Out of the Dumps

There are days when i feel down. It could be because i know that i hurt someone, because i was hurt by someone, because a friend disappointed me, or maybe just because everything seems to be going wrong. It’s on days like these that i feel most vulnerable.

Instead of moping around the whole day, which is all i feel like doing sometimes, i try to identify what is bothering me. Once i know the source of my ‘misery’, i try my best to address it…though this is not always possible and sometimes it just doesn’t work. But i try, and if i still feel down, i have a few things that can cheer me up when i’m in the dumps:

• ice cream
• chocolates
• talking to people who understand my quirkiness
• a hug
• hearing compliments and words of encouragement
• shopping, but not window shopping
• opening up to my best friend
• pizza margherita
• lying in my room, on my floor, listening to my favorite songs
• ‘happily ever after’ movies
• playing the piano
• getting calls from friends who just happen to call
• helping someone with their problems
• traveling
• sitting in my dark room, admiring this pink star shaped light that i have next to my bed
• hearing someone say “I love you” and knowing that they mean it
• hanging out the whole day with a close friend
• the best thing though, is solving the problem or dealing with the issue that’s bothering me.

These are things that cheer me up. What about you? Anything to share….?

The War of the Documentaries

Here is some information that i've taken from various newspaper articles, relating to Wilson's new documentary:


Despite its vitriolic title, the documentary "Michael Moore Hates America" deals more with confusion than anger.

Minnesota filmmaker Mike Wilson set out to expose problems with the controversial Moore's methods in such movies as "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Bowling for Columbine." Wilson makes it clear that he doesn't share Moore's political beliefs, but the film isn't about ideology as much as accountability. The theme is: How does he get away with it?

Wilson's film points out inconsistencies, leaps of logic and omissions from Moore's film. He initiated "MMHA" because he was distressed by Moore's filmmaking techniques and hoped to confront him about them in the same way Moore confronted General Motors executive Roger Smith in his own "Roger and Me." But Moore, like Smith, declined. Repeatedly.

Even without Moore, "MMHA" has become a phenomenon, talked about in news outlets as far afield as Japan and Argentina and with more than 6 million hits to its Web site, www.michaelmoorehatesamerica.com. Wilson has been doing interviews for "MMHA" since news of the film broke in June — "300 or so, if you count radio" — and he's grateful it's finally finished so he can stop talking about what it isn't and start talking about what it is.

"I wanted to make a good flick, first of all," Wilson says. "People assume I'm just a Moore-bashing conservative, which isn't true. And they assume that the movie is out to rebut 'Fahrenheit 9/11' (Moore's controversial, anti-Bush documentary), which also isn't true. It's a fun, entertaining movie that also kind of makes fun of Michael Moore."


Well, that's what the papers say, but i suppose the real judge of it all will be you and i. I believe that there is going to be a significant impact caused by the release of MMHA, and i can only see this getting more and more interesting. So brace yourselves and prepare for what i think is about to come: The War of the Documentaries...

Note: Do you think that the outcomes of this 'war' might have an impact on the coming elections?

Farenheit 9/11

I've finally been catching up on my movie watching these last few days. A few days ago, i watched The Terminal. I really enjoyed that show and recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it yet-definately worth the watch.

Yesterday, i watched White Chicks with some friends. It's hillarious, but i wouldn't rank it that high up on my list. Worth watching once perhaps, but it's not one of those movies that you would want to watch over and over again...you get the point.

From there, i went to catch Farenheit 9/11. This is an interesting documentary...very controversial though. I think that Michael Moore has a point in this movie that he wrote, directed and produced. Nonetheless, i also feel that many of his points have been exaggerated and possibly even distorted to some extent.

This brings me to something i was thinking about. When you exaggerate something, assuming your audience consists of people who think, the audience will be aware of this exaggeration, but will most likely accept the basics of what you are saying. On the other hand, without any exaggeration, but just the truth (from Moore's perspective), we might question even his basic points-the points that we would have accepted without question, had there been exaggeration. Okay, did that make any sense to you? It's actually a method of persuasion, which i covered in Social Psychology.

Anyway, so i was thinking that the whole exaggerating bit is probably intended so that when we take the frosting off the cake, most of the cake will still be left there. Well, these are just some of my random thoughts.

Back to the movie. I would recommend that you watch it just to get a different perspective on things-to understand it from someone else's point of view. Then when you're done with that, go read this book: "What's So Great about America" by Dinesh D'Souza. You'll get another perspective on what's taking place in the world at this point of time. I'm not too sure if there are any other books that would be good to read relating to this whole issue...tell me if you know of any other good ones.

From there, i feel that we can all feel free to form our very own opinions and impressions, knowing that we understand the whole situation from various perspectives and are not being biased in any way. Coming from different backgrounds, environments, experiances, etc., we are bound to have diverse views on this whole issue of America and the rest of the world. It is important to be aware of that.

Note: I just read that there is another documentary that was recently out in the U.S. by Mike Wilson, called "Michael Moore Hates America" (MMHA). It looks like the war of documentaries for America has begun. Check it out: www.michaelmoorehatesamerica.com

Peace!

My Dreams

Here are some of the things that I hope to do at some point in my lifetime here on earth:

• Live in Italy for a few years
• Sky diving
• Backpack across Europe
• Get stranded on an island
• Visit the four corners
• Drive around in a hot pink Honda S2000
• Visit every country in the world at least once
• Fly in a helicopter
• Learn how to fly a plane
• Go lightning chasing
• ‘Step’ into space
• Learn the inside out of ballroom dancing
• Completely learn Mandarin, Italian and Spanish
• Play a 90 minute soccer game without feeling totally drained at the end of it
• Live with these: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
• See an angel
• Learn how to hack
• Have my glass room
• Own a tree house
• Be an asset to society
• Fully understand computers
• Change someone’s life for the better
• My elevator expedition
• Get a full body massage
• Read through the whole Webster dictionary
• Live by a beach with a nearby mountain

Note: These are not ranked in any specific order.

