Being a Jin Yong Fan, I must post this. =)
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Astroyogi.com - Discover your future. Design your destiny.
Hi Meiting, you have a vigorous hand. Dynamism, power, leadership and zest characterise your personality. Highly energised and enthusiastic, you hold out even during tough times. But remember not to overdo this. Your decision-making is swift and on-the-spot most of the times. Versatility is thy other name. You are also romantic, but with a generous dash of challenge thrown in.
Your index finger is short. This makes you a dependable team player. A position of command is not for you. But you do have a keen eye for detail. You can be impulsive; not all your moves are quite rational. Look out! Stress could get the better of you. Your index finger being longer than your ring finger points to you being realistic but aggressive at the same time. Yet, you are not able to stand your ground at times. Your sense of judgement is finely balanced. Your middle finger being longer than the adjoining fingers in length signifies an even view towards life. You are extremely organised; seldom ever do you 'come apart' in any situation. You seem to have all stages of your life worked out to the last detail, and possess an unbiased and sagacious personality. You evaluate and analyse all your actions towards achieving your goals in life and get there through sheer dedication and will power. The top of your ring finger is in level with the base of the fingernail of your middle finger. You are a sweet talker and can seduce most people and bend them to your will. But this style may have only short-lived results! Since your little finger is set lower than your other fingers, you encumber and impede your own life. The pursuit of goals seems unimportant to you and hence you make no effort to reach out. Your little finger does not reach the first flexure line (joint) of your ring finger. You are a shy introvert and speak only when spoken to. You are intelligent and knowledgeable, yet uncommunicative.
you have a vigorous hand. Dynamism, power, leadership and zest characterise your personality. Highly energised and enthusiastic, you hold out even during tough times. But remember not to overdo this. Your decision-making is swift and on-the-spot most of the times. Versatility is thy other name. You are also romantic, but with a generous dash of challenge thrown in.
You have a moderately long lifeline; the period between 50 and 60 years is an unpredictable phase in your life. Exercise extra care during that phase. You attach a lot of importance to customs and rituals. You prefer constancy and stability to change. You are deeply attached to your home.
Your head line touches your line of life. You are an extremely conservative person. All innovation is deplorable; you stick resolutely to what you learned during your 'growing up' years. Make sure you don't offend or suffocate others with your fixed ways. Your headline has a single ending. Your analysis is generally biased as your mind is closed to looking at all facets of an issue. No other individual can influence your thoughts. Your headline is medium straight. You are a highly rational individual. You are thought oriented and never act before thinking it through.
You have a mind that's constantly bubbling over with imagination and creativity, but this never mars the stable side of your personality. You like to wield power and work steadfastly to obtain it. Most of your moves are objective-driven - everything is planned for to the last detail.
Your fate line is centered. This indicates that you are a perceptive individual. You tread carefully in life owing to past negative experiences.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Ian On The Red Dot :: How I Try To Make My Public Transport Experience More Enjoyable
How I Try To Make My Public Transport Experience More Enjoyable
Ian On The Red Dot :: How I Try To Make My Public Transport Experience More Enjoyable
After reading this, I have to admit that I do agree with him. There's really nothing much you can do to make the SMRT/SBS change their operations and I definitely DO NOT want to buy a car for work with all the rising ERP, Road Tax and COE etc.
Like the author, after 3 years of taking train and buses to work, I have come to accept that I will not get seats and will be squashed during the peak hours. However, there's one thing that I still cannot stand.
Human Smell.
Seriously, I cannot think of a way to fight this. =(
I guess I can try to breathe through my mouth......
Monday, August 18, 2008
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi Wed at Their Beverly Hills Home - omg! news on Yahoo!
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi Wed at Their Beverly Hills Home
By Us MagazineAugust 16, 2008, 10:22 pm PDT
Us Magazine
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi wed at their home in Beverly Hills, California, Saturday night.
De Rossi, 35, wore a backless, light pink dress, and her hair in a loose updo. DeGeneres, 50, dressed in pants, button-up shirt and vest all in white.
Before the intimate ceremony attended by about 20 guests, "Ellen and Portia came out and posed for pictures with Ellen's mom and their two dogs," a witness tells Usmagazine.com.
"They were hugging and kissing, and looked ecstatic," the onlooker adds. "Ellen was helping Portia with the train of her dress, which looked like a Cinderella tutu."
The pair, who "were both laughing," walked "all over the lawn together holding hands and posing," the witness tells Us. "The whole afternoon seemed light-hearted."
Earlier, workers were spotted bringing in bunches of pale pink and red roses.
Wedding plans have been in the works for months.
In May, following the California Supreme Court's monumental ruling that same sex couple's have the right to marry, DeGeneres announced on her talk show that she intended to wed her girlfriend of nearly four years.
"It's something that we've wanted to do and we want it to be legal and we are very, very excited," DeGeneres said.
