Attainable Beauty
July 1, 2009 | 2 comments
For the considerably growing number of female fans of this site, here’s something for you. My friend, Rachel K., recently crowned Miss Singapore Universe 2009, is sponsoring a make-over contest here in Singapore for the month of July.
Rachel has teamed up with several other of our beautiful friends to create various make-over programs for the public. They’ve entitled the contest, “VIP,” which stands for “Vanity in Private,” and it’s through the company, Dermasolutions. What is particularly interesting is the mission behind the contest:
“The mission of the V.I.P aims to educate the public on matters of beauty, fashion, style, personal grooming and lifestyle and also to raise funds for charity. Part of the proceeds from all sales of Dermasolutions products and services will go to charity.
“The event will not be a parade of unattainable beauty, but rather a display of real people who have had undergone treatments provided by Dermasolutions and attained great results which can be realistically achieved. By putting a spotlight on peoeple who were voted to have achieved results, Dermasolutions thrives to provide excellent and results-oriented treatments and services.”
Sounds like a worthy cause to me! Through her generosity, I was able to sample the fitness machines, which seemed to do a pretty good job of toning and getting you lean, not just overall, but also allowing you to target specific areas. I also got to try the one of the men’s spa treatments, which was really refreshing and effective.
So check out the site, and if you’re in Singapore, enter the contest and get all your girl friends to enter it, too!
Btw, just to be clear. I am not an affiliate and get no profit at all from getting people to enter the contest. I really do believe that this is a fun opportunity and a cool way to contribute to charity.
Click on the images to go the contest site, or go here.
Play on, The Asian Rake.
Speaking Up Against Stereotyping of Asian-American Men
June 3, 2009 | 4 comments
Interesting video here with Yul Kwon, winner of the million-dollar prize in Survivor, voted one of America’s sexiest men by People magazine, plus some typical Asian-American accomplishments, such as being a Phi Beta Kappa Stanford grad, a Yale Law School grad, and work stints with McKinsey and Google. Also featuring The Daily Show’s Aasif Mandvi and Jeff Yang of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Fellow Asian Dating Expert Gives Talks at Harvard, Yale, Penn, NYU, Wellesley, and Rutgers University
May 27, 2009 | 2 comments
I had a nice chat with William, who runs the Better Asian Man website, last time I was in Manhattan. He first came to my attention through Lance at Amped Asia. While I don’t completely agree with his take on Asian culture, I think he’s got a good message and is advancing the cause of what he calls “self-actualization” for Asian-American men.
I’ve found that some Singaporeans don’t understand the plight of the Asian (North) American man and sometimes can’t place my own background in context. William does a good job of contextualizing it.
His site has a weekly “phone-in” podcast, something I wish I had the time to do. Check out his site here.
The New York Times on Singapore’s Dating Woes
May 27, 2009 | 3 comments
Hmm, interesting… I actually know Suki. As far as I know, these classes are still being offered at polytechnic universities.
They had assembled for the first class of “Love Relations for Life: A Journey of Romance, Love and Sexuality.”
There was giggling and banter among the students, but that was all part of the course as their teacher, Suki Tong, led them into the basics of dating, falling in love and staying together.
The courses are an extension of government matchmaking programs that try to address the twin challenges embodied in a falling birthrate: too few people are having babies, and too few of those who are belong to what Singapore considers the genetically desirable educated elite.
Over the past 25 years, the mating rituals organized by the government — tea dances, wine tastings, cooking classes, cruises, screenings of romantic movies — have been among the country’s least successful social engineering programs.
…
In 1991, for example, when the government began offering cash bonuses to couples with more than two children, the newspaper printed tips for having sex in the back seat of a car, including directions to some of the “darkest, most secluded and most romantic spots” for parking.
It suggested covering the windows with newspapers for privacy.
Singapore is known for its campaigns of self-improvement, including efforts to get residents to be polite, to smile, to be tidy, to speak proper English and to not chew gum.
In 1984, the country’s master planner, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, declared that too few of the country’s most eligible women, those with college degrees, were marrying and having children. He set up the Social Development Unit to address the problem, and since then the government has been the country’s principal matchmaker.
In addition to its tea dances and moonlight cruises, the agency acts as a lonely hearts adviser, with an online counselor named Dr. Love and a menu of boy-meets-girl suggestions on its Web site, www.lovebyte.org.sg.
“Guys, girls notice everything!” the Web site offers in one of its dating tips. “Comb your hair differently and they notice. Change your watch and they notice! Skipped your morning shower and sprayed on deodorant to cover the smell — they notice! What does this mean? Well, bathe regularly, change something about yourself, be observant, and compliment the lady.”
Dating tips from a government-supported agency… Hmm…
How to Peacock Properly
May 22, 2009 | No comments... yet
Rather than geeking out in four-inch pumps, top hats, and ski goggles to the club, stand out in a GOOD way by emulating cutting-edge runway fashions. This works best if you’ve got a sophisticated identity to match. Men Style has an amazing resource in their Power Search page. You can search by season, designer, and trend. Check it out here.
Coaching Clarification
May 19, 2009 | 1 comment
I’ve still been getting requests for personal coaching, so here’s an announcement to clarify things. I appreciate your interest and laud your desire for self-improvement. However, I’m taking a writing sabbatical, so I’m currently turning away requests for personal coaching of any kind.
Furthermore, this will apply as long as I’m still holding my current full-time day job. I haven’t been conducting any consulting work for money since last November, and I would like to keep it that way.
Cheers!
More KevJumba: On Haters, etc.
April 30, 2009 | 1 comment
Couldn’t resist some more of KevJumba, haha. Plus, I didn’t like the screen capture on his Aren’t Asians Cool Enough? video; those Asian dudes in their tighty whities were grossing me out.
This one on haters was both timely and LMAO funny. His comments line: “Feel free to leave hateful comments, but try to make them funny.”
This other one has, astonishingly, over 5 million views on youtube.
KEVJUMBA: Some Comic Relief
April 28, 2009 | 2 comments
This guy is hilarious. And he actually gets his message across, too. LOL
Check out his website.
The Last of the Mohicans
April 27, 2009 | 2 comments
Haven’t seen this movie in many years, but saw it on DVD recently. Awesome. Add it to your list.
It’s got so many great elements from an attraction arts standpoint: Exemplary body language and tonality. Great eye contact. The right dose of alpha male masculinity. Wonderful frame control and cocky dialogue. A perfect juxtaposition of the Provider archetype (Major Heyward), who tries to appeal through reason and logic, and the Lover archetype (Hawkeye played by Daniel Day-Lewis), who fires up her passion through unconscious attraction triggers.
Check it out: The Academy Award winning “The Last of the Mohicans.”
Writing Sabbatical and Hiatus from Personal Coaching
April 16, 2009 | 2 comments
‘Tis the season to be writing!
For almost a year now, I’ve had a couple of really important writing projects on the backburner, and it is about time that I got my priorities straight and finished them. The solitary, writing mode does not mix well with the outgoing, social mode.
So, I’m taking a sabbatical from extensive blog writing and personal coaching for a while to finish these books and other projects. I’m really psyched about this! The summer will also see me traveling a lot for research and writing, and it’s just gonna be awesome.
I’ve already pulled back from leading bootcamps and other such programs for some time now, a decision that I’ve been quite happy about, so this has been a gradual transition for me.
I’ll still be updating the blog in the meantime, so check back.
I’m also still happy to field your questions privately over email, so feel free to continue contacting me at asianrake “at” asianrake.com
Play on, The Asian Rake.
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