Matthew 7:13

I stood at the fork in the road. Before me were two very different and distinctive paths staring back at me, each begging me to choose it. I paused for a moment. Thoughts rushed through my head as i tried to figure out which road would be the best one to take. There were no road signs; only the 2 very diverse paths, each leading on its own way.

I wished someone was there to help me, someone who could help me with my decision...someone who knew each path inside out. But there wasn’t any such person there with me. I was all alone.

I chose the path to the left. It definitely looked better than the other road, which appeared rugged, dusty, all too gloomy, and definitely not at all inviting. For a minute i stopped to ponder why i had even considered the right path at all. Then i heard it, and realized. There was a soft and still, yet intense beckoning, coming from each of the two paths. They were calling out to me.

Now i had already chosen the left path, so i decided to stick with my decision. I walked down the beautiful path and was instantly delighted with my decision. What could have been better? Definitely not the other path, which appeared so horribly rugged and dull. Who would ever want to walk down that path? Why did it even exist?

I sailed through the beautiful gardens on cloud nine, admiring the beauty of the river flowing by my side and the sparrow’s chirping in the trees. The river was lined with weeping willows that seemed to sway to the tune of the enchanting music that i heard. It was like something out of an Anne of Green Gables book. A light breeze gently blew through my hair, upsetting the colorful leaves that had settled beautifully on the path in front of me. The smell of freshly cut grass accompanied me as i continued to make my way along the path. I walked on and on and on…it seemed never ending.

The sun was shining on me, and although it was bright, the breeze kept me cool. It was a beautiful day. I felt so relieved thinking of the choice that i had made. Certainly this was better than anything the other path could even dream of offering. As i walked on, i picked some apples from the trees along my way. I can’t begin to describe how sweet and crunchy they were…simply luscious. I was enjoying life more than i ever imagined i could have.

Suddenly, i came to a dead end. How could that be? I had chosen the right road. How could it have been wrong? It was beautiful and everything seemed so nice and felt so good. Does this mean that i should have chosen the rugged, awful, humdrum path that appeared to be leading nowhere? No…this could not be so, yet…it was the only way. I was wrong. Although i was sure that i had made the right decision, i was wrong…WRONG!!!

The words “Game Over” flashed on the screen in front of me.

That Four Letter Word

I was talking to a friend a while ago, and he suggested that i write a blog on love. I asked, "what about love?" Well, he replied that it's totally up to me.

I don't really know where to start or how to handle such a broad topic, so i suppose i'll just think and type at the same time.

I googled the word love and received 117, 000, 000 hits. I decided to see what Yahoo! had to say, and that engine came up with 192, 000, 000 hits. Then i clicked on the definition of love, and one of the meanings listed is: "A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness." Hmmm...

Now, i can't really say much about love because i don't really think that i am qualified yet. But then again, how can anyone not be qualified when there are no qualifications required. I mean, everyone has a right to say what they want about love right? And no one can tell you that you're wrong when it comes to love because well, it's love...it's a feeling, it's subjective, it's personal. Nonetheless, at this point in time, i don't think i will attempt to say much on this issue, but i'll come back to it some time in the future, perhaps when i have something of more substance to share.

Love is a broad issue...one of the things that contributes most to making life complicated. Many of the shades of pink are different expressions of love, towards various things and, or people. Whenever you pick up a teen magazine or a newspaper, many times you come across articles where the writer attempts to talk about love. As always, they will point out how love is something that can't be described, can't be put into words, can't be explained. Well, guess what? They are right.

You know, while thinking about love, a song popped into my head. 'All About Love' is written by Steven Curtis Chapman. The song is actually running through my head now...

We've got CD sets and videos, radio and TV shows

Conferences, retreats and seminars

We've got books and magazines to read on everything from A to Z

And a web to surf from anywhere we are

But I hope with all this information buzzing through our brains

That we will not let our hearts forget the most important thing

Is love, love, love, love, love

It's all about love, love, love, love, love

Everything else comes down to this

Nothing any higher on the list than love

It's all about love

Now they're fighting in the middle east

And they're fighting down on Seventh Street

And there are fights in my own house on given days

It's like something's lurking deep inside

Can't seem to be satisfied

But life was not meant to be lived this way

'Cause it's true for every man and woman

Every boy and girl

That our only hope for living here together in this world

Is love, love, love, love, love

It's all about love, love, love, love, love

Everything else comes down to this

Nothing any higher on the list than love

This is the reason we were made

To know the love of our Creator

And to give the love He's given us away

Yeah, the Maker, and the Father, and the God of everything

He says to love, love, love

He says love, love, love

Love, love, love

'Cause after all, it's all about love

Gods says love, love, love, love, love

It's all about love, love, love, love, love

Everything else comes down to this

Nothing any higher on the list than love'

Cause after all, it's all about love

That's right, yeah

It's all about, yea yea

It's all about

All about love, love, love, love, love

It's all about love, love, love

After all don't you know?

That it really all comes down to love

After all don't you know that

Gonna tell you what it's all about, yeah

Yeah, it's all about love

Yeah, it's all about love, yeah

It's all about love,

Love, love, love

Note to everyone: Does anyone have anything to say about love? Feel free to share...

