A poll was organized by Swiss foundation New7Wonders (N7W) where
world citizens were asked to put forward sites which they deemed are natural
wonders.
It began in 2007 when
more than 440 locations were nominated in more than 220 countries through a
global voting process. The top 77 choices were short listed, and further
narrowed to 28 candidates. On November 11th 2011, seven finalists
have been announced, and one of the seven selected is Jeju Island, South
Korea.
The island was created entirely from volcanic
eruptions approximately 2 million years ago, during the time period from theTertiaryto
the beginning of theQuaternaryperiod, and consists chiefly of basalt
and lava. The eruptions took place in the Cenozoic era. It has ahumid subtropical climate, warmer than that
of the rest of Korea, with four distinct seasons. Winters are cool and dry
while summers are hot, humid, and sometimes rainy.
‘Lie
to Me’, a 16 episode Korean romantic love- comedy Television mini
series – super rich boy poor girl suspense. The President of World Group of Hotels,
Hyeon Gi Jun, in his pursuit to woo the heart and trust of his new love, followed
her to Jeju Island.
In the 11th episode, The Republic of
South Korea Ministry of Culture Officer, Gong Ah Jeong was sent to the Island
to promote and lure the Judges to vote for Jeju Island. And the series finale
also takes us back to Jeju Island.
Gong Ah Jeong summarises Jeju island in one
word,
‘MOTHER’.
Women from this island, dive into the seas to
fish for the abalone, Jeju Island’s delicacy. Many of these women divers perished
underwater. Despite the known dangers they still continue to dive for the
abalones. The endless sacrifices mothers make to raise their children.
The
Plentiful 3 - the
3 most common things in Jeju Island, the
wind, rocks and women.
In Honor of
World Toilet Day, "Let's Talk Sh*t", here. This headline really teased my curiosity. An
important day went by so quietly – I was not even aware that 19th
November was declared the World’s Toilet Day!
World Toilet Day(WTD) is a global non-profit organization committed to
improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide. WTD focuses on toilets
instead of water, which receives more attention and resources under the common
subject of sanitation.
World Toilet Day:
Burkina Faso
Founded in 2001with 15 members, it now has 151
member organizations in 53 countries working towards eliminating the toilet
taboo and delivering sustainable sanitation.
Future Toilets
In 2005,
WTO started the world's first World Toilet College (WTC) to provide training in
toilet design, maintenance, School Sanitation and Disaster Sanitation and
implementation of Sustainable Sanitation systems.
Automated street toilets
–
Malaysia
The hi-tech, self serving cleaning toilets are
placed in busy areas including Bukit Bintang, Jalan P. Ramlee and Jalan Raja
Laut. State-of-the-art public toilets are part of City Hall’s programme to
ensure Malaysians and tourist have clean and modern public toilet
facilities.
Sensors automatically trigger water, soap and
the hand dryer upon use. The sensors also activates the flushing system after
each use and the toilet seats are cleaned automatically as well.
The ASTs are disabled-friendly; also have a
pull-down table to change babies diapers.
Aishwarya's
pregnancy and the birth of what many are calling India's "most-awaited baby", was born at the
private Seven Hills Hospital in the western Mumbai suburb of Andheri on
Wednesday morning 16TH November 2011.
‘Bollywood
'wedding of the century'
Indian film’s hottest couple tied the knot in a traditional
Vedic wedding ceremony on April 20, 2007 in what is regarded as the biggest
Hindu wedding in Bollywood.
Aishwarya Rai, who first
captured India's attention when she was crowned Miss World in 1994, has become
one of its biggest stars and one of India's most recognized faces overseas. She
has acted in more than 30 movies and starred in several commercials for
cosmetic and cola companies.
Abhishek Bachchan comes from a famous Bollywood movie family — his
father, Amitabh, is a Bollywood legend and his mother Jaya is also a famous
actor.
Nov 16, 2011 - New Report
Claims Britain’s Kate Middleton, who captivated people around the
world when she married Prince William in April 2011 – is six weeks pregnant.
The royal palace has said it would
announce the news of any pregnancy, and has a policy of not commenting on such
rumors.
Hello everyone, what is happening to our world today? Babies cry
because they are hungry, wet, and need attention or simply telling us they are
not feeling well.
One of our colleagues, a new father (Indian) used to
rush/dash home after work. Later learnt from him that his newborn will start crying
non-stop each day around 6:45pm (dusk) – he needed to burn some incense and
smoke his whole house to drive away some ‘evil spirit’ that is disturbing his baby!
