Lyo and Merly to be mascots for inaugural 2010 Youth Olympic Games
SINGAPORE: The mascots for the world's first Youth Olympic Games in Singapore next year have been revealed.
One is a male Lion called Lyo and the other a female Merlion called Merly.
The mascots were officially introduced to much celebration at Suntec City on Saturday.
Doing the honours was Community Development, Youth and Sports Minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, who brought along his three-year-old son.
A contest, won by two Singaporeans, was held to name the mascots.
Lyo is short for "Lion of the Youth Olympics," while Merly gets her name from "mer" meaning the sea, and "l" and "y" standing for liveliness and youthfulness.
Besides Singapore, the mascots will travel to five cities around the world as part of the global torch relay for the Games.
Dr Balakrishnan said: "It is an interesting play on fire and water and the lion and merlion. So there are aspects of which we clearly can identify with as Singaporeans, but really what we hope is these mascots will be embraced by Singaporeans as well as the visitors who come."
It took about six months to design the mascots. Plush toys of the mascots will go on sale at the official Olympic store at Takashimaya starting Sunday.
I actually got to witness this historic event when I was at Suntec last yesterday! I was walking around Suntec City when I suddenly heard Daniel Ong announcing that they were going to reveal the mascots. Being a typical kaypoh and kiasu Singaporean, I rushed to the area with my friends and took a video of the moment they revealed the mascots!!
Heng ah .. anyhow walk also can become part of history lol. It's the first ever mascot for the Youth Olympics ... Revealed in Singapore (the first ever host) and I was there!!
Sorry, I couldn't go to the middle to take the video as there were a lot of people who were more kiasu than me. I only took a few photos after taking the video and there are all around the same.
Luckily Sports Minister Dr. Vivian Balakrishnan was facing my direction he he.
More about the 2 cute mascots ....
Mascot 1 - LYO Star Sign: Leo (duh) Dream: To win a gold medal in an international basketball championship (impossible for Singapore?) Personal Motto: "Never say never" Favourite Food: Chilli Crabs and Chicken Rice with lots of chilli (no chilli for me) Fun Stuff: His paw is shaped like Singapore Island.
Star Sign: Aquarius Dream: To become an environmental scientist Personal Motto: "You can achieve anything if you pour your heart into it!" (how about striking toto) Favourite Food: Ice Kachang (I love it too!!)
Who do you like more? I think I like Merly more as she likes ice kachang. Youth Olympics, opening of the two IRs .... next year will be a very interesting year for Singapore. =) Too bad Singapore never reach world cup =P
Anyways .....
So what was I doing at Suntec with my camera with me?
I shall not reveal the reason till the next post but I will give you some clues.
This is the ticket you need to get in to the event I went.
It has something to do with Anime, which can be viewed on my mobile phone on the Animax channel courtesy of Starhub's TV on mobile. =)
I'm sure those who went will know what event I'm talking about he he .... All shall be revealed 2 - 3 days later!!
Last Wednesday, I mentioned in my Hair for Hope post that my friends were going to shave their hair for charity. Did they keep their promise and shave their hair?? Find out .......... after this article.
1,800 go bald for cancer
ABOUT 1,000 individuals went 'botak' for a good cause on Sunday. The 'shavees' thronged Velocity@Novena Square on Sunday to raise funds for children with cancer.
So many people turned up at the seventh annual Hair For Hope event that the organisers, the Children's Cancer Foundation (CCF), had to divert some of them to five partipating salons nearby.
The number of 'shavees', including those held separately for the event at schools and companies, will add up to a grand total of about 1,800 bald heads. All heads will be barren of hair by the end of the month.
This is the highest record in the event's history. Last year, 1,112 gave up their hair, compared to just nine people when it first started in 2003.
'We hope to raise public awareness of childhood cancer and show solidarity with the children and their families in their battle against cancer,' said CCF chairman Ravi Sivalingam.
In all, the foundation hopes to raise more than $500,000 for children with cancer - $350,000 has been raised so far.
My friends Wendy and Wayne actually did it! Not did it did it but they shaved their hair for charity! Here are pics of their shaven head =) (They are in the first vid!! - before they shaved their hair)
Let's all give Wendy and Wayne a big round of applause for their bravery and charitable heart!! The both of you are very onz man. With people like you (and less like me) who are willing to make sacrifices for the sake of others, the world will be a better place. I think the both of you look great with your head shaven!!