Ps: There are two Italian food restaurants that i'm waiting to check out in 1 Utama (a local mall), and i might just grow to love the food there...hint hint!

Watch Movies Differently

Check this out...mistakes made in movies. Now i haven't watched all of these movies, but i found this online and it got my attention, so i decided to do a post on it. Tell me if you manage to find these mistakes in the movies. Have fun!


1. Commando
One of the most blatant mistakes ever committed to film. The yellow Porsche is totally wrecked on the left side, until Arnie drives it away, and it's fine.

2. Star Wars
When the stormtroopers break into the control room, watch very carefully and you will be able to see a storm trooper nearly render himself unconscious by smacking his head off a door frame. This is now so notorious that on the new DVD there's an audible "bump" when he hits it.

3. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The criminologist describes the events of the movie as taking place "on a late November evening". In the very next scene, Brad and Janet are driving in Brad's car, and President Richard Nixon's resignation speech is playing on the radio. Nixon resigned in August of 1974.

4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
When Harry, Ron and Hermione rush to Hagrid after the end of the year exams, and Harry is saying something that ends with, "Why didn't I see it before?", Hermione is mouthing his lines.

5. Gladiator
After the battle with the Germanians, the next morning after the tavern, he is walking in the army camp and he feeds a horse a piece of apple. If you look closely between Maximus and the horse, there is a crewman wearing a pair of blue jeans.

6. Charlie's Angels
When the Angels are fighting the "Creepy Thin Man," right before Drew Barrymore lifts up Lucy Liu to spin her around and kick the thin man, to get Lucy's attention, Drew hollers out "Lucy!" even though Lucy Liu's character's name is "Alex."

7. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
One of the most blatant mistakes ever seen onscreen - in the scene where John & Catherine are in the hangar at the runway, the Cessna's tail number is N3035C. When the plane is shown in the air, the number is N9373F. When they land, the tail number has changed back to N3035C.

8. The Matrix
In the scene where Agent Smith is interrogating Neo, after Smith has sealed Neo's mouth shut and he is backed into the corner, when the camera cuts back to Smith you can clearly see a reflection in his glasses of Neo still sitting down in the chair.

9. Spider-Man
In the scene where Mary Jane is being mugged by four men, Spider-Man throws two of the men into two windows behind Mary Jane. Then the camera goes back to Spider-Man beating up the other two guys. When the camera goes back to Mary Jane the two windows are intact.

10. Black Hawk Down
Near the end of the movie when the convoy is heading back to the Pakistan Stadium, a Humvee stops briefly to allow a man to walk across the street with a child in his arms. When the shot changes and the Humvee begins driving again, a crew member or cameraman is seen inside the Humvee wearing a white shirt. All of the men who entered the Humvee were wearing fatigues.

11. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
At the beginning of the scene near the end of the movie with Lucius Malfoy fuming at Dumbledore in his office, Malfoy's hair is fanned back behind his shoulders. The lighting in the room illuminates the back of his neck, where you can see his real, short brown hair.

12. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Merry and Pippin were bound when taken by the Uruk-hai, and the bonds weren't cut until after they managed to escape during the fight. Yet, when the horse almost crashed down on Pippin, he had his arms spread out up near his face, not bound, even though they weren't cut until later. In the next shot, his hands are bound again.

13. American Pie
In the bedroom scene the girl is holding a clear cup full of beer. The camera goes off her and when it comes back she is holding a blue cup. The camera goes back off her then on her and the cup is clear again.

14. Titanic
The lake that Jack told Rose he went ice fishing on when she was threatening to jump is Lake Wissota, a man-made lake in Wisconsin near Chippewa Falls (where Jack grew up). The lake was only filled with water in 1918 when a power company built a dam on the Chippewa River, six years after the Titanic sank.

15. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
In the scene where Sam and Frodo are in the field with the scarecrow, you can plainly see a car cruising past in the distance, from right to left. Further comment - there are two different shots which show the car moving from right to left. One starts at the top right distance, and in a shot a few seconds later the car has travelled down the road a bit and is more easily visible. Complicating matters is that the dust thrown up by the car looks similar to smoke from a chimney in the right distance, making some people think it is just the chimney. But chimneys don't move, and the smoke from the chimney is separate from the moving vehicle. [It is deleted on the DVD, but you can still see an obvious bit of image fakery on the hill just left of the smoking chimney. One can see the hill, tree, and surrounding area move up and down and shimmer slightly where someone has done a cut and paste to cover up the auto. The "car inclusive" scene appears on the National Geographic documentary Beyond the Movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Also, watch the music documentary on the extended dvd - when it shows this scene the car is still in it. Bizarrely, in his commentary Peter Jackson said he never saw a car and doesn't know what people are talking about, but the production/post-production team say in their commentary that despite not thinking anyone would be able to see it, they took it out anyway.]

16. X-Men 2
In the end, when the President is visited by the X-Men, he receives a blue binder, which is laid in front of him on the table. When they have left, you see a shot including the President's desk, and you can see that the only thing he has on the table are some sheets of paper, stapled in the upper left corner, opened up. Then the shot changes to a close-up of the President, and then back again, and you see the blue binder in front of him, closed, and the papers have disappeared.

17. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
In the second half of the film, Frodo has a scar on his lower right cheek, close to his chin. Many times throughout the rest of the film the scar changes position and size on his cheek and also from his right cheek to his left cheek (most obviously on the slopes of Mount Doom when Sam is cradling his head).