In June, de Rossi debuted a marquis cut Neil Lane sparkler set with pink diamonds at the Daytime Emmy Awards.
See photos of celebs' engagement rings.
De Rossi has credited DeGeneres with helping her come out of the closet.
"My feelings for Ellen overrode all of my fear about being out as a lesbian, she told the Advocate in September 2005.
De Rossi said the first time she spotted DeGeneres, the comedian took her breath away.
"That had never happened to me in my life, where I saw somebody and [experienced] all of those things you hear about in songs and read about in poetry. My knees were weak," de Rossi said.
In 2005, DeGeneres said she hoped she and de Rossi would be "together the rest of our lives."
"I never would have thought my life would have turned out this way," DeGeneres told Allure. "To have money. Or to have a gorgeous girlfriend. I just feel so lucky with everything in my life right now."
Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi Wed at Their Beverly Hills Home - omg! news on Yahoo!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
15 Fascinating Facts About The Ancient Olympics - The List Universe
Facts 1 - 5
1. No one actually knows what the origins were of the very first games. One myth suggests that Heracles (the divine son of the god Zeus) ran a race in Olympia and decreed that it be repeated every four years.
2. The olympic games were one of two central rituals in Ancient Greece. The other was the Eleusinian Mysteries - initiation ceremonies for people joining the cult of Demeter and Persephone.
3. The Statue of Zeus - the father of the Gods and one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World, was housed in a temple at Olympia - the site of the Ancient Olympics.
4. An Olympiad (a period of 4 years which refers to the time between two games) was used as a measure of years by the Ancient Greeks in much the same way as we now use AD and BC. This idea was devised by the historian Ephorus. Previously, every Greek state used its own different method of time measurement which led to a great deal of confusion.
5. The only event at the first olympics was the Stadion race - a race of around 190 meters (measured after the feet of Zeus). The race was named after the building in which the race took place (the source of the English word "stadium". The stadion race is pictured above.
Facts 6 - 10
6. Unlike the modern starting position, racers (of whom 20 would take place) started in a fully erect standing position with their arms stretched in front of them. If there was a tie, the race would be re-run.
7. The winner of the first recorded Olympic Games (the first gold medalist in a sense) was Coroebus of Elis - a baker from Eleia (the region in which Olympia was found). He won in 776 BC. Instead of winning a gold medal - as is now the norm - he received an olive branch - more a symbol than a prize. The town still exists today with around 150 citizens.
8. It is believed that the Greek tradition of athletic nudity started at the games in 720 BC, and it was most likely introduced by the Spartans or Megarian Orsippus. It is from this practice that we have our word "gymnasium" - derived from the Greek word "gymnos" meaning "naked". Competing naked was meant as a tribute to the gods and to encourage aesthetic appreciation of the male body.
9. While the competitors were naked during the games, it is possible that some wore a kynodesme: a thin leather strip tied tightly around the part of the foreskin that extended beyond the glans (to prevent the glans from showing). It was then tied around the waist to expose the scrotum, or to the base of the penis making it appear to curl upwards. Not all athletes wore the kynodesme. Pictured above is an athlete wearing the kynodesme - the picture is attributed to Triptolemos (480 BC).
10. During the games, all of Greece was under a truce (ekecheiria) - there could be no use of capital punishment, and no wars or battles. This was in order to ensure the safety of competitors and spectators on the way to Olympia. While this was generally adhered to, at least one account exists of a possible breach by the Spartan army, which resulted in a large fine and a ban from attending the games that year.
Facts 11 - 15
11. The Olympic Games were part of 4 games - held in order so that there would be one set of games each year. The other three were the Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian Games, but the Olympic games were the most important.
12. Although the first games were "international" in a sense (in that all Greek City States were allowed to enter), only men who spoke Greek could compete. Eventually members of the Greek colonies were also able to enter.
13. The last running race added to the Ancient Games (after the addition of two longer distance races) was the hoplitodromos - in which competitors would run 400 or 800 yards in full armor with shields and a helmet or greaves (leg armor). This was introduced in 520 BC. Runners would often trip over each other or stumble on shields dropped by other competitors. In the image above we see athletes competing in the hoplitodromos - in far more an orderly fashion than was likely.
14. In its heyday, the games lasted 5 days. The first three were for the sporting events, with the other two days being used for rituals and celebration. On the final day, all participants attended a feast in which 100 oxen (killed on the first day as a sacrifice to Zeus) were eaten. Certainly very different from the secular opening ceremony we will see this week, or, in fact, all olympic opening ceremonies from modern times.
15. As part of the move to making Christianity the official religion, the ancient Olympic Games were finally suppressed by either Theodosius I in AD 393 or his grandson Theodosius II in AD 435. They would not return until 1896. They were held in Athens, Greece.
15 Fascinating Facts About The Ancient Olympics - The List Universe
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