It's great that this year, there will be a total of 1,800 shavees, which is the highest record in the event's history. They started with 9 shavees in 2003! Happy to see more kind hearted people do their part for charity. I hope this event will bring more awareness to this charity and bring in more donations for the kids. I am one of those who have known about this charity due to my friends sacrifice and hopefully those who have read this post will go on to find out more information about the Children's Cancer Foundation.
I was in my toilet shitting and reading the newspaper when I came across this article from The Straits Times .....
A phone for the elderly Made-in-Singapore handset will make its debut at the PC Show starting today
A SIMPLE-TO-USE cellphone, targeted at the elderly and children, looks set to be the potential star of the PC Show.
The phone's maker, Foresight Technologies, a Singapore company, will be making its debut at the electronics fair, which starts today.
Unlike most current mobile phones that have tiny, dinky buttons, the iNo Mobile has buttons at least three times bigger, so the elderly can press them easily, as well as a torch.
There is a special SOS button on the back of the handset so that if an elderly person gets into trouble, pressing the single button will send emergency calls and text messages to four pre-programmed numbers.
And when the button is released, the phone will also sound a siren to attract attention.
The company's director, Mr Kenneth Lau, wants to 'aggressively increase awareness' of the $78 phone at this year's show.
Organisers expect more than one million people to stream through the doors over its four days.
The PC Show is the second major electronics fair here, following one in March. Two others are also usually held in September and December respectively.
More than 600 exhibitors, including familiar international names such as Epson, Apple and Lenovo, have taken booths at the Suntec City event, which has promotions on anything from pocket-sized projectors to home theatre systems and global positioning devices.
About 1.1 million people visited the same show last year, spending more than $51.7 million in total.
I was quite interested in this article because ...
Firstly, I just found out that there are actually Singaporean companies producing mobile phones. The featured company even sold 100,000 sets worldwide which I think is pretty good for an unknown local company. However in Singapore, it has only sold 1,000 sets.
Secondly, the concept of the phone is quite similar to the phone that my group mates and I came up with for one of our marketing projects 2 years ago!! We were supposed to tie up with a company not in the mobile phone industry and come up with a new mobile phone. We chose to collaborate with Osim (of course fake one as it is just a project) and come up with a phone to target the elderly.
This is what we wrote in our mini intro
"The mobile phone business, since its launch has never slowed down one bit. When we did some general research on the mobile phone market in Singapore, we realized that there was no phone that was singly designed for the elderly in Singapore. With the baby boomers in their twilight years, we agreed that we would design and market a phone to the elderly. To reach out to the elderly, we decided to collaborate with Osim- a household name for health products in Singapore."
Here is the poster I made for the phone he he.
Lets compare ...
Name
Their phone is called iNo Mobile ours is called hPhone both equally lame and seems to be inspired (ours obviously is) by the "iPhone". They use the "i" of the iPhone and we used the "Phone" lol. I think hPhone stands for health phone, forgot about the meaning but actually, the right name for an Osim product would be uPhone he he, forgot why we didn't use that.
Main Features
iNo Mobile:
Big buttons
Torch Light
Special SOS button to send emergency calls and text messages to 4 pre-progammes numbers
SOS button also acts as a siren.
Digital Time announcer
Shortcut dialing
hPhone:
From the poster you can see that ...
We have big buttons too
We have a similar SOS button called The emergency button. It does the same thing.
We also have a simple to use speed dial which I think is similar to their shortcut dialing
Other features we have but not the iNo
We have a bigger screen which large fonts
The iNo Mobile has a digital time announcer but we have a Narrator program!
The phone is equipped with a ‘Narrator’ program that verbally announces each program or phone function that the user opens up or accesses. It is meant as an aid for users who are unable to read or understand certain words but can be disabled for users who have no need for it. The hPhone displays and narrates text in English, Mandarin, and Malay as well, and is useful for those who are fluent in languages other than English. The volume of the ringtones and sounds are louder for those that are harder of hearing, though the volume can be adjusted.
We have a rubber grip to ensure that they have a better grip on the phone
Health Tips
The hPhone can also store the user's particulars such as their blood type, allergies, and number of next-of-kin, name, as well as the contact number of the user’s family doctor or hospital. All these information can be accessed with a simple shortcut button.
Get me my lawyer's phone number! Just joking ... besides I don't even have a lawyer.