18. Top Gun
At the end, a victorious Maverick is hoisted on the shoulders of the guys. As he goes up, he isn't wearing sunglasses, his head goes out of the shot, and when he comes down, he's wearing a pair.

19. Raiders of the Lost Ark
While Indy and Marion are in the Well of the Souls, and they encounter the snakes, Indy falls to the ground only to get confronted by a Cobra rearing its head and hissing. Look carefully and you'll see the reflection of the snake on the safety glass between it and Indy. Briefly you can also see the torch's reflection while he's waving it around. [This has been corrected in the new DVD set. You can only see it if you have the original VHS. I think it's visible in the "making of" on the DVD as well.]

20. The Matrix Reloaded
During the scene where Neo is talking to Agent Smith in the park area where Neo was talking to the Oracle, there is a close-up on Agent Smith's face. In his sunglasses you can see a bright white screen to reflect the light onto the faces of the actors. This isn't visible in any non-reflected angles.

21. Ocean's Eleven
Linus and Rusty are standing in the Botanical Garden at the Bellagio going over Linus' observations. Rusty has a cocktail glass of shrimp in hand. When they change angles he has a plate in his hand...change back, glass.

22. The Wizard of Oz
In the beginning while Dorothy is still on the farm, she walks along the pig pen fence and then falls in. When Bert Lahr picks her up out of there her dress is perfectly clean.

23. Die Another Day
In the final fight scene on the plane between Jinx (Halle Berry) and Agent Frost (Rosamund Pike) Jinx is slashed across her stomach, drawing blood. In a later scene when Jinx and 007 are pouring diamonds over one another in the hut on the cliff her stomach is unblemished.

24. Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
When Amidala & Anakin are eating and he cuts her a piece of the fruit and "floats" it back to her, the bite appears in the fruit a split second before she actually eats it.

25. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
The T-1000 punches his body through the window of a helicopter to get inside. An instant later, the hole in the windshield is gone.

26. Jurassic Park
In the scene where the tour trucks are stopped outside the Tyrannosaur paddock, we are shown a goat in a cage (inside the paddock) that appears to be at the same level as the road (outside). However, when Dr. Grant and Lex go over the wall, the ground is several stories down.

27. Beauty and the Beast
In the 'Gaston' song sequence, near the end, Gaston is sitting in his huge antler chair with Lefou. In the wide shot, there is a bear rug behind the chair. The camera does a close up of Gaston, then in the next wide shot, the chair is on top of the bear rug. Also, after this, Gaston gets up off of the chair and in the next shot, both the chair and the rug disappear completely.

28. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
In the beginning of the movie, when the candy store owner is singing the candy man song, there's a spot towards the end of the song were he opens up his counter to let all the kids in. Watch the little blonde girl as she gets wolloped in the chin by the counter.

29. Pearl Harbor
In the scene where Rafe is fighting for Britain his plane gets hit. As it goes down into the water, it is day. Later when they show him swimming out of the plane and to the surface, it is night.

30. Chicago
In the final scene where Roxie and Velma are dancing in the concert hall, Roxie is on the right and Velma is on the left. When they jump around to shoot their names into the lights, they have swapped sides.


Hope you had a good time reading this. Tell me if you have any more to add on to this list.

Cheers!

The Glass Room

When i was around eight years old, my elder brother and i decided to plan out our dream house. We actually got down to drawing it out - well, my brother did. The house itself was huge, with everything that an eight and ten year old could ever wish for or even imagine.

We had multiple playrooms full of toys, a full screen cinema to ourselves, bathrooms with jacuzzi’s, a mini indoor pool, even secret tunnels running everywhere throughout the house. Oh, there was a double secret passage connecting my elder brother’s room with mine, in case anyone were to find the secret one. Too much Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys?

That was just the interior part of the house. On the outside, we had everything from football pitches, to a go-carting track and a whole mini water park. A long drive way led up to the house, kind of like that in the Sound of Music, (the part where the father comes home and the kids are in the trees).

Now, this was never included in the hard copy, i can’t remember why not; but it has always been a dream of mine to have a glass room. As stated, this room would be made entirely of glass. The catch: It must be an underground room. Imagine an underground room made of glass. What would the walls look like? They would be ever changing…

I would like to add this glass room of mine to the sketch my brother made. We would use it as the escape room secret hideout. All secret tunnels would connect up to this room, and from there, there would be an escape tunnel which would lead out of the house. It would be a room that could accommodate my four brothers and i in case of emergency. My parents telling us to go do our homework or study could be considered an emergency, depending on the circumstances. But that was a long time ago...

One more thing. Along the road leading to the house, there would be a long driveway and this would be lined with weeping willows. Two lines of my favorite trees on each side of the gravel road would create a canopy for the driveway. You know, it really is too bad that i can’t seem to find the plans we had so nicely drawn out. I think it got lost somewhere along the way…possibly in all the ‘cleaning’ of our rooms that took place.

Still

Hide me now
Under Your wings
Cover me
Within Your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father You are King over the flood
I will be still, know You are God

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know His power
In quietness and trust

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father You are King over the flood
I will be still, know You are God

We Love and Miss You

You know…its so weird how we often take life for granted. We forget that it is something precious, something that we should cherish. Instead, we live as if there will always be a tomorrow. We forget that our future is truly beyond our control. Life is a gift-something that has been given to us. Why is it then that we always forget how important this fragile thing is? We forget…that is...until we lose someone close to us.

Losing someone is not easy to accept…especially someone so cheerful and bubbly who seems to love life. Yet, as it is beyond our control, all we can do is accept it and believe that there is a reason for everything, and trust in the Higher authority.

