Earth Hour - 28 Mar 2009 - 8.30pm ~ 9.30pm

 

地球，

它给了我们清新空气，

我们却还它黑烟酸雨，

它给了我们美好环境，

我们却还它污染的环境...

我们定下个约定，好吗？

3月28日，60分钟

EARTH Hour 8.30pm-9.30pm...

熄灯一小时...

把电源关上...

提倡人们的环保意识。

希望你参与...

因为一个人的力量有限...

转发给您的朋友，

让大家一起参与，

一起创造盛举，

一起提倡人们环保意识...

一个人的力量有限，

希望大家多多支持环保意识。

 

Earth Hour is an annual international event created by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature/World Wildlife Fund), held on the last Saturday of March, that asks households and businesses to turn off their non-essential lights and electrical appliances for one hour to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.

Earth Hour is a event that as 'earthlings' we take a step to VOTE for EARTH against Global Warming.

It's your choice to choose the sides. Weighing the pros and cons. We boldly ask you to give your VOTE with us to EARTH.

VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.

For more details please logon to: www.earthhour.org/about/

If still you're are struggling with your decision on your Vote we would like to share with your some insights and facts about the planet that you are living on.

Some facts about our current struggling Earth:

50% of Earth's oil have been used up...

Petroleum and gas continues its surge downwards...

60% of the world's grasslands, forests, farmland, rivers and lakes have been used up...

Corals, which provides food and shelter for fishes, continue to die at 16% a year worldwide - causing the fish population to drop by almost half...

The Ozone layer continues to deplete at a rate of 10% per year at worst-hit places - occurrence of skin cancer has risen by almost half...

A once predicted disappearance of Summer Ice from the Arctic in 80 years time has now decreased to only, a mere 5 years time...

Alright, enough of the depressing stuffs, lets look on the bright side... =P

Practically there are some things that most or even all of us can do DAILY!!
You might have heard about them a million times or even studied them during some conversation classes in school. But still i would like to urge you to think of the bigger picture. Furthermore, the following are compiled to be rather interesting things to do!

Com’on! Give it a try!

1. Skip plastic water bottles and drink from a glass or a refillable stainless steel bottle when you’re on the go.

2. Use newspaper, magazines or pictures you've drawn for wrapping paper! Be creative!

3. Use paper products like napkins and paper towels made from recycled paper instead of right from the trees.

4. Turn off those lights! Turning off the lights when you leave a room conserves energy.

5.  Snack on real food like fruits, veggies and cheese instead of processed foods like potato chips or candy bars. Mmmm good.

6. Climb a tree! Spend more time outside—it’ll remind you of all the natural wonders you’re helping to protect.

7. Recycle! Help your family set up bins for paper, plastic, glass and aluminium to make recycling easier.

8. Use less water! Take shorter showers. Long showers account for 2/3 of all water heating costs.

9. Urge your parents to use compact fluorescent light bulbs which use about 75% less electricity than incandescent bulbs.

10. Be a plug-patroller! Carefully unplug all electronics when they're not in use.

11. Encourage your parents to buy a hybrid car. Hybrid cars can save 16,000 lbs of CO2 a year.

12. Skip the dryer and let your clothes air-dry on a clothesline. You'll save energy and they'll smell good!

13. Print assignments on both sides. Talk to your principal about enforcing double-sided printing-only in school. =P

14. Say no to plastic bags! Bring a reusable bag when you go shopping.

15. Get involved! Set up a letter writing campaign in your school to urge your government to pass green legislation. (wooo!!!)

16. Shut down your computer! Turning off your computer when you’re not using it saves 300 pounds of CO2 a year!

17. Turn off the faucet! To conserve this all-important resource, turn the water off while you’re brushing your teeth.

18. Plant a tree! Trees absorb CO2 and give off oxygen that helps counter our carbon footprints.

19. Tell your parents to change their car's air filter. Changing the filter can save 800 lbs of carbon a year!

20. Write on both sides of the paper! And make sure you're notebooks are made of recycled paper, too.

21. Everyone looks better in natural light! Instead of turning on the lights, open the shades and let the sun stream in.

22. Only wash full loads of laundry, or, if you have less to wash, be sure to use the appropriate water level.

23. Become Mr. or Ms. Fix-it! Repair things instead of throwing them out. You'll reduce waste and learn some cool new stuff!

24. Instead of throwing away your old stuff, give it to charity or swap with your friends.

25. Remind your parents to inflate their tires! Keeping tires properly inflated can save 250 lbs of carbon a year!

*Stay Young and Happy!*

|| VOTE EARTH ||

all-4-1-Heart <3

Boys Before Flowers!

