Waxing lyrical

about what's in your ear.

Apparently, 95% of East Asians tend to have dry earwax whilst majority of people of European and African descent have wet ear wax.

I fall nicely within the 95% of Asians and can't imagine the thought of wet ones. Had a very interesting conversation regarding this with FF just now. He now thinks I have little bits of dandruff-like earwax in my ear canal (eeeuuw!) and I reckon he's got oozing wax in his (double eeeuuw! Think of the pillowcases!). Just a little trivia in case it comes in handy (I can imagine this bit of useless information as the answer for the million dollar question in "Who wants to be a millionaire"-not!).

Maybe this is why westerners tend to clean their ears with cotton buds whilst Asians (at least the Chinese people) are partial to those little 'gold diggers'. :D My crackpot theory anyway.

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I just found out that the pop magazine that more or less shaped my musical tastes when I was a wee kid is now no more. I was a rabid fan of the quality pop publication, "Smash Hits" from the late 80s till the early 90s. It provided me with all that I wanted as far as music is concerned..song lyrics of the latest hits, important information such as whether Jason from Take That has smelly armpits, or what Sting buys when he pops down to his local supermarket (apparently he doesn't go to the supermarket, he goes to his local corner shop - source: The Smash Hits Yearbook 1993), posters of Morten Harket, Jason Donovan, the delectable Goss brothers, and, I'm ashamed to say now, New Kids on the Block (hey we all make mistakes in our yoof!). It exposed me to songs that would never see the light of day in Singapore, such as Ebeneezer Goode by the Shamen. I have the song though, because yes, I bought the Smash Hit's CD compilation for the year 1993.

I grew out of it after entering college (because Bedok isn't exactly the centre of the english pop universe - think the most popular publication sold at the newspaper stand by the MRT station would be the horseracing guide.). , and since then its quality has evidently been going downhill. Seriously, in this day and age of the internet where pop news travel at the speed of a click and song lyrics can be recalled almost instantaneously by Sir Google, SH can't catch up. Add the fact that pop is so boring nowadays, with one hit wonders galore and manufactured images imposed on artistes, is it any wonder why there is no more juicy gossip? If Marky Mark (actor Mark Whalberg in his previous incarnation as a white hip-hop rap boy) of the Funky Bunch were to launch his career today, would he let it be known in an interview with Ver Hits that one of his supermarket staples is a pack of condoms? That would be an instant career killer!

Anyway, like an old friend that clearly can't cope anymore, it is best to let it go gently into the night. I can't help but feel a tinge of poignancy, as is what happens when you find out that bad things has happened to something that you grew up with, that was so much a part of your formative teenage years.

R.I.P Smash Hits. What would I be without you. An Air Supply fan, no doubt.

P.S I still have all my back issues! Thank goodness I doggedly insisted on keeping it after all this time, despite the nagging from my mom. I mean to keep it to show my future kids that hey! Mom was cool and had her finger keenly on the pop pulse in her day too! Haha.. loooong shot. Too bad I don't have the issue with Jason and Kylie on the cover.