Sumitra, we will truly miss having you by our sides, hearing you laugh and seeing your cheerful smile brighten up our day. We will miss your impersonations and your ability to constantly make us smile, but we will always cherish all the times we had growing up together. We Love You So Very Much and you will always stay in our hearts forever.

Pink, Purple, Blue, Green and Yummy!

I went shopping with two of my cousins today, and on the way out of the mall; we passed a shop selling cotton candy. Yummy…i’ve always liked cotton candy. Anyway, we decided to get some. While leisurely allowing the feathery substance to melt in our mouths, we verbalized some of the unanswered questions we had regarding cotton candy. Those unanswered questions have now been answered:

It is unclear who the first person to invent cotton candy was. Four people, Thomas Patton, Josef Delarose Lascaux, John C. Wharton, and William Morrison, have all been named as the inventors of the candy.

Wharton and Morrison received a patent for the cotton candy machine in 1899. They invented a device that heated sugar in a spinning bowl that had tiny holes in it. It formed a treat that they originally called "Fairy Floss". The term "cotton candy" began to be used for this treat in about 1920. In the United Kingdom, it is called "candy floss". After the two candy makers from Tennessee received the patent, Wharton and Morrison took the invention to the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.

Patton received a separate patent in 1900 for his process of making cotton candy. He was experimenting with caramelizing sugar and forming threads using a fork. Patton used a gas-fired rotating plate to spin the cotton candy threads. He introduced the candy at Ringley Bros. Circus and it became popular with children.

Around the same time, a Louisiana dentist, Lascaux, introduced cotton candy at his dental practice though he never received a patent or trademark for the confection.

The early machines proved to be unreliable at times. Some simply broke and others would make loud rattling sounds. In 1949, Gold Medal Products introduced a more reliable model with a spring base. This helped to revolutionize cotton candy making.

Cotton candy is one of those amazing foods that makes no sense until you know the secret. There is no way to produce cotton candy without special equipment, but if you have the equipment, it is incredibly easy!

Cotton candy is made from 100% sugar. The sugar is first melted to a liquid. The cotton candy machine spins the liquid sugar and forces the liquid through tiny holes. When the sugar pass through the tiny holes it is shaped and cooled and becomes a solid again. The center of the cotton candy machine soon becomes filled with tasty sugar threads, which are collected and served on a stick or a cone.

If you mix water with cotton candy it instantly dissolves, and you can see that it's nothing but a tablespoon or two of sugar filling the entire bag. It's amazing how much you can charge for sugar, air and a little coloring!

Note: If you’re wondering what to get me for my birthday, a cotton candy maker is an idea. :P

Effective Online Research

Due to popular demand by many of my readers, i have decided to do a post on how to do effective research.

Google is my top search engine...i think the most widely used one in the world too...and i'm not advertising for them, merely stating my opinion. Now, since i'm no professional, i have decided to extract information from the google search page to provide information that is more accurate than what i could give you off the top of my head.


The Basics of Google Search
To enter a query into Google, just type in a few descriptive words and hit the 'enter' key for a list of relevant web pages. Since Google only returns web pages that contain all the words in your query, refining or narrowing your search is as simple as adding more words to the search terms you have already entered. Your new query will return a smaller subset of the pages Google found for your original "too-broad" query.


Choosing Keywords
For best results, it's important to choose your keywords wisely. Keep these tips in mind:

Try the obvious first. If you're looking for information on Picasso, enter "Picasso" rather than "painters".

Use words likely to appear on a site with the information you want. "Luxury hotel dubuque" gets better results than "really nice places to spend the night in Dubuque".

Make keywords as specific as possible. "Antique lead soldiers" gets more relevant results than "old metal toys".


Automatic Exclusion of Common Words
Google ignores common words and characters such as "where" and "how", as well as certain single digits and single letters, because they tend to slow down your search without improving the results. Google will indicate if a common word has been excluded by displaying details on the results page below the search box.

If a common word is essential to getting the results you want, you can include it by putting a "+" sign in front of it. (Be sure to include a space before the "+" sign.)

Another method for doing this is conducting a phrase search, which simply means putting quotation marks around two or more words. Common words in a phrase search (e.g., "where are you") are included in the search.


Capitalization
Google searches are NOT case sensitive. All letters, regardless of how you type them, will be understood as lower case.


Word Variations (Stemming)
Google now uses stemming technology. Thus, when appropriate, it will search not only for your search terms, but also for words that are similar to some or all of those terms. If you search for "pet lemur dietary needs", Google will also search for "pet lemur diet needs", and other related variations of your terms. Any variants of your terms that were searched for will be highlighted in the snippet of text accompanying each result.


Disclaimer: I'm no professional at this, just another student who has assignments to hand in, a job that requires me to do research most of the time, and an immense amount of unusual questions that i would like to have answered.

Does Lipstick Really Contain Fish Scales?

Some time back, i remember hearing that lipstick contains fish scales. Anyway, i decided to find out how true that statement is, so here...

Lipstick does contains fish scales. Some lipstick, anyway.

The ingredient under discussion is called pearl essence. (Some sources give this as "pearlescence.") It's the silvery stuff found in fish scales that's used in some lipsticks, nail polishes, ceramic glazes, etc., to make them shimmery. Pearl essence is obtained primarily from herring and is one of many by-products of large-scale commercial fish processing. Synthetic versions have been developed though and are used in some cases. Fishermen still collect the stuff though, and one presumes it's being put to good use.

People are still alarmed to discover that consumer products contain animal body parts. You want the pearl essence to go to waste? It would otherwise be left over after they extracted the more obviously useful parts of the fish, and surely it's preferable to have the stuff wind up on the lips of women than on some heap of toxic slag.