Anyway, I hope this company succeeds and go on to sell many iNo Mobiles cause it will prove that there is really a market for mobile phones for the elderly heh. It would be great for a local mobile phone to make it big too.
I do think that it would be better if they could somehow collaborate with Osim and release it under the Osim brand though. Better brand image he he, you know when you have a phone like this, it is important to give people the feeling that it is of high quality and won't spoil when the user needs it most. Osim has many retail outlets around Singapore too, easier to showcase the product. The Osim brand plus celebrity endorsement from TVB or local Celebrity uncle or aunty and you have a winner! You can sell it much more than $78 and people will still buy it! Just my 2 cents ha ha =P.
I'm feeling quite sad right now because of this article ....
RESEARCH has proved size does matter - at least when it comes to pay.
An extra 5cm in height can add about $950 to the average man's salary, Australian National University researchers have found. ANU economist Professor Andrew Leigh said the wage gain from the extra height was equivalent to the reward for another year of labour market experience.
"We found that taller people earn more, with the effect being strongest for men," Professor Leigh said.
"The average man in our sample is five feet 10 inches tall (177cm).
"Our estimates suggest that if he was six feet tall (182cm) he would earn another 1.5 per cent, or around $950, per year."
Oh man, I guess I have to expect to earn less in the future due to me being vertically challenged. Why do they have to do this kind of survey? It must be someone tall who wanted to do this to prove that they being tall means being more "superior" to us short farts. All my life I have been teased at for being short (yes even now) and now because of a survey like this, I'm ensured a lifetime of discrimination. I wonder what my employers will say when I apply for a job in the future.
"Hey Sean, since you are short I would expect you not to request for a high pay." ...... "It's not my fault that I look down (pun intended) on short people, it's the norm, just look at this survey."
I will just have to start with a disadvantage in the future and try to prove that I can be better than the taller guys. Hopefully I will end up earning more than the taller guys in the office in the future he he. We short people will prove to the world that we are more hardworking and capable than the tall guys! (I will give you and update after I have worked for 5 years lol)
The article also mentioned that being fat doesn't necessarily mean lower pay, so at least that is good news for me. I am currently short and fat, the worse combination ever! Not sure if the fat survey results applies to Singapore as well but I'm not taking any chances. Next week will be the start of my weekly jogging session (I swear!) and hopefully I will lose a lot of weight before my job interview after graduation.
At least if you are fat you can do something about it by exercising and eating healthily which will also be good for your body. If you are not so good looking, you can go for plastic surgery. However I don't think you can do anything about your height right? Unless I go for a leg extension in China which I don't think is a safe thing to do. I have tried many things to make myself taller throughout my life, but none have worked, so I'm stuck at this height heh. By the way, the height and pay effect isn't that much for the girls. Life is unfair haiz.
I think the phrase "Look Down on You" was probably created by some tall dude to mock short guys.
P.S: The shorter Kris Allen will take on tall Adam Lambert in the American Idol Finals. Will Kris Allen show that short guys can win the tall ones? But I'm rooting for Adam Lambert ..... hmmmmm
US educators to adopt Singapore's method of teaching
WASHINGTON : Singapore mathematics textbooks appeared in some American schools more than 10 years ago. US education officials are now hoping that Singapore's methods will be taken up by its new generation of teachers.
They are encouraged by the positive words of President Obama, who has noted Singapore's strong performance in mathematics teaching.
In March, President Obama suggested that Singaporean students were achieving better results when compared with American eighth graders.
"Singapore's middle-schoolers outperform ours three to one," said the US president.
Now, a US Department of Education official wants to introduce improvements to the teaching of mathematics by learning from Singapore's success.
Although I have to admit that I am actually feeling quite proud of this news, I wonder why they want to follow how we teach. They should stick to their educational system heh. I don't think its because of our educational system that makes our middle-schoolers outperform their American counterparts. I think it's because of our parent's kiasu (fear of losing) nature! The American kids will suffer if the government want to follow us. Let them lead a carefree, happy childhood, don't let them be as stressful as us!
Maybe soon all the American kids will have tuition everyday like those poor kids in Singapore.
Saw an article on The New Paper about how its wrong to call a China woman xiaojie, cause it means you are calling her a prostitute! Oh man, didn't know about that! I think I whenever a order food from a China woman (they are everywhere!) the food court, canteen and talk to shop assistants etc etc I also call them xiaojie. I'm so sorry girls I didn't mean to insult you.
