Merry Christmas 2010

23 Dec 2010 - I will sign out for a few days to celebrate Christmas with family and friends in the motherland. I will be back on line before the end of the year. Ho Ho Ho Everybody! Merry Christmas!

Vampire Mistletoe

23 Dec 2010 - A new species of tropical mistletoe has been described by scientists of the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew in London. The research team found the plant on expedition to Mount Mabu in northern Mozambique in 2008. Now, just in time for Christmas they have confirmed that the plant is new to science. The plant tops of list of Kew's botanical discoveries of 2010, including a Vietnamese orchid and an exceptionally rare tree in Cameroon. A butterfly specialist discovered the mistletoe, and he immediately realized it was different from what he had seen in Malawi and Tanzania. Mistletoe's are "hemi-parasitic" meaning they take some of the nutrients they need from other plants.  When birds eat the small white fruits, the seeds are wiped onto branches of trees, where they stick. Once germinated, the root grows into the living tissue of the tree to suck out its nutrients. In sum, they are vampires. Think about it when you kiss your beloved under the mistletoe over Christmas..

Gulliver's Travels

22 Dec 2010 - Hollywood is lacking creativity in recent years and is now recycling Gulliver's Travels. In a contemporary re-imagining of the classic take by Jonathan Swift, US actor Jack Black stars as Gulliver, a big talking mailroom clerk. In the story Gulliver is mistakenly assigned a travel piece on the Bermuda triangle and (after shipwrec) suddenly finds himself a giant among men when he washes ashore on the hidden island of Lilliput. Lilliput turns out to be the home of very tiny people. At first he is enslaved by the industrious Lilliputians, but later he is declared their hero (very Hollywood). There is also a message: Gulliver gets to learn that it is not about how big you are but that it is the inside that counts (sob, sob). Shot on location in and around Britain the movie also stars Emily Blunt, Amanda Peet and Brian Connolly. Soon in theatres near you!

No English, Please!

21 Dec 2010 - China's General Administration of Press and Publicity has banned newspaper, websites and publishers from using foreign words - particularly English. It said foreign words are sullying the purity of the Chinese language. It added that standardized Chinese should be the norm and that the media should avoid foreign abbreviations and acronyms, as well as "Chinglish" - a mix of Chinese and English often used in Hong Kong. The order is also applicable to radio and TV. The State body raised their order as foreign words are increasingly used in all types of communication and it now wants to turn the tide. It said the usage had "seriously damaged" the purity of the Chinese language and resulted in adverse social impacts on the cultural environment,. It also explained that if words must be written in English, a Chinese explanation needs to be added.

Airport Blues

21 Dec 2010 - Today is the official start of the winter, and the big freeze in Europe has kept many airports struggling to remain open. Still thousands of passengers are stranded in London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, ..... Under snowy conditions the gap between landing and departing airplanes becomes bigger for safety reasons. The final decision to land or not shifts from air control to the pilot. One big issue is ice.Pre-cautionary de-icing chemicals are used to keep the planes ice free. Salt is not used, as it is bad for the planes aluminium. Some airports are better prepared than others: Stockholm's Arlanda remained open and hardly reported any delays. A spokesperson of the airport claims that heavy snow is no problem, but that strong side winds are. In the end it probably depends on how busy an airport is, as a minor disruption can cause massive delays at the bigger airports.

Luxury Malaysia

20 Dec 2010 - Malaysia is carving a niche as a destination for luxury goods shopping, said Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen. She said shoppers had much to look forward to as Malaysia would be a duty free haven for most luxurious goods, including watches and jewellery per 1st January 2011. "It is important to ensure an enabling environment for the industry." The Ministry targets to have 36 million tourists and RM 168 billion in tourism receipt by 2020, and it expects 35% to be from shopping receipts. There is a plan to built a 6 km long walkway in the Bukit Bintang area which also help encouage shopping and boost sales. KL has already opened its Starhill Gallery, with many luxury brands under one roof, but from what I hear the formula does not work well. Bukit Bintang looks more like a building site than a luxury shopping area.

Quote of The Day (26)

19 Dec 2010 - This week saw the last talk show by veteran CNN personality Larry King. The 77-year-old presented his cheesy chat show for 25 years and is now finally retiring. He will be replaced by creepy British journalist Pierce Morgan. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger came on the show to announce that he had proclaimed the day Larry King day in the western US state. Former US President Bill Clinton also came on air. When King mentioned that ' we are both in the zipper club ' - and explained later that he meant they had both had heart surgery - Clinton replied " I am glad you have clarified that ' keeping a straight face as other guest chuclked. King's last gaffe must be the quote of the day. And yes, he will be missed (as CNN soon will find out).

Great Picture (27)

19 Dec 2010 - It's a tough winter in Europe. My other hometown Amsterdam is covered in a blanket of snow. The big freeze leads to travel chaos and stranded passengers. Schiphol airport had to close its runways, which is not good news with the peak Christmas season approaching. About 3,000 passengers had to spend the night at the airport because their flight were cancelled. But some beautiful picture could be made. This one is by made the Panoramio agency.