talking about it. https://smong.net/2013/05/celebrating-singapores-17-year-love.html

Posted by SM Ong on Saturday, February 13, 2021