Are You Calling Me a Prostitute? Woman splashes water on at salesman for using 'uncouth' term
IN Singapore, it is not uncommon to hear someone address a female stranger as 'xiaojie' (miss in Mandarin). Click to see larger image UPSET: Miss Wang (above) claims the salesman called her 'xiaojie' at least five times in a mocking tone. PICTURE: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS
That was how one salesman addressed a woman who walked by his shop.
But that was also what got him into hot water with the woman, a Chinese national.
Why?
In China, the term 'xiaojie' is often used to mean 'prostitute'. It is seen as disrespectful to address a woman as 'xiaojie' there. (See report below.)
The incident took place last Tuesday at a handphone shop in People's Park Complex.
Around 4.30pm that day, a 26-year-old Chinese national who gave her name only as Miss Wang was walking past the shop with her friend, Miss Zhou, also 26.
One of the salesmen in the shop, who wanted to be known only as Ah Siang, told The New Paper that he called out 'dajie' (older sister in Mandarin) to the two women.
'I wanted to get their attention so they could take a look at the handphones in the shop,' the 19-year-old Malaysian said.
'One of the women then nudged the other and told her I had just called her 'dajie'. She also asked her friend if she looked very old.'
Thinking that he may have been rude to call the women 'dajie', Ah Siang then addressed them as 'xiaojie'.
But that did not sit well with Miss Wang, who took offence at being called 'xiaojie'.
Watch the video from RAZORTV for more about this. Finished watching the video? Now you like me know more he he. Cannot use the word DaBao also!! It means putting a dead body into a coffin!!! Wa, i wonder how many times I asked a xiaojie to dabao food for me sia.
Here are other terms you should take note of when you are addressing a person from China. (From The New Paper) Instead of XiaoJie you can use GuNiang or XiaoGuNiang You can address waitresses as FuWa yuan or in Guangzhou you can use Cantonese terms like LengLui (pretty girl), LengZai (handsome guy) Instead of calling a maidNu Yong, you should call her Ah Yee (aunty) Lastly, Use ShiFu instead of ShiJi when you are addressing a bus driver.
Now you know!
P.S: There is one place in Singapore where it is okay to call China women Xiao jie though =P
Ooops, Jackie Chan did it again! I didn't realize that in the same speech about Chinese needing to be controlled he also mentioned some bad things about Singapore. I read it from the Newpaper on Saturday but did not have to time to blog about it.
For those who have not read the news, here is the news from Asiaone:
Jackie Chan: Singaporeans have no self-respect
Action star Jackie Chan did not only offend the Chinese living in Hong Kong and Taiwan, his "speech of freedom" that drew widespread ire recently also spoke badly about Singaporeans.
He had apparently said that Singaporeans have no sense of self-respect.
Chan, who spoke last Saturday at the Boao Forum for Asia, said that the Chinese have to be controlled or society would be "chaotic" like that of Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Local Chinese evening daily Shin Min Daily News reported that in the action star's speech, Singaporeans too, were not spared.
During the forum's question and answer session, Chan said in his reply to a question from the media, "When I go to Singapore, I realize that chewing gum is not allowed there. Why is this so?
"I found out later that if (Singaporeans) chew gum, they will dispose of the used gum on tabletops, on chairs, and (they) have no sense of self-respect."
According to the Shin Min report, he also pointed out that unlike the Americans and the Japanese, "they" do not have that sense of self-respect. And when this is lacking, the government will have to step in.
Wha, this Jackie Chan is a funny man, anyhow talk cock. This is what happens when someone has too much money. They just say whatever they want without thinking. I agree that Singaporeans do dispose the used gum in tabletops, chairs, on dustbins, benches etc etc in the past (not me though =P), but isn't it the same with other countries? Just watch your American tv shows and you will see how they stick their gums under the table, sofa, on trees, people's hair ... you watch soccer matches on tv also can see the managers spitting the gum on the floor.
If you want a video of the former president of the United States George Bush spitting I have one ... here you go
You can watch the whole video if you miss him, but for spitting action, go to 2:00. Not sure its spitting gum or other disgusting stuff, but a spit is a spit =)
If you continue reading the whole article at Asiaone's website, you will realise that he also mentioned that when you are caught littering in Singapore, you will be jailed straight away. Wahahah that's so funny and it proves my point in the previous Jackie Chan post that you can't judge a country without staying there for a few years at least. Listening to others or watching TV may not be the right source of info. I thought if I get caught littering I only get a fine and maybe do community work order? Last time at least first offence got chance, can go watch some brainwash video about littering than go home (my fren kenna lol). If really go jail i think Changi Prison will be overloaded with prisoners. But anyway the fine is already a harsh punishment as compared to other countries, but that's a different story which have been made fun of by foreigners and even us with the "Singapore is a Fine City" T-shirts for many many years.