Pearl essence is just one of a long list of unsuspected animal ingredients in cosmetics. If you think fish scales in lipstick is gross, get a load of cerebrosides, used in skin-care products to create a smoother skin surface, increase moisture retention, heighten "luminosity," etc. According to the Food and Drug Administration, "the raw material for cerebrosides in cosmetics comes from cattle, oxen, or swine brain cells or other nervous-system tissues." Eww...

If you're bothered by this sort of thing you might prefer to get your cosmetics from environmentally aware companies. In addition to minimizing the use of synthetics and volatiles, some of these companies rely on plant- rather than animal-based ingredients. "Some colors, for example, are very difficult to create without using carmine, but the company decided that crushing insects to derive the ingredient is unethical". One smiles, but in the era of the rape of the rain forest it's charming to hear about companies so good-hearted that they wouldn't hurt--well, if not a fly, at least a Dactylopius coccus.

Note: Fish scales might be disgusting, but at least we don't use cosmetics containing mercury, as the Romans and ancient Egyptians used.

Ever Feel Really Really Lazy?

Ever feel really really lazy? Well, that's kind of how i feel now. It a mix of lethargy and an 'i don't really care what happens' sort of attitude...and it's not good. I'm at work, supposed to be doing research, and i don't feel like doing that. I've got a mid term for organizational behavior on Friday, and i don't feel like studying for that. I need to decide on which universities i plan to apply to, and i even want to think about that.

So you see...clearly, i feel really really lazy. I know there are so many things that i should be doing, but i just don't feel like doing them. I'm in quite a miserable state right now. Hopefully i'll get over it in a few days though...preferably before that mid term of mine. For now...well, i've got a few more hours of work and i really must get something done, so i suppose i'll work on that...or at least attempt to. I think i need some encouragement.

Well, better get back to doing the stuff i should be doing...BLERK!

On Hands and Knees

As you walk along the path you have chosen, you come to realize that the path is not as straight or as smooth as it first appeared to be. You wonder if you have chosen the wrong road. But once chosen, you can’t change paths until you arrive at the next set of crossroads. Staying on the rough road however, enables you to come out stronger than before…more prepared for future bumps, which will inevitably appear.

The funny thing is, you wonder why those roads aren’t of the best quality…why they have bumps that seem so absolutely unbearable at times…and the potholes and cracks just seem so big…so intimidating.

But then, it really is a matter of perspective. Coming from a past with smooth, broad paths makes the deformities on the road appear even worse than they really are. But that’s how life is and will be: constant toils, troubles and difficulties to deal with…like a never ending midnight, black with no sign of any lights. We can only deal with problems in the best way we believe possible.

There come times in life when you say and do things you don’t mean, causing more potholes. Many times these fiery darts end up piercing someone else’s heart, leaving them hurt…perhaps forever scarred, as not all scars from these darts heal.

This is life. Walking along a bumpy path, while trying to dodge fiery darts that constantly seem to be flying straight at you is not an easy task; and no one should have to do it alone. In the end, the one who was with you all along the way, the one who never left your side, the one who took the fiery darts for you, is truly your friend: someone willing to go with you all the way to the end…even on hands and knees.

Who Speaks English?

I wonder if my day could have been any more hectic than it was. I was at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) the whole day till about 6 and then i rushed back home just to find that i had forgotten my house keys and was locked out of the house. (I am most definitely human.) So, i had the wonderful opportunity to ponder on the course of my life for about half an hour, before my parents got back and i was finally able to get ready and rush out for my next engagement.

Anyway, somewhere along the way, i was wondering...the British speak English and the American's speak what? American English? But doesn't that kind of defy the purpose of the word English in the first place? So what? Does that mean we have British English and American English? Why not just have English and American or something like that...kind of like how we have the Malay language (Malay), and the Indonesian language (Indonesian). The two languages are mostly similar, yet different in a few ways. But we don't have Malaysian Indonesian and Indonesian Indonesian or Indonesian Malay and Malaysian Malay, so what's with British English and American English?

Well, i was just pondering...wondering 'why'? But you know, i will probably still refer to the language spoken in America as English and differentiate it with the language spoken in England, by calling it American English...but will i ever know why?

Philematology

This blog will be about the benefits of the anatomical juxtaposition of two orbicularis oris muscles in a state of contraction (Scientific way to describe a kiss). There are so many things that feel good but are bad for you. Finally, here’s one of the few things that feels good and isn't bad for you. Here are the benefits of kissing:

It helps prevent tooth decay. Dr. Peter Gorden, Dental Advisor at the British Dental Association, explains. “After eating, your mouth is full of sugar solution and acidic saliva, which cause plaque build up. Kissing is nature's own cleaning process”, he adds. “It stimulates saliva flow and brings plaque levels down to normal.”

It relieves tension. A passionate kiss is a great relaxation technique, says stress consultant, Michelle Kay Mcnabb. “When your mouth is in a kissing position, you are almost smiling and as our emotions and body language are so closely linked, it's almost impossible to smile and feel tense at the same time," she explains. "Also, your breathing becomes deeper and your eyes close when you kiss; that's what you do when you relax. It's a perfect way to shut out the world."

Stress relief is another health benefit of kissing. Psychologist Joy Davidson, PhD, likens kissing to meditation. "It stops the buzz in your mind, it quells anxiety, and it heightens the experience of being present in the moment. It actually produces a lot of the physiological changes that meditation produces," she says.