Boys Before Flowers (or Boys Over Flowers) originated from the Japanese comic, Hana Yori Dango. If you have ever heard of the Chinese drama, Meteor Garden, the storyline is about the same. However, I would prefer the Korean version as I think they're much more good-looking in my opinion. Haha.

The story is about a girl, Jan Di, whose family owns a dry cleaning store located near the luxurious and well known Shin Hwa College. Jan Di meets the four richest and most spoiled boys, F4, when she delivers laundry to the school one day. After saving a boy from commiting suicide, she is admitted to the school. Jan Di dislikes the F4 group as they did whatever they want to, especially the leader of F4, Goo Jun Pyo. An incident involving Jan Di's friend, Min Ji, forces her to declare war on Goo Jun Pyo. At first, both of them hated each other, and Jun Pyo made things very difficult for Jan Di in order to drive her out of the school. However, as time passes, Jun Pyo realized that he liked Jan Di and they become a couple soon after. The plot continues when Jun Pyo had to leave the country to take over his father’s work, the Shin Hwa empire. That is when Jun Pyo and Jan Di’s problems starts to surface.

The Cast:

Koo Hye Sun as Geum Jan Di
Lee Min Ho as Gu Jun Pyo
Kim Hyun Joong as Yoon Ji Hoo
Kim Bym as So Yi Jung
Kim Joon as Song Woo Bin

This drama is actually the most “in” thing in Korea now. For me, I did not start watching it until they released the 19th episode. I know I’m slow but I thought the drama looked boring, since it’s all about love. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy. Problems arise. There is a third party. How uninteresting. Well, I started watching because I stumbled upon the preview in youtube, and I thought Kim Bum(So Yi Jung) looked cute. What really attracted me was how Jan Di resolves the problems Jun Pyo created for her. I think she’s really strong. I would strongly encourage you to watch this drama as a way to relieve your stress, although there are some parts that were kind of depressing to watch and I had to take the tissue box from my living room.

Anyway, I have some news here. One of the cast of Boys Before Flowers, committed suicide. Jang Ja Yun, 26, had the role of the school bully in the drama, who bullied Jan Di countless times. After her last appearance in Boys Before Flowers, she was found dead in her house by her sister. She had hanged herself most probably due to depression. I think it is quite sad for such a sweet girl like her to just die just like that. Suicide does not mean solving all the problems you have in life. I don't exactly blame her since her parents passed away ten years ago, and she had pressure from her fans, director, and antis.

The Boys Before Flowers cast attended her wake.What's up with all the suicide? Do you realize that Ja Yun is not the only actress in Korea that committed suicide in the past six months? Hopefully this is the end.

Sad things aside, there is news (it should be true) stating that there would be a Chinese remake version of Boys Before Flowers! Not the Taiwan version, the CHINA version. Imagine that.Anyway, these are the pictures I found. Cheesy huh?

The uniforms looked as though it's been picked from some “cheapo” shop in China. Look at that girl. She looked too... Chinese. Not that I'm trying to discriminating the Chinese in China but...Well, let's just hope that it would produce high ratings in China. Fighting!

'潮男正傳' tells it all about this celebrity who is now the most popular Pop Idol in asia and some even termed him as the 'King of Dance.' He won tons of awards in his singing career bagging another 3 awards here at the Singapore Entertainment awards this month:

• Most popular male singer


• Most Stylish hunk


• SPH media award - Best Artiste of the Year (all-round)

羅志祥 aka Xiao Zhu is someone who works really hard in his career and goes beyond just entertaining people and satisfying the requirement of his fans. He is today one of the most influential person among the younger generations shaping the fashion and value system of many youths. we can always see this in his interview when he said that he wants to change the life of people through the hardwork he put in in his music.

haha. Xiao Zhu is the One celebrity in the world that can Act, Sing, Dance, host etc. on TV. you can never find someone more talented than him in the chinese media business. I have been noticing him since my secondary school days (i am in uni now) and i was so crazy that i rushed home before 5pm on weekdays just to watch him in 娛樂百分百 whether is there lesson or not. Imagine telling your friends that you are going to 'pang sei' them just to catch your favorite TV show. It was totally insane. Ever since, I was keeping up with him and he sort of accompanied me through schooling days.

This picture described the journey of Xiao Zhu since his first group album with the boy group 'The Four Heavenly Kings'(first person on the left), team Romeo( 2nd person). The Third person was the new embarkation in his career and album by going solo after a series of unhappiness and negative remarks that he is 'out-dated.' The fourth was the new look in the album 舞所不在. And finally the last was his makeover in the latest album that sold more than 12000 copies in taiwan alone.