I gave him an ointment (minyak Nona Roguy) to apply
as per instructions on the bottle and whoosh.. the crying stopped! He now named
Nona Roguy as his Magic ointment!
The mother of a dead 1-year-old Missouri boy told police she
struck him repeatedly when he wouldn't stop crying or lie down, then dumped his
body near a nearby graveyard, St. Louis County, Mo., prosecutor Bob McCulloch
said at a news conference this afternoon.
McCulloch said
the lesson for the community was, "Raising a child can be frustrating.
There are a myriad of ways to deal with that. This isn't one of them."Goherefor more news.
HEADLESS. On a dark stage design bedecked with a
cross and flaming torches, Lady Gaga stepped out of a confessional booth
seemingly decapitated while cradling her own severed, singing head. Source here
Stefani
Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), better known
by her stage name, Lady
Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Gaga came to prominence following the release
of her debut studio album The
Fame in 2008. Its first two singles, "Just Dance" and
"Poker Face",
were number-one singles and the album itself reached the number-one spot on
nine record charts worldwide.
In
late 2009, she released an extended play, The
Fame Monster, which spawned international
number-one singles "Bad
Romance", "Telephone" and "Alejandro". She embarked on the
eighteen-month long Monster Ball Tour, which
became one of the highest-grossing
concert tours of all time.
Her
second album Born
This Way was released in 2011, topping the
charts on several major markets and spawning international chart-topping
singles including "Born This Way",
"Judas"
and "The
Edge of Glory".
Gaga
has sold an estimated 23 million albums and 64 million singles worldwide, which
makes her one of the best-selling music
artists of all time.
Forbes list for year 2011of world’s
most powerful women placed Lady Gaga as one of the most powerful celebrity,
securing 11th place on the list.
Miraclesdo happen? My friend had been
married for 13years, childless, yet never once gave up the dreams of having her
own children. Medically went through all the tests and procedures on fertility, tried just about every tip given to become pregnant.
Finally a Doctor
(from Banting, Selangor) suggested she seek traditional treatments. Determined
and hopeful, she decided to give it a try and three months later found out she
was pregnant. The following 4years she had 2 more babies.
No medical intervention, no pills whatsoever, merely
drink water collected from seven mosques and reciting some holy verses from the
Quran!
Virgin Mary ‘fertility’ relic - Orthodox disciples believe
that the belt helps women to conceive children.
A sacred relic, believed by some Orthodox Christians to be the belt of
the Virgin Mary, is drawing thousands of Russian pilgrims in search of a cure
for a myriad of ailments including infertility. Source here.
Legend
has it that the arc that’s been brought from Greece contains part of the belt
of camel hair that Virgin Mary wove and carried during all of her earthly
life before Her ascent to heaven.
The belt of Virgin Mary in the Vatopedi monastery
For the
past 2000 years, the relic has been kept at the Holy and Great Monastery of
Vatopedi, on Mount Athos, in Greece. The belt is normally taken to a
Greek city once a year at the request of believers.
It had
never been taken abroad, and the only exception the Greeks have made was for
Russia.
The monastery refused earlier requests from other countries, including the
U.S. and Romania. Twenty monks from Athos accompanied it to Russia, Interfax
reported. The relic will stay in Russia until Nov. 23, 2011and will be taken
to 12 cities.
The
relic arrived in Russia after an initiative taken by the influential Russian
Orthodox Church, who is actively promoting motherhood to help the government
halt a steadily rise in population decline.
The country’s latest census released
earlier this year shows the country’s population has shrunk by another 2.2
million people since 2002 and now stands at 142.9 million.
The shrinking population has become somewhat of a matter of national
security for Russian leaders.
We usually read articles on poverty, of the abandoned or neglected
children dying of starvation or under nutrition.
This article however, is just the other way round! Do you know thatoverfeeding can in itself be abusive
and may be considered a crime,
and that a mother, a nurse, was sentenced to jail for force feeding her kid to
death?
It was reported on November 11th , 2011 Nurse Gloria Dwomoh 31, was found guilty and sentenced to 3 years jail for
force-feeding, causing or allowing the death of her baby in the
first case of its kind in Britain.
Judge
Brian Barker, said the case was ‘truly rare and truly tragic’.Post-mortem examination found 10-month-old Diamond died from pneumonia caused by food,
including meat and cereals, in her lungs.
Gloria Dwomoh used a small milk jug to tip baby
rice, African corn porridge and chicken soup into her mouth. She claimed
pouring food from a jug was a traditional feeding method and widely used in her
home country, Ghana. More
here.
Maury - fattest girl in the world
Overfeeding
can in itself be abusive and may be
considered a crime
Parents of seven obese children have been accused by social workers of
neglecting their children by allowing them to get too overweight.