Jackie Chan has too much money and have nothing better to do than complain about others. Good luck sucking up to the Americans, hope you have a new Hollywood movie where they pay you millions again.
As my grandfather is from Taiwan, my father seems to be influenced by his roots and watches the Taiwanese news and talk shows on a regular basis. Sometimes I would join him in his daily Taiwanese "entertainment". It's quite amusing to see the talk shows where the host and his guests spends the whole 2 hours of the show scolding every tom dick and harry and sometimes also disagreeing with each other especially when members of ruling (KMT) and opposition (DDP) parties are on the same show. Fight, fight fight!
Before I continue, I would like to say, I'm just an ignorant fool and the things I'm saying are just random ramblings about the entertaining Taiwanese talk shows. Not trying to be an expert in any way. My knowledge of Taiwan is all from the Taiwanese shows I watch on TV. Something like the pro-Tibet supporters at this link, who don't have a clue why they are protesting. Unless you have stayed in a particular country for a few years, you can't really know for sure what you see on TV, newspaper or the internet is true. The bottom line is, you don't have to take me seriously.
Anyways, those who have not watched these talk shows should watch them once in a while. I think ratings are high that's why more of these shows are popping up on TVBS and CTI, 2 of the channels my father and I watch. Who wouldn't like seeing people scolding other people? You have some shows in the afternoon, evening and night. The one I watch most is a show called "2100全民開講".
At first there was the former president Chen Shui Bian (陳水扁)'s corruption case...
It's fun to see all the different tactics he and his family members are trying to get themselves out of trouble, how his spies are assisting them and the current government not doing anything to the spies despite all the scolding on the talk shows. I think Chen Shui Bian's case was the catalyst for the sudden popularity of these talk shows. To produce a show with high viewership, just get a few "ming zuis (名嘴)" (which literally means famous mouth) on the show and start scolding Chen Shui Bian and family, some shows also allows the public to call in to scold him ha ha. I think these "famous mouths" must thank Chen Shui Bian for the problems he has caused. Without his huge amount of corruption cases and antics, they will not so much things to discuss about and will have less jobs. Some of these "famous mouths" appear on 2 shows a day and according to my father, they get around S$200 to S$300 per show, which means they can get freaking $600 a day for sitting down and scolding people! Let's say they work 5 days a week (although I noticed some work on weekends too). 5 days x 4 weeks x $600 per day equals to a cool $12,000 a month!!
Actually we from Singapore have to thank Chen Shui Bian too. His first detention number (2630) came out rumbled (6230) as the second prize in 4D a day after he received that number!! My father wanted to buy the 24 combinations, but it was sold out! I guess lots of people strike 4d that day. My father also bought the second detention number (2185) but he did not strike ha ha. I think the next hot 4D number is his prison number =). Anyways, his case is related to many other cases, and more recently the talk shows are talking about the corruption in Taiwan's military which involves army personnel bribing for promotion. There so many new generals recently that the general to soldier ratio is 2:1000 (highest in the world). That is even higher than USA and Israel! Pay $100,000 for a promotion and you get about S$10k every month for the rest of your life after retirement, good investment heh.
The numerous amount of cases will give the "famous mouths" enough material to talk about for a few years I think. Lucky them Taiwan has so many problems, I wonder if they are really angry when they are scolding cause they are actually earning money while scolding. Do they try to create trouble when there is no trouble so that they can argue about it? I don't know he he.
And now finally to the title of this post. Last week Jackie Chan said this ...
BOAO, China — Action star Jackie Chan said Saturday he's not sure if a free society is a good thing for China and that he's starting to think "we Chinese need to be controlled."
Chan's comments drew applause from a predominantly Chinese audience of business leaders in China's southern island province of Hainan.
The 55-year-old Hong Kong actor was participating in a panel at the annual Boao Forum when he was asked to discuss censorship and restrictions on filmmakers in China. He expanded his comments to include society.
"I'm not sure if it's good to have freedom or not," Chan said. "I'm really confused now. If you're too free, you're like the way Hong Kong is now. It's very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic."