Xiao Zhu is not like michael jackson who hit the world immediately. He is someone who had been through the darkest period of the chinese show-biz culture that once a celebrity is not appealing anymore, he/she will be taken out of the rat race and left to survive on his own. He was then left to become the host of an unpopular show that he had to be downgraded to be toyed by other celebrities by making fun of him. His career was further exacerbated by debts that he borrowed. It was really sad that he needs to borrow money from friends to stay alive.

However, his life changed after his first debut album in 2003 that proved many wrong with their judgement that he could no longer stand on the stage. The second album '達人Show' soon came climbing up the taiwan's music chart with song '戀愛達人' hitting the number 1 spot for weeks.

Soon, movies and dramas producer came hunting for him. Commercial advertisments too, even hollywood came knocking on the door as he became the chinese version of Zac Efron.




yup. He is now the most sort-after celebrity in all areas and even though i am in university now, i am still watching his shows and dramas. His past experiences in life had molded him into the person he is today that is focus, energy-driven with a never say die attitude, and a filial son who treasures his relationship with his mum.



i wish him all the best in his upcoming album and career. JIA YOU!!!!!!!

Best job in the world!

“BEST JOB IN THE WORLD”. Seriously man! AUD $150 000 for 6 months! That’s SGD $25 000 per month! Oh my gosh. I want this job too. Hmmm, let me take a look at the requirements…

We’re looking for someone with an adventurous attitude, passion for the outdoors and good communication skills.

What a vague criteria! Millions and millions of people can self-claim to be adventurous, have passion for the outdoors, etc. Shouldn’t they try to be a little more precise? Okay let me read on…

Tourism Queensland will be selecting applicants based on:

- Enthusiasm for the role
- Entertainment value (personality and creativity)
- Presentation skills (being media-friendly)
- At least one year's relevant experience

How come all these criteria sound more like, all they need is a crazy, rah-rah person. I mean, I’m sure any member in my school’s ODAC (Outdoor Activities Club) is prefect for the role! But well, I guess, the one year’s relevant experience is the only one which I don’t have. It’s alright! My part-time admin job pays me $1000 a month. I’m still a happy man. =)

This is indeed a new marketing strategy. TQ (Tourism Queensland) could have easily go through the used and tested route: print and broadcast advertising. However, instead of following the norm, it came up with this whole idea of “The Best Job in the World”, which not only gain massive publicity, but also a major boost in tourism.

In case you are not aware, over 34,000 people from all over the world have applied. 4 “SEA-sian” were shortlisted as part of the final 50 applicants. They include 2 from Singapore, and 1 from Malaysia and Indonesia each. All we need is for one of the Singaporeans to be chosen, and I’m sure the tabloids here will be thrown into the media frenzy. Imagine the impact on Queensland’s tourism!



This job pays you $25k per month, and all you need to do is to blog about your enjoyable and relaxing lifestyle on the island! Are Singaporeans willing to do such crazy things for 6 months? This is definitely a thought to chew on.

I’m sure many of us have our own little fantasies of accomplishing the impossible one day. However, how many of us will turn that into reality? Perhaps, it’s time for us to step out of our boat and comfort zone. Construct a roller coaster that goes round the entire Singapore! Build a flying fox that gets down from Swissotel to ECP! Why do we always end up doing what others have achieved? The flyer is simply a poor imitation of the West. The Integrated Resort is just another resort which our neighbouring country already has in place for the longest period of time.

6 months of fun and recreation may seem really attractive, but ask yourself: Is this what you really want? Take for example a student who has just completed his A-level and has almost 8 months of holiday before school starts. Perhaps he may enjoy himself in the first 2 months, but subsequently, he will be sick of his lifestyle! As the saying goes, you work hard, and you play hard! Only then will you taste the fruit of your labour. There has to be a balance.

Working and blogging at the Great Barrier Reef for 6 months is indeed attractive. Not only do you enjoy the company of Mother Nature, you get to earn big bucks too! Want to know more about this job? Visit www.islandreefjob.com !

Grey's Anatomy: Why Can't I marry a Surgeon?

Grey's Anatomy, the ABC hit drama kicked off it's fifth season in February this year, latching on to the series' popularity. Amidst the tears, I found myself reluctantly admitting that for once, I have become a veritable obsessive-monster when it concerns TV programmes. Previously, I found my addiction shopping and spending money- which is the only upside I have discovered as pertaining my spending so much time with the TV. It appears that my savings have been increasing steadily, which is definitely a good sign.