Now they’ve been told that four of the children will be taken away and
put up for adoption. Dundee City Council
said: ‘The council always acts in the best interests of children, with their
welfare and safety in mind.’ Interesting read here.
There are little precious things that truly
matters to kids. So watch out mums - kids and their innocent feelings!
My daughter was inseparable with her baby doll. Her naughty brother had different ideas. He decided to use a permanent black marker pen and drew a lovely thick moustache and beard on its face.
She was so upset, terribly miserable and cried non-stop. I will never forget that hectic day!
No other dolls .. she insisted on having the same one.I had to rush to Toys"R"Us
to get a replacement; the nearest store (Subang Jaya) did not have any. I had
to drive all the way to their KL outlet and, fortunately found one.
Guess what happened? Few weeks later the brother decided to draw again - this time face of a clown - red nose, red cheeks, and thick raised eyebrows etc!
A
23 year old woman reignites a debate over parental discipline by posting a
video of her dad, a Texas judge, ferociously whipping her with powerful belt lashes —punishing her for illegally
downloading music. Adams secretly recorded it with a hidden camera seven years
ago when she was 16.
She
has had ataxic cerebral palsy from birth that led her to a passion for
technology. Hillary
Adams told ABC News affiliate KXTV.
"It had happened before, my father's harassment was getting really bad, I
decided to finally publish the video that I had been sitting on for 7 years.”
She
recently uploaded it to YouTube and the social sharing site Reddit. The video
went viral, racking up almost 6million views since it was first
uploaded 27th Oct 2011, and inspiring the wrath of the community of
readers there, who posted his home address, phone number, and workplace contact
information and to demand an investigation.
Local
officials now say they're stepping up police presence in the small town after
many people have called in death threats.
She
explained to Keaton Fox
- kfox@kristv.com, "I think a lot of the people in the
community were tricked because all they saw was the outside," Adams said.
"They saw him treating his wife and daughter, oh, look what I gave them,
look at these amazing cars and watches and pianos, everything like that and
just this other side of him, was hidden for so long, because he was so good at
controlling the situation and covering anything up."
Hillary
Adams has since Tweeted about the explosion of attention the video has
received, "It is my wish that people stop threatening my father and start
offering professional help. That is what he really needs," she wrote.
Preaching Virtue of Spanking, Even as Deaths Fuel
Debate
ERIK ECKHOLM
November
6, 2011
PLEASANTVILLE,
Tenn. — Debate over the Michael Pearls’ teachings,
first seen on Christian Web sites, gained new intensity after the death of a
third child, all allegedly at the hands of parents who kept the Pearls’ book,
“To Train Up a Child,” in their homes. On Sept. 29, the parents were charged
with homicide by abuse. More here.
We are very meticulous when looking into the
security of our homes – placing additional locks, security alarms, engaging
professional security firms, cameras and grilles to ensure we are safe inside
and prevent from break-ins etc.
What if unforeseen circumstances ‘unexpectedly’ happen
behind these closed doors? Being home
alone and in cases of emergencies, have you the necessary plans to ensure
that help is within reach?
Girl, 3, Survives for 2 Days After Mom Dies
A 3-year-old girl comforted herself
with her favorite toy,
ate
cheese, leftover lasagna and milk for two days after her mother (28 years old) died unexpectedly in their New Zealand
home.
Police
coaxed Shylah to drag a coffee table to the door so she could reach the lock
and unlock the door, before she told them, "Mummy won't wake up," Pete
Silbery said. Read more here.
OnAug 26, 2011, 54-yr-old
twins Sandhya and Usha Nadkarni were found dead in their flat
at Ideal Colony in Kothrud.
The
police suspect the Nadkarni sisters died due to
suffocation
caused after a pest control was conducted in their ground floor flat.
"They had shut the doors and windows tightly after the pest control and
had probably slept without any ventilation." Source here.
Amy Winehouse, 27, was found dead at her home in Camden
Square NW1London on 26th July 2011.
Winehouse was apparently 'beyond help' when paramedics
arrived.
Amy
had a hugely successful musical career with the release of her debut album
Frank in 2003, and the record considered her breakthrough album - Back To Black
in 2006.
During
her career, Winehouse won awards including five Grammy Awards, a Q Music Award
for Best Album for Back To Black and a World Music Award in 2008 for World's
Best Selling Pop/Rock Female Artist. Read more here.
Update -16th November 2011;
NEW YORK — Amy Winehouse had written all
the songs that were to appear on her third album. She even picked out song
titles.Here.