Chan added: "I'm gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we're not being controlled, we'll just do what we want."
This week, the talk shows responded to his comments. They were all very angry and condemned his comments, defending the democracy of Taiwan, on the "Scold Jackie Chan" section of the show. The funny thing is, after all the Taiwan defending, they then proceeded to their daily routine of scolding all the bad things that happened in Taiwan, and there are so many things for them to scold. Freedom of scolding!
To make matters worse, this happened in Taiwan (whom I consider the "freeiest" Chinese nation) a day after the Jackie Chan bashing ...
Opposition Democratic Progressive Party Lawmaker Chiu Yi-ying slapped her male colleague Lee Ching-hua from the ruling Kuomintang yesterday for insulting her family.
Lee was speaking at the lectern during an Internal Administration Committee session discussing relations with China when Chiu made loud remarks. Lee accused her of not having been well educated by her parents.
Chiu rose to approach the lectern and spar with Lee, who challenged her to hit him. When Lee faced his fellow lawmakers complaining about her and reportedly using insulting remarks, Chiu approached him from behind and slapped him on the left cheek, cable stations showed.
Lee accused the DPP of being a violent party, leading to a mass of lawmakers from both parties surging to keep their two colleagues apart. The committee meeting was adjourned.
I know you want to see the video! I found it on Youtube! This female legislator, Chiu Yi-ying (邱議瑩) also pointed a middle finger at her colleagues recently. I found the video too! Now for the videos ...
Chiu Yi-ying Slaps Lee Ching-hua (with a little stephen chow touch)
Chiu Yi-ying points middle finger and denies it despite having video evidence, plus more slapping.
She is actually quite good looking. Too bad she has a bad temper. Like My Sassy Girl? Chili padi heh. Jackie Chan must be laughing at his villa while watching this. A slap in the face for Taiwan? Wahaha (I applaud myself for thinking of this).
Jackie Chan has responded to the complains, stating that he was talking about the Chinese media industry and not Chinese in general that needs to be controlled. Less talk shows and Chinese "Gou Zai Dui (狗仔隊)" /Paparazzi? Edison and friends would not have gotten into such deep shit without them. Do I think Jackie Chan is right? Honestly speaking, I don't care lol. I just made this post primarily to show the cute slapping video which made reference to a Stephen Chow's movie he he. It will be great if we had those Taiwanese type of talk shows in Singapore though. The Complain Show or like how we pronounce in Singapore, The Comprain Show!!! (Don't think it will be approved because we don't have freedom of speech right ha ha)
(I checked, double checked and triple checked to make sure it's true. With so many websites reporting the same thing, surely it won't be a coordinated April Fool's joke??) Yahoo!! Alan shearer is back!! I hope he can save Newcastle United from the drop this season and continue managing us the next season. Really miss my hero Alan Shearer, the greatest striker in the EPL!! Heyyyyyy Alan Shearer hoooo haaaaa, I want to knowwwwwwwww how you score that goal!!!! (You always here this when he scores a goal for Newcatle last time ha ha).
Since he is not under contract as a player maybe he can play for us again he he. Maybe a super sub, player manager? Oh my god, I'm so happy now. My morale is very high now, will study extra hard now!!
I have only drank drinks containing alcohol around three 2 to 4 times in the past few years mainly because my face turns red after drinking and also because I don't go to pubs anymore due to the stupid smoking rules (save a lot of money he he). Now I know the reason why I flush and its a good thing I stopped drinking! (Actually even if I don't drink my I flush easily =( ... under the sun, eating spicy stuff, exercising etc etc)
Alcohol flush 'shows cancer risk'
People who get a flushed face when they drink alcohol should be particularly wary of gullet cancer, experts warn.
About 8% of the population - mostly people of East Asian descent - have an enzyme deficiency that causes their skin to redden when they drink alcohol.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism research found even moderate drinkers with this deficiency were more at risk of oesophageal cancer.
The report authors told PLoS Medicine such people may benefit from screening.
Alcohol-induced flush is predominantly down to an inherited deficiency in an enzyme called aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2).
Although this is widely known, few are aware of the accumulating evidence that ALDH2-deficient individuals are at much higher risk of oesophageal cancer from alcohol consumption, say the researchers.
Dr Philip Brooks and his team from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, working with Japanese colleagues, assessed how big the extra risk is.