But back to Grey's, I was hooked on to the show (unfortunately) during my exam period. And seeing that my major is communications, watching a medical drama did nothing to help in my studies, except serve as a motivation- finish three chapters and I get to watch half an episode. Thank God, since the ending of the school term, I have been religiously watching the drama, managing to finish seasons one to four within a few weeks (Imagine how much money I have saved!!).

Season One starts off with the main character Meredith Grey, who the show was named for. The title Grey's Anatomy, is actually the spoof of a famous medical textbook, Gray's Anatomy. Meredith, a recent med-school graduate is ready to kick-start her Internship year

Note; Doctors in training have to complete a year of internship at a 'teaching hospital', like NUH, before moving on to 5 years of Residency, where they continue to learn about surgery/medicine, and following that choosing a speciality, be it Neurology, Cardiothorasics, Dermatology, OBGYN, Trauma surgery, or General surgery.

SO, Meredith is up to start her internship year at Seattle Grace Hospital, Seattle's best teaching hospital- but not before a fling the night before her first day. She woke up, feeling horrid, no doubt an effect from all the tequila the night before, and not even remembering the name of the guy she slept with.

And here comes twist number 1. The mysterious fling she had turns out to be her boss. To be very honest, I was ready to bury a hole in my couch and stuff my head in on her behalf.

And even as she corners him in a stairwell and insists that their relationship is merely to be professional and nothing else, he blatantly insists otherwise, and this sets the tone for the entire season, their skanky scandals, coupled with professional backstabbing and witty medical banter. Of course, Grey's would truly be a bore if not for my very own favorite character, Dr. Cristina Yang, played by the ever youthful Sandra Oh. I first saw Sandra in her potayal of Principle Gupta in Princess Diaries, the teeny-bopper movie staring Anne Hathaway ( Ella Enchanted, Get Smart, Bride Wars), Julie Andrews (Sound of Music, Enchanted) and Heather Matazzaro. She was awarded only a small role in the box office Disney movie, as opposed to her current (and rather meaty role) as the Hospital's top intern.

It's quite interesting really, when one looks into Sandra's portrayal of Cristina. Cristina's history is as such: Born to a Korean family, she was raised in the wealthy suburbs of Beverly Hills and was seemingly the genius of her class. She has multiple qualifications to her name including a M.D from Stanford University (an Ivy League) at the same time, graduating top of her class for said M.D and a PhD from Berkeley. When she came to Seattle Grace Hospital, she was intent on becoming the top intern of her year (again, this comes with perks, the top intern will be awarded a solo surgery at the end of their residency.) She also comes from a broken family; her dad died when she was 9. She converted to being a Jew when her mother remarried a Jewish man. Despite her family's religion, she believes only in medicine and has said more than once that she is a strong atheist.

Her spiritual beliefs, or lack thereof become a problem when she enters into a relationship with her boss and fellow doctor, Preston Burke, who in this story, is a world class Cardiothorasics surgeon (meaning he deals with hearts.) He is Cristina's complete opposite, a God-fearing, Christmas-celebrating, spiritual man. One of the most pressing situations that Cristina found herself in, was upon moving in with Burke, he approached her and said "Lets decorate our Christmas tree together." Decorating of Christmas trees to Cristina is distinctively foreign, since being Jewish, she doesn't celebrate the holiday, and secondly, because she does not care for spirituality, has not thought of Christmas beyond dinners and presents.

She however, overcomes a change when she sees a young patient rejecting a newly transplanted heart. The nine-year-old boy, Justin, was 'refusing to live' with his new heart, at the same time refusing to believe in the 'Christmas Values' his mother keeps shoving down his throat. After the successful transplant, Justin's condition does not improve, causing his mother to be teary with panic. Cristina, seeing this, sits down during the middle of the night to talk to an asleep Justin. She tells him that even though she doesn't believe in Santa, she believes in medicine, and it is the faith that keeps her going. She learned from Burke that faith, be it in a spiritual manner or simply in yourself is the key to 'Greatness'.

Throughout seasons one and two, Cristina and Burke battle their differences and even try going out on a date, discovering during the date that they had nothing in common, and that Cristina was extremely hard to know. However, the couple battle their differences and Cristina accepts Burke's marriage proposal.

And here comes twist number 2: Burke, who has been THE most attentive, understanding, sensitive boyfriend, leaves Cristina at the altar.

And Burke's reason? He feels that Cristina isn't happy for the marriage, and he feels that he forced her into it.

Frankly, I think it's a stupid line. And more to the point, I rather think that they wrote Burke out of the story because the actor that plays him, Isaiah Washington, was caught in some disagreement with his fellow cast members. If it was for that reason, and that reason alone that Burke left poor Cristina at the altar, that would make a lot more sense. Anything else would just be total and complete poppycock.