It helps you lose weight. Just how long can you do that? You need use 3000 calories to lose one pound, i.e., 30,000 minutes, 500 hours... "A long kiss makes the metabolism burn up sugar faster than usual," says Claire Potter. "The calories burned depend on the intensity, but you can rely on 10 calories for every 10 minutes."

It slows the aging process. "Kissing helps to tone your cheek and jaw muscles, so they're less likely to sag," says Cosmo's Fitness Consultant, Claire Potter. Kissing exercises the facial muscles.

It increases fitness levels. Your heart is pumping, your pulse is racing..."If kissing is exciting, you release adrenaline into the bloodstream and your heart pumps more blood around your body," says Dr. Susan Hotchkies. "It's a great cardiovascular workout."

It boosts self-esteem. There's nothing better than a passionate kiss for a major dose of feel good factor. "In theory, when you're kissing, you're happy. And when you're happy, you feel good about yourself," says psychotherapist Paul Zeal.

It boosts the immune system. If you're sharing your germs with somebody, you're adding to your internal defense system.

Kissing Facts:

• A study in 1997 out of Princeton University concluded that our brains are equipped with neurons that help us find our lovers lips in the dark. It is no wonder that many couples enjoy kissing in a dark theater.
• It is a matter of record that Canadian porcupines kiss one another on the lips.
• The world's longest kiss took place on January 28, 2002. Louisa Almodovar and Rich Langly of New Jersey kissed for a record 30 hours, 59 minutes and 27 seconds on a segment of "Ricki Lake".
• Matrimonial pollsters' studies prove that a man who kisses his wife good-bye when he leaves for work every morning averages a higher income than does the fellow who doesn't do that thing.
• In medieval Italy, kisses weren't taken, or given, lightly. If a man and a woman were seen embracing in public they could be forced to marry!
• Our brains have special neurons that help us locate each others lips in the dark.
• It is estimated that the average person will spend about 20,160 minutes kissing in their lifetime.
• The first kiss ever shown in a movie was in 1896. The movie was called The Kiss.
• Hershey's Kisses got their name because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt.

Did You Know?

Here are some basic general knowledge facts:

• The world population is presently around 6,302,309,691 as of July 2003.
• The smallest country in the world, both in terms of population and size is The Vatican, which is a landlocked country in Italy. It's population is about 911. The next two smallest countries are Tuvalu (an island nation in the Pacific Ocean) and Nauru-an island republic in the South Pacific Ocean, formerly known as Pleasant Island.
• The most populated country in the world is China (1,294,839,541), followed by India and the U.S.
• China however, is not the biggest country in the world. Russia(17,075,200 km) is, followed by Canada and then the U.S. China is ranked 4th.
• Next to The Vatican (o.44 km), the 2nd and 3rd smallest country, in terms of size, is Monaco and Nauru.
• There are presently 193 countries in the world-191 United Nations member states and Taiwan and The Vatican.
• India has the most official recognized languages, which is a total of 23 languages.
• The most spoken language in the world (counting only "first language" speakers), is Mandarin (14.37%) followed by Hindi (6.02%) and English (5.61%). Spanish (5.59%) is 4th.
• English is the current lingua franca of the world.
• In some countries, such as Iraq, Italy and Spain, there is an official language for the country, but other languages are co-official in some important regions. Some countries, such as the United States, have no official languages, but there are official languages in some U.S. states. Finally, some countries have no official languages, such as Australia, Eritrea, Luxembourg, Sweden or Tuvalu.
• Some interesting country mottos: Luxembourg-Mir wëlle bleiwe wat mir sin (Luxembourgeois, "We want to stay what we are"), Mauritius-Stella clavisque Maris Indici (Latin, "Star and key of the Indian Ocean"), Nepal-"The motherland is worth more than the kingdom of heaven", Thailand-"Land of smiles".
• Two countries in the world are split up (separated by other countries). They are the U.S. and Russia.
• The most dense country, in terms of population, is Monaco, followed by Singapore and then The Vatican.
• The country with the least population density is Mongolia, followed by Namibia.
• The longest rivers are the Nile (6,690 km), Amazon (6,762 km), Chang Jiang (Yangtze) (6,380 km).
• The largest "lake" in the world is the Caspian Sea, and the deepest is Lake Baikal in Siberia. The term lake is also used to describe a feature such as Lake Eyre which is dry most of the time but fills up under seasonal conditions of heavy rainfall.
• Finland is known as 'The Land of the Thousand Lakes' and Minnesota is known as 'The Land of Ten Thousand Lakes'.
• Over 60% of the world's lakes are in Canada; this is because of the deranged drainage system that dominates the country.
• Kielder Water is Northern Europe's largest man-made lake.
• South America's Angel Falls is the world's highest at 979 m (3230 ft), in Venezuela.
• Africa's Boyoma Falls, with the world's highest volume, 17,000 m³/s (600,000 ft³/s), on the Congo River.
• Africa's Victoria Falls, the world's largest, on the Zambezi River.
• Rhine Falls, Europe's largest waterfall is located in Switzerland.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org

Mice or Mouses

Why is the input device used with computers, which has a pointer called a mouse? It doesn't look like one...well, i suppose if you had a really good imagination, the wire connected to it could look like a tail. But then what about the wireless mice? Are they still mice?

Well, guess what?

"The mouse was invented by Douglas Engelbart of Stanford Research Institute in 1963. It is called a mouse because it resembles the rodent, a small curved moving body with sensing devices on one end and a tail on the other, and because the motion of the cursor on the screen is also mouselike. The plural can be either mice or mouses."

Interesting?