They found individuals with one copy of the inactive gene causing ALDH2-deficiency were 6-10 times more likely to develop oesophageal cancer than individuals with the fully active ALDH2 enzyme who drank comparable amounts of alcohol.
They said if moderate or heavy drinking people with this deficiency were to become light drinkers instead, 53% of oesophageal cancers might be prevented among Japanese men.
They based their calculations on light consumption being fewer than 25 UK units of alcohol per week, moderate being fewer than 50 UK units and heavy being more than 50 UK units per week.
So if you also flush easily, you better stop drinking alcohol! Esophageal cancer is one of the deadliest cancers worldwide, with five-year survival rates of 15.6 percent in the United States, 12.3 percent in Europe, and 31.6 percent in Japan!! There are 540 million people like me in the world who flushes after drinking! Ban alcohol? He he, then its the end of the world for most people .... will you stop drinking??
(I think all the pub owners and alcoholic drink manufacturers must hate the doctors who did the research he he, smoking you already ban and now this?!?!?)
Oscar-nominated actors are the most dignified members of our species. They play the serious roles that inspire us and hold a special place of reverence in our culture.
But not in Japan. In a country where demoralization is the national pastime, our revered actors, Academy Award nominees and winners both, sell their own dignity for a paycheck because they assume we Americans will never see it.
But thanks to the Internet, we can celebrate their shame any time we want.
Time to develop your own iPhone games! (Searching for iPhone apps for dummies).
The 30-year-old computer programmer hoped to sell enough copies of the game that the couple wouldn't have to put their home on the market. That was more than $700,000 ago.
A young protester hurled a shoe at Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao as he gave a speech at Britain's Cambridge University on Monday, in a dramatic end to a five-nation tour of Europe.
In a clear echo of the Iraqi journalist who threw his footwear at then US president George W. Bush in Baghdad in December, the Western-looking man shouted "This is a scandal" as he interrupted Wen from the back of the auditorium.
This is starting to be a trend .. I wonder who is next? If I am Premier Wen maybe I would say thank you for the shoe thrown at me, it means good luck in China (I made that up). Then he can go add an entry about good luck throwing shoes in wiki. There are so many different meanings to the same action in different countries who knows (learned that in International Marketing) ... it might actually work heh. That would surely embarrass the guy!
(Okay maybe its a bad idea since everyone will start throwing shoes at the Chinese)
Throwing a shoe at someone might be the greatest insult in one country but it might be different in another heh. An example would be the O.K gesture which means okay in America, England and here in Singapore but in Latin America and France its considered an insult. Similar to giving someone the middle finger!
Find out more here to avoid unknowingly offending others, or realize that someone is scolding you in another country!
YouTube Comments: where good grammar and spelling go to die.
Subject: Miley Cyrus
wel sed. u dont ave 2 answer or owt but i just wna say i totally agree wiv u. every1 is so mean bout her wen she asnt actually dun anyfin 2 hurt YOU! so y dont u just leave her alone if u dont like then dont bother wacthn the videos. duh. peace x
What We Think They Meant:
Even though I do not expect a returned correspondence, I must heartily concur with what you have said. Furthermore, I would like to commend you on both the the veracity of your statement and your well-crafted phrasing. Capital effort, that. I, too, am thoroughly and continually puzzled by the resentment that some parts of our society (although sometimes it feels like the whole of the world) directs toward Ms. Cyrus, especially considering that she has done nothing to personally impede anyone, at least to the best of my knowledge. If certain people find Ms. Cyrus to be distasteful, then I believe their efforts would be better spent viewing things they actually find enjoyable, rather than subjecting themselves to something they do not care for. It befuddles me to think that someone would endeavor to waste their time on something that angers them so. I would also like to take this opportunity to convey a universal message of peace and love.
I think I have all the problems listed in this article :(
Researchers are now finding so many negative links between gaming and your physical and mental health - from self-esteem to dementia, anger to bladder control & that they're stopping just shy of outright blaming Halo for erectile dysfunction and Tomb Raider for the sudden surge in autism.
Oh no ... in the article it mentioned that if you stop smoking you will gain weight ... means cannot quit man
A surprising Finnish study casts doubts on the common assumption smokers have that their unhealthy habit helps keep them thin. Specifically, the researchers found that teens who smoke heavily were more likely to grow up to be fat.....
Lyo and Merly to be mascots for inaugural 2010 Youth Olympic Games