So I forgive Burke for being such an ass to Cristina, because in my eyes, it is the producers' fault for having to write Burke out in such an abrupt manner. But very quickly, here comes twist number 3!!

Are you guys ready for this? *drumrolls*

Introducing Major Owen Hunt!! Kevin McKidd is the newest addition to the Grey's cast, playing kickass-hardcore trauma surgeon Owen Hunt. Dr. Hunt was first a surgeon in the field, and made his debut appearance in season five (now showing), saving a man's life by shoving a pen casing into his throat (from the outside) to help him breathe. Hunt was written into the show mainly as a love interest for Cristina to replace Burke. This is because much of Cristina's character development comes from how she grows to being a person, as opposed to just as a world class surgeon.

Many would recognize McKidd from his movie Made of Honor also starring Patrick Dempsey (who plays Dr. Derek Shepherd and Meredith's love interest in Grey's). McKidd played the role of the burly scottish suitor Colin McMurray (A DUKE! No less!) to quirky Michelle Monaghan's Hannah. Dempsey, who acted as Hannah's best friend was also McKidd's on screen love rival. One wonders if it was thanks to the chemistry on 'Made of Honor' that made the producers cast McKidd again as Dempsey's rival on Grey's. Although this time, Dempsey's Derek Shepherd has no qualms whatsoever in the love affair, Dr. Shepherd quickly finds himself in competition with Owen Hunt to see who is the better doctor.

With so many eye-candies on Grey's, it's no wonder that I have since started dreaming about becoming a doctor. Would you believe it that I actually went as far as to research the medical procedures that took place in the show? But then again, marrying a surgeon, as beautiful as that dream would be to come true, would mean living with a man who has a good reason to keep odd hours. I'm not sure about how the Singapore system works, but in Grey's, most doctors work 24 hours, and are on call for the next 24, they sleep when they can, wherever they can. Still, one has those medical perks to look forward to. Imagine never needing to pay medical bills! Hurrah for companies that offer medical perks!

I'm off to continue my drama chase for season five of Grey's- Taa!!

hugs, Gwendoline :)

Manchester United lost to Liverpool

Manchester United lost at Old Trafford to arch rival Liverpool at the weekend showdown hours ago. It was a fabulous match to see both sides showcasing their indominant spirit until Man u scored their only goal of the match ( C.Ronaldo penalty) when Fernando Torres Equalized 5mins after that.

During the entire game, we can see that the defensive line of Man U was constantly being threatened by the incision of Torres and Gerrard that Vidic himself conceded the goal because of his incompetence in defending Torres. Vidic was really stress out after this mistake. It just shows it on his face that he cant handle the lightning pace of Torres. Nightmare came when he was sent off after his timely and skillful tackle on Gerrard that the referee thought otherwise as a bad tackle. All was lost for the Red Devils at this point of the game that 2 more goals came sweeping in into Van Der Sar's almost non-existent goal post. Really disappointed with the Home Team.

Liverpool now close up with the Champions at 61 pts but WE still have ONE game in hand. So there is still a long way to go Liverpoolly. Dont get too yaya papaya after this win.


sorry all for this late post, was really busy the past few days.

KAKA!

This week on People of the week, we bring you a soccer hero whose life was saved by Jesus Christ and in return glorified the Lord's name with his football career. This Football phenomenon starts for Europe's biggest club, AC Milan, and played for his country, Brazil, who was 5 times champion in the World Cup. This player is the best midfielder in the world( in my opinion), Ricardo KAKA.

Kaka is a devoted Evangelical christian who is one since the age of twelve. He started his club career at the age of 8 and from then on, he became the most sort-after player for many clubs in the world.

He always removed his jersey to reveal an "I Belong to Jesus" T-shirt and openly engaged in prayer moments after the final whistle of Brazil's 2002 World Cup, and Milan's 2004 Scudetto and 2007 Champions League triumphs. He also had the same phrase, along with "God Is Faithful," stitched onto the tongues of his boots. During the postmatch celebration following Brazil's 4–1 win overa Argentina in the 2005 FIFA Confederations cup final, he and several of his teammates wore T-shirts that read "Jesus Loves You" in various languages. (quoted from wikipedia)

"I learnt that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not."

We should all look up to Kaka's courage in speaking of his love to God openly. Not that we will remove our t-shirt in school or our workplace, we can at least speak of God's goodness whenever someone asked of our religion. Better still, we should be the testimony of God anywhere anytime:)