1,3,7-trimethylxanthine

Just a few days ago, an article in the New Straits Times newspaper caught my eye. Basically, this article said that all it takes is one cup of coffee a day to become addicted to caffeine. Not that much huh? Well, i decided to look up some stuff on coffee. But before i say anything, i will admit that i am not a coffee drinker. Never have been, don’t think i’ll ever be. I simply do not like the taste. Hard to believe, perhaps, but true nonetheless.

Caffeine belongs to a group of stimulants called xanthines and is the world’s most popular drug. The white, bitter-tasting, crystalline substance was first isolated from coffee in 1820. Both words, caffeine and coffee, are derived from the Arabic word qahweh (pronounced "kahveh" in Turkish). The origins of the words reflect the spread of the beverage into Europe via Arabia and Turkey from northeast Africa, where coffee trees were cultivated in the 6th century. Coffee began to be popular in Europe in the 17th century. By the 18th century plantations had been established in Indonesia and the West Indies.

The caffeine content of coffee beans varies according to the species of the coffee plant. Caffeine is also found in tea. It was first isolated from tea leaves in 1827 and named "theine" because it was believed to be a distinctly different compound from the caffeine in coffee. Tea leaves contain about 3.5% caffeine, but a cup of tea usually contains less caffeine than a cup of coffee because much less tea than coffee is used during preparation.

Caffeine is an ingredient of certain headache pills (30-65 mg). It is the main ingredient of non-prescription "stay-awake" pills (100-200 mg). After you take some coffee in, its highest concentration in our system occurs within thirty to sixty minutes, and its effects usually last for four to six hours. Caffeine is mildly addictive, as you already know. Moderate use of coffee, tea or soft drinks with caffeine is not harmful to most of people, but caffeine can make you shaky, raise blood pressure, cause irregular heartbeats or interfere with sleep.

Caffeine taken in beverage form begins to reach all tissues of the body within five minutes. Peak blood levels are reached in about 30 minutes. Half of a given dose of caffeine is metabolized in about four hours -more rapidly in smokers and less rapidly in newborn infants, in women in late pregnancy, and in sufferers from liver disease. Normally, almost all ingested caffeine is metabolized. Less than 3% appears unchanged in urine, and there is no day-to-day accumulation of the drug in the body.

Short-term effects of a drug are those that appear soon after a single dose and disappear within hours. Ingestion of the amount of caffeine in one or two cups of coffee (75-150 mg) causes many mild physiological effects. General metabolism increases - expressed as an increase in activity or raised temperature, or both. The rate of breathing increases, as does urination and the levels of fatty acids in the blood and of gastric acid in the stomach.Caffeine use may increase blood pressure.

Caffeine stimulates the brain and behavior. Use of 75-150 mg of caffeine elevates neural activity in many parts of the brain, postpones fatigue, and enhances performance at simple intellectual tasks and at physical work that involves endurance but not fine motor coordination. Caffeine may help you stay awake and be alert to study, but it will not improve your performance on an exam the next day if you have not gotten enough rest or are exhausted from an all-nighter. Caffeine's effects on complex intellectual tasks and on mood do not lend themselves to a simple summary. The effects depend on the personality of the user, on the immediate environment, on the user's knowing whether caffeine has been taken, and even on the time of day.

The effects of caffeine on sleep are clear-cut: taken before bedtime, it usually delays sleep onset, shortens overall sleep time, and reduces the "depth" of sleep. After using caffeine, sleepers are more easily aroused, move more during sleep, and report a reduction in the quality of sleep. The effects of caffeine on dreaming are less clear.

Larger doses of caffeine, especially when given to non-users, can produce headache, jitteriness, abnormally rapid heartbeat (tachycardia), convulsions, and even delirium. Near-fatal doses cause a crisis resembling the state of a diabetic without insulin, including high levels of blood sugar and the appearance of acetone-like substances in urine.

Long-term effects of a toxic nature do not appear evident when regular caffeine use is below about 650 mg a day - equivalent to about eight or nine average cups of coffee. Above this level, users may suffer from chronic insomnia, persistent anxiety and depression, and stomach ulcers. Caffeine use appears to be associated with irregular heartbeat and may raise cholesterol levels, but there is no firm evidence that caffeine causes heart disease.

Well, you’re not the only caffeine-head out there. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), four out of five Americans have some caffeine on any given day, the average amount being about 200 milligrams a day (approximately equivalent to what's found in two 8-ounce cups of coffee, three to four 12-ounce cans of caffeinated soda, or four 8-ounce cups of tea).

Based on all of the above information, your health could benefit from less caffeine going into your body. You may want to consider gradually switching over to a diet cola beverage that's caffeine-free, or at least alternating between the two, and make sure to drink plenty of water everyday to help minimize withdrawal symptoms from caffeine.


Some Random Caffeine Facts:

• The full chemical name for caffeine is 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine and its chemical formula is C8H10N4O2.
• Caffeine was first isolated from coffee in 1820.
• In its pure state, caffeine is a crystalline white powder.
• Caffeine can be found in 60 different plants.
• 10g of caffeine is considered a lethal dose although people have survived up to 24g. A shot of espresso has 100mg. So unless you have unusual tolerance, it ought to take a nice round 100 shots, or say 50 double cappuccinos, to get to that big cafe in the sky.
• It's the most popular drug in the world. Ninety percent of Americans consume it in some form every day.
• Over 450,000,000 cups of coffee are consumed in the USA every day!
• Darkly roasted coffee has less caffeine than lightly roasted.
• Contrary to popular belief, caffeine (or coffee) won't help someone sober up if they have had